Day one of the 2010 Safety Direct Galway International Rally has been an eventful one. Overnight frost together with a covering of thick fog meant that morning conditions were extremely tricky for the crews. British Rally Champion Keith Cronin set a blistering early pace to put his group N Mitsubishi into the lead by just 0.2 of a second from Tim McNulty in the Impreza WRC. Gareth MacHale was a further five seconds back in his Focus WRC. Gareth went out on the Monte Carlo ice tyre for the first loop and set a staggering time on stage two to take the lead by over a second. However the morning drama surrounded Cronin who went off the road at the end of stage two and went out of the rally. Thankfully Keith will return to the stages tomorrow for the Sunday Run, which will surely delight his legions of fans. After Cronin’s demise, the group N fight was left to Alastair Fisher and Craig Breen who is debuting the new Ford Fiesta S2000 on Irish Tarmac. Fisher returned to first service in third overall and in the group N lead but only by 0.9 of a second. The leader at first service was Tim McNulty who set fastest time on stage three. Gareth was in second and complaining of a power steering problem, which he claimed, had cost him time.
In the two wheel drive category, Marty McCormack set the early pace in his Citroen C2He arrived into first service in ninth place overall. Top local crew was Mike Bird in his S7 Impreza. Mike was complaining of a break problem in the morning’s tests.
The second loop of stages started with Tim McNulty taking 0.3 of a second of Gareth in the opening stage. However Tim punctured on stage six and dropped to 5th at second service and leave Gareth in the lead. Drive of the Afternoon had to go to young Craig Breen. The Billy Coleman award winner set some fantastic times to return to service in second overall, 23 seconds ahead of Alastair Fisher. Aaron MacHale was fourth ahead of McNulty and Kevin Barrett, who made the switch to Pirelli rubber for this year. Mike Bird still led the local challenge after his break issue had been resolved. Marty McCormack was still charging hard in the C2. A spin dropped him to 11th overall, but he still comfortably led the Citroen Racing Trophy from Robert Barrable and Adrian McElhinney. Daniel McKenna had a comfortable two-minute gap in the national rally.
The final loop of stages got underway with another passing of Belleville. McNulty was determined to make up time and took 7 seconds of MacHale, with Breen another & seconds back. But Gareth responded by taking a second back on stage eight. However the biggest surprise came on the final stage of the day with Craig Breen taking the stage win by four seconds. This was a fantastic time by Breen who lies second overnight, just over a minute behind Gareth MacHale. Tim McNulty finished an eventful day in 3rd overall, with Fisher 4th, Aaron MacHale 5th and Kevin Barrett 6th. A great fight has developed for 7th with only 10 seconds between Sean Flanagan, Alan Ring and Jer O’Donovan, with Mike Bird another 20 seconds behind. Marty McCormack brought his C2 back in 11th overnight. He said he was happy with his pace throughout the day, and was delighted with Dai Roberts on the notes. Daniel McKenna holds the overnight lead in the National Rally. Things are looking promising for tomorrow’s stages. Freezing overnight temperatures will surely test the crews.
UNOFFICIAL LEADERBOARD AFTER STAGE 9 – END OF LEG 1
1st (1) Gareth MacHale/Brian Murphy (Focus WRC) 1.12.43.4
2nd (9) Craig Breen/Gareth Roberts (Fiesta S2000) 1.13.51.0
3rd (2) Tim McNulty/Paul Kiely (Impreza WRC) 1.14.22.6
4th (7) Alastair Fisher/Rory Kennedy (Lancer N) 1.14.31.5
5th (4) Aaron MacHale/Eugene O'Donnell (Focus WRC) 1.14.44.2
6th (6) Kevin Barrett/Sean Mullally (Impreza WRC) 1.16.13.5
7th (29) Sean Flanagan/Brian Duggan (Impreza N) 1.18.11.1
8th (14) Alan Ring/Adrian Deasy (Lancer N) 1.18.18.8
9th (15) Jer O'Donovan/Sean Hayde (Impreza N) 1.18.23.1
10th (10) Mike Bird/Kevin Keane (Impreza WRC) 1.18.44.9
11th (30) Marty McCormack/Dai Roberts (C2R2 Max) 1.19.20.9
12th (41) Conor Harvey/Ger Callaghan (Civic R3) 1.19.23.0
NATIONALS:
1st Daniel McKenna (Escort): 1.16.05.0:
2nd Barry Meade (Escort: 1.18.11.0:
3rd Pat Kelly (Impreza) 1.20.49.3.
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