SS2: Henry Overshoots; Greer Closes Gap; 2WD Leader Tourish Overshoots
- Updated: 21 May 2022
(Image: D Harrigan Images) SS2: There was drama on stage two as rally leader Desi Henry arrived at the end of the stage with damage to the front of his Fiesta! The Kilrea driver had reported fading brakes during the opening test and those problems came to a head on stage two when he hit a chicane and also had another overshoot…
“The chicane was the least of our worries,” Henry said. “We’re losing our brakes very badly. We overshot a junction because we just couldn’t get stopped for it. I’m pumping the brake pedal. We’ll get back to service and get some fresh fluid through them.”
Despite the trouble, Henry and Paddy Robinson have managed to hold on to their lead but the gap between them and second-placed Greer has been cut from nine seconds to just 3.1 seconds. Greer was a little surprised to still be in the hunt as he also had problems of his own…
“We just had to get through that one,” Greer said. “There is some sort of issue with the back of the car so we need to get back to service to see if we can sort it.”
Third-placed Cathan McCourt and Liam Moynihan were just a couple of seconds adrift of the fastest time set by Greer and maintain third. “There were a couple of tricky bits in there so we were a bit cautious.”
In fourth overall, Garry Jennings and Rory Kennedy were another crew to report brake fade, a repeat problem for Jennings which is leaving him a bit downbeat. “We had this problem at the start of the year so I don’t know. The pedal is going straight to the floor.”
Jason Mitchell and Paddy McCrudden pushed hard on stage two but “probably got a bit rash”, according to Mitchell! They hold fifth ahead of Donagh Kelly and Kevin Flanagan, with Alan Carmichael up to seventh ahead of Joe McGonigle in eighth.
Aaron McLaughlin lost time when he entered a square left thinking it was a right! He had to pop his Fiesta into reverse. PJ McDermott, also in a Fiesta, had a little bit of cosmetic damage to the front of his car while Paul Britton lost a few seconds with an overshoot.
In other news, Declan Boyle’s Polo was spotted with a lot of smoke billowing from his car while Sean Devine had to stop and change a puncture on the opening stage. Michael McGarrity also lost time with a puncture on stage one, as did a very disappointed Ryan Loughran.
“Another wasted weekend!” Loughran said. “We had to stop and change a wheel on stage one. I just cut a corner too tight.”
Elsewhere in the two-wheel-drive category, Damien Tourish (pictured) continues to head the category despite an overshoot and a stall on stage two. Camillus Bradley and Crawford Henderson are second ahead of Ian Dickson, who revealed it is the first time he has competed in a closed road event since the 2016 Ulster Rally.
Latest results are available from rallyscore.net and live stage-end interviews are available from OnThePacenote.
Jonathan
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