Stafford storms SS9
The old saying of there being many a slip between cup and lip is very true. The slip in this instance is the slip that Andrew Purcell had with his car on the last stage of the day, well a spin to be more precise. It turned an 11″ advantage into just over 4″ of a deficit, not something he would have been thinking of overnight. Having said that, he was just happy to have made James Stafford work so hard to get the overnight lead. The last stage of the day also saw Gary Kiernan drop out with a mechanical problem, Stephen McCann being the driver to step into the provisional overnight podium spot.
Richard Moffett is less than 2″ back in 4th with 38″ to spare over Wesley Patterson in 5th, the latter is on somewhat of a charge so watch what happens here. Earlier we told you of the battles behind this, there is only 11.6″ between Patterson in 5th & Mickey Conlon in 8th, Richie Moore and Leon Galvin are between the two of them, this has to be the best top 10 dice we have had for many years and Tomás O’Rourke is only 12.2″ behind in 9th and has only 11.5″ to spare over Darren O’Brien in 10th. The tenths of a second in timing in the Wexford rally is only relatively new, we wonder will they decide some of the top 10 places by the end of the rally, watch this space.
What we have so far, and what Angus Sealy has posted as the provisional overnight leaderboard
Results for the Main Field category
| O/A | Car | Driver/Codriver | Make | Class | Pos | SS9 | Road | Total | Diff 1st | Diff Prev |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (+1) | 1 | James M Stafford/Jeff Case | Darrian T90 GTR | 14 | O/A | 4:38.9 | 0:00 | 52:34.1 | ||
| 2 (-1) | 6 | Andrew Purcell/Liam Brennan | Ford Fiesta | 5 | O/A | 4:55.2 | 0:00 | 52:38.3 | 0:04.2 | 0:04.2 |
| 3 (+2) | 5 | Stephen McCann/Damien Fleming | Ford Fiesta R5 | 5 | O/A | 4:50.8 | 0:00 | 54:08.6 | 1:34.5 | 1:30.3 |
| 4 (=) | 9 | Richard Moffett/Martin Connolly | Toyota Starlet RWD | 14 | 1 | 5:13.1 | 0:00 | 54:10.4 | 1:36.3 | 0:01.8 |
| 5 (+2) | 8 | Wesley Patterson/Johnny Baird | Ford Escort RS Mk2 | 14 | 2 | 4:50.2 | 0:00 | 54:49.2 | 2:15.1 | 0:38.8 |
| 6 (=) | 4 | Richard Moore/John McGrath | Ford Escort Mk2 | 14 | 3 | 4:54.4 | 0:00 | 54:52.3 | 2:18.2 | 0:03.1 |
| 7 (+2) | 16 | Leon Galvin/Ger Foley | Ford Escort Mk2 | 13 | 1 | 4:55.4 | 0:00 | 54:59.4 | 2:25.3 | 0:07.1 |
| 8 (=) | 101 | Mickey Conlon/Ciaran McPhilips | Ford Escort Mk2 | 14 | 4 | 4:59.0 | 0:00 | 55:00.8 | 2:26.7 | 0:01.4 |
| 9 (+2) | 7 | Tomas O’Rourke/Tomas Scallan | Hyundai I20 R5 | 5 | 1 | 4:57.9 | 0:00 | 55:13.0 | 2:38.9 | 0:12.2 |
| 10 (+2) | 17 | Darren O’Brien/Eamonn Creedon | Honda Civic | 13 | 2 | 5:07.1 | 0:00 | 55:25.2 | 2:51.1 | 0:12.2 |
| 11 (+3) | 21 | John Reddington/Kenny Bustard | Ford Fiesta | 20 | 1 | 5:00.0 | 0:00 | 56:06.2 | 3:32.1 | 0:41.0 |
| 12 (+1) | 11 | Paul Rowley/Darragh Mullen | Ford Fiesta | 5 | 2 | 5:04.6 | 0:00 | 56:10.8 | 3:36.7 | 0:04.6 |
| 13 (+2) | 26 | Justin Smyth/James McEneaney | Ford Escort Mk2 | 12 | 1 | 5:05.5 | 0:00 | 56:18.4 | 3:44.3 | 0:07.6 |
| 14 (+2) | 23 | Adrian Evans/Martin Henry | Ford Escort Mk2 | 14 | 5 | 5:05.5 | 0:00 | 56:38.5 | 4:04.4 | 0:20.1 |
| 15 (+2) | 22 | James Bradley/David Byrne | Ford Escort | 12 | 2 | 5:12.9 | 0:00 | 57:08.6 | 4:34.5 | 0:30.1 |
| 16 (+2) | 33 | Alan Nesbitt/Rodney Hughes | Ford Escort | 14 | 6 | 5:14.6 | 0:00 | 57:36.8 | 5:02.7 | 0:28.2 |
| 17 (+2) | 29 | John Boland/William Treacy | Ford Escort Mk2 | 12 | 3 | 5:10.4 | 0:00 | 57:42.6 | 5:08.5 | 0:05.8 |
| 18 (+3) | 30 | Conor Moore/Leo Tector | Ford Escort Mk2 | 14 | 7 | 5:13.8 | 0:00 | 58:18.0 | 5:43.9 | 0:35.4 |
| 19 (+3) | 20 | Andrew Fanning/Derek Gibbs | Proton Millington | 20 | 2 | 5:19.6 | 0:00 | 58:32.1 | 5:58.0 | 0:14.1 |
| 20 (+3) | 35 | Eoin Duffin/Mike Cleary | Ford Escort Mk2 | 14 | 8 | 5:15.5 | 0:00 | 58:38.3 | 6:04.2 | 0:06.2 |
| 21 (+3) | 53 | Andy Nash/Dan Nash | Honda Civic Vtec | 11F | 1 | 5:16.9 | 0:00 | 58:49.4 | 6:15.3 | 0:11.1 |
| 22 (+4) | 55 | Barry Murphy/Mikie Maher | Subaru N14 | 20 | 3 | 5:19.5 | 0:00 | 59:16.5 | 6:42.4 | 0:27.1 |
| 23 (+2) | 36 | Bobby Hennessy/Darragh Smyth | Honda EG6 | 13 | 3 | 5:29.4 | 0:00 | 59:22.0 | 6:47.9 | 0:05.5 |
| 24 (+4) | 56 | Tommy Kelly/Andy Firman | Ford Escort Mk2 | 11R | 1 | 5:19.7 | 0:00 | 59:31.8 | 6:57.7 | 0:09.8 |
| 25 (+5) | 34 | Paschal O’Shea/Robert Hennessy | BMW 325 | 14 | 9 | 5:24.8 | 0:00 | 59:47.6 | 7:13.5 | 0:15.8 |
| 26 (+5) | 39 | JT Warnock/Kieran Rafter | Ford Escort | 13 | 4 | 5:24.9 | 0:00 | 59:48.9 | 7:14.8 | 0:01.3 |
| 27 (+5) | 46 | Sam Stewart/Stephen Peoples | Ford Escort Mk2 | 11R | 2 | 5:22.8 | 0:00 | 59:51.2 | 7:17.1 | 0:02.3 |
| 28 (+6) | 51 | John O’Rourke/Brian Commons | Opel Corsa | 12 | 4 | 5:22.8 | 0:00 | 59:54.7 | 7:20.6 | 0:03.5 |
| 29 (+4) | 69 | Shane Murray/Gary Hade | Ford Escort | 13 | 5 | 5:24.8 | 0:00 | 59:54.7 | 7:20.6 | |
| 30 (-3) | 43 | Tommy Foley/David Doyle | Honda Civic | 11F | 2 | 5:50.7 | 0:00 | 59:56.5 | 7:22.4 | 0:01.8 |
| 31 (+4) | 95 | Kieran O’Kane/Barry McGleenon | Opel Ascona | 14 | 10 | 5:17.0 | 0:00 | 1:00:01.0 | 7:26.9 | 0:04.5 |
| 32 (+4) | 49 | Richie Dalton/Ger Brett | Subaru Impreza N11 | 4 | 1 | 5:26.3 | 0:00 | 1:00:22.3 | 7:48.2 | 0:21.3 |
| 33 (+4) | 41 | William Nolan/Shane O’Mahony | Toyota Corolla Twin Cam | 11R | 3 | 5:25.8 | 0:00 | 1:00:22.6 | 7:48.5 | 0:00.3 |
| 34 (+4) | 57 | Mark Hayden/Peter Ryan | Ford Escort Mk2 | 13 | 6 | 5:50.4 | 0:00 | 1:00:54.6 | 8:20.5 | 0:32.0 |
| 35 (+4) | 45 | Tony Canny/Joe O’Brien | Ford Escort Mk2 | 13 | 7 | 5:24.9 | 0:00 | 1:01:05.2 | 8:31.1 | 0:10.6 |
| 36 (+4) | 63 | Ken Power/Andrew McCormack | Peugeot 106 GTi | 11F | 3 | 5:38.6 | 0:00 | 1:01:24.3 | 8:50.2 | 0:19.1 |
| 37 (+4) | 97 | Darragh Rafferty/Aoife Rafferty | Peugeot 208 | 2 | 1 | 5:38.6 | 0:00 | 1:01:46.2 | 9:12.1 | 0:21.9 |
| 38 (+4) | 58 | Kenny O’Brien/Gavin Croke | Vauxhall Nova | 9A | 1 | 5:42.4 | 0:00 | 1:02:05.5 | 9:31.4 | 0:19.3 |
| 39 (+4) | 102 | Paul Dowling/Myles Redmond | Peugeot 106 GTi | 11F | 4 | 5:42.1 | 0:00 | 1:02:27.7 | 9:53.6 | 0:22.2 |
| 40 (+5) | 73 | Peter Keohane/Brian Keohane | Peugeot 106 GTi | 1 | 1 | 5:35.2 | 0:00 | 1:02:29.5 | 9:55.4 | 0:01.8 |
| 41 (+3) | 60 | James Boland/John McCay | Ford Fiesta | 2 | 2 | 5:47.3 | 0:00 | 1:02:33.4 | 9:59.3 | 0:03.9 |
| 42 (+4) | 68 | Anthony Roche/Tomas Delaney | Toyota Starlet | 13 | 8 | 5:35.7 | 0:00 | 1:02:35.2 | 10:01.1 | 0:01.8 |
| 43 (+4) | 74 | Sean Kenny/William Lynch | Honda Civic EK4 | 1 | 2 | 5:41.0 | 0:00 | 1:02:45.4 | 10:11.3 | 0:10.2 |
| 44 (+4) | 64 | Shane Curry/Sharon Nolan | Citroen C2 R2 | 2 | 3 | 5:45.3 | 0:00 | 1:02:59.0 | 10:24.9 | 0:13.6 |
| 45 (+4) | 47 | John Pettit/Michael Coleman | Ford Escort Mk2 | 11R | 4 | 5:51.1 | 0:00 | 1:03:09.1 | 10:35.0 | 0:10.1 |
| 46 (+4) | 61 | Denis Maher/JP Ruth | Honda Civic | 2 | 4 | 6:18.6 | 0:00 | 1:03:51.8 | 11:17.7 | 0:42.7 |
| 47 (+4) | 76 | Ryan Brennan/Nigel Brennan | Honda Civic 1.6VTI | 1 | 3 | 5:46.7 | 0:00 | 1:03:55.3 | 11:21.2 | 0:03.5 |
| 48 (+4) | 75 | Graham Bradley/Gary Bradley | Honda Civic | 11F | 5 | 5:54.1 | 0:00 | 1:04:06.8 | 11:32.7 | 0:11.5 |
| 49 (+4) | 71 | Ger Kelly/Des Curtis | Peugeot 205 GTi | 10 | 1 | 5:58.6 | 0:00 | 1:05:17.4 | 12:43.3 | 1:10.6 |
| 50 (+4) | 78 | Iain Morris/Neville Hudd | Ford Escort Mk2 | 13 | 9 | 6:00.0 | 0:00 | 1:05:25.0 | 12:50.9 | 0:07.6 |
| 51 (+4) | 65 | Ollie McPhillips/Billy Collins | Honda Civic | 2 | 5 | 5:58.9 | 0:00 | 1:05:27.1 | 12:53.0 | 0:02.1 |
| 52 (+4) | 67 | Fran Kinsella/Stephen McElroy | Vauxhall Nova | 10 | 2 | 5:52.8 | 0:00 | 1:05:44.3 | 13:10.2 | 0:17.2 |
| 53 (+5) | 89 | Paul Quinlan/Sean Lambert | Ford Fiesta Mark 1 | 12 | 5 | 5:49.1 | 1:30 | 1:06:32.0 | 13:57.9 | 0:47.7 |
| 54 (+6) | 90 | Neil Harrison/Simon May | Ford Puma | 9A | 2 | 6:10.9 | 0:00 | 1:07:13.5 | 14:39.4 | 0:41.5 |
| 55 (+4) | 82 | Padraig Gorman/Shane Gorman | Toyota Starlet RWD | 10 | 3 | 6:15.5 | 0:00 | 1:07:13.5 | 14:39.4 | |
| 56 (+5) | 99 | Paul McConnell/Kevin Cogan | Honda EK9 | 11F | 6 | 6:08.1 | 0:00 | 1:07:53.0 | 15:18.9 | 0:39.5 |
| 57 (+5) | 77 | Brendan Furlong/Jack Harris | Peugeot 205 GTi | 10 | 4 | 6:11.3 | 0:30 | 1:08:15.2 | 15:41.1 | 0:22.2 |
| 58 (+5) | 86 | Joey Leacy/Michael Leacy | Ford Escort | 11R | 5 | 6:04.9 | 0:00 | 1:09:08.0 | 16:33.9 | 0:52.8 |
| 59 (+5) | 28 | Neil Tohill/Gerard Tohill | Mitsubishi Evo 10 | 4 | 2 | 5:31.6 | 0:45 | 1:11:25.8 | 18:51.7 | 2:17.8 |
| 60 (-40) | 27 | Aled Davies/Jason Davies | Ford Escort Mk2 | 13 | 10 | 18:39.1 | 0:45 | 1:12:25.3 | 19:51.2 | 0:59.5 |
| 61 (+4) | 100 | Kenneth Murphy/Patrick Kelly | Honda Civic | 9A | 3 | 6:29.9 | 0:00 | 1:13:02.1 | 20:28.0 | 0:36.8 |
| 62 (+4) | 91 | John Barry/Eddie Byrne | Austin Mini | 9 | 1 | 6:50.8 | 0:00 | 1:14:34.6 | 22:00.5 | 1:32.5 |
| 63 (+4) | 93 | Martin O’Dowd/Shane O’Dowd | Talbot Sunbeam | 10 | 5 | 6:29.5 | 0:00 | 1:15:35.1 | 23:01.0 | 1:00.5 |
| 64 (-35) | 52 | Mark O’Connor/Dean Kelly | Ford Escort Mk2 | 11R | 6 | 20:16.5 | 1:15 | 1:15:52.3 | 23:18.2 | 0:17.2 |
| 65 (+3) | 79R | Pierce Snr Doheny/Eilish Dunne | Opel Corsa | 10 | 6 | 6:27.8 | 0:00 | 1:23:57.8 | 31:23.7 | 8:05.5 |
| 66 (+3) | 83R | Owen Cardiff/Dermot Roche | Vauxhall Nova | 9A | 4 | 5:56.0 | 0:00 | 1:24:45.0 | 32:10.9 | 0:47.2 |
| 67 (+4) | 59R | Andrew Leacy/Andrew Curran | Darrian T9 | 13 | 11 | 5:23.4 | 0:00 | 1:31:42.9 | 39:08.8 | 6:57.9 |
| 68 (+2) | 81R | George Leech/Conor Flynn | Opel Corsa | 10 | 7 | 6:26.8 | 0:00 | 1:32:22.9 | 39:48.8 | 0:40.0 |
Results for the Historic category
| O/A | Car | Driver/Codriver | Make | Class | Pos | SS9 | Road | Total | Diff 1st | Diff Prev |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (=) | 19 | Neil Williams/Anthony O’Sullivan | Ford Escort | 18 | 1 | 5:12.4 | 0:00 | 56:31.6 | ||
| 2 (=) | 66 | Ian Davies/Wyn Thomas | BMW BMW M3 | 19 | 1 | 5:53.0 | 0:00 | 1:03:47.6 | 7:16.0 | 7:16.0 |
