Ulster Rally Review

Photos: Photography by Jordan Murphy


Tim McNulty has taken the lead of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship after his first win on the Ulster Rally. Darren Gass took third, almost 2 mins behind McNulty. Round 3 winner Darragh O'Riordan took fourth ahead of former Championship leader Kevin Barrett.

Tim McNulty/Paul Kiely
Subaru Impreza WRC
1st o/a

The Meath man held second behind Derek McGarrity until he nudged ahead on SS12, before an exceptional run over SS13, snatching 18secs out of McGarrity. Try as me might, McGarrity couldn't pull back the time lost, winning the last stage by 3 secs. It wasn't enough, and McNulty secured his third win of the year.

Derek McGarrity/James McKee
Subaru Impreza WRC
2nd o/a

Darren Gass drove a controlled rally to take third. He conceded he wouldn't have the pace of regulars McNulty & McGarrity, but he was able to beat O'Riordan and Barrett. In Championship terms, O'Riordan took third placed points and Barrett fourth placed points because of Gass not being registered for points.

Darren Gass/Enda Sherry
Subaru Impreza WRC
3rd o/a

In the Rally NI, Garry Jennings took the win ahead of the very impressive Marty McCormack. McCormack took his Citroen DS3 to second place ahead of the Renault Clio of Tommy Doyle. Doyle took the Pirelli Star Driver yellow jersey for his achievement. McCormack's win was the first time a 2WD car had won an event in the BRC in over 10 years, the last time being Mark Higgins's win in the Vauxhall Astra kit car on the Manx International in 2000.

Garry Jennings/Rory Kennedy
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX
1st Rally NI

“I can’t believe it. It’s amazing to have won. We started off by being fasts on the first stage and then were able to hold the lead for the whole rally. It’s absolutely brilliant and I’m very happy to be the first winner in a two-wheel-drive car for so many years. Full dues must go to Santeloc, Citroen and to everybody in the team for their work. It’s been a tough week for the them, but the car has been fantastic and I must pay tribute to the team.” said McCormack.

Marty McCormack/Dave Moynihan
Citroen DS3
2nd Rally NI
1st BRC

BRC leader David Bogie took third in the BRC rally and fourth in Rally NI. With the threat of rain throughout Friday afternoon, Bogie was concerned about tyre choice, but he seemed to have chosen the correct tyres by the time the rain came on Friday night. A scant 5 secs behind was Jonny Greer. The local driver had a difficult Leg 1 of the rally, when his rear diff packed up, leaving the Fabia in 2WD drive. Elfyn Evans took 6^th at the end after dropping 3 mins on the opening stage with a puncture.

Tommy Doyle/Liam Moynihan
Renault Clio R3
3rd Rally NI
2nd BRC

David Bogie/Kevin Rae
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX
3rd BRC

In the Ulster Historic Rally, Dessie Nutt's Porsche 911 took a convincing win in Category 1, 5 mins ahead of Rikki Profitt's similar car. Category 2 saw David Stokes win by 2 mins over Mark Falvey. Category 2 saw the Top 8 being filled with 8 Ford Escorts. Tomas Davis in his Escort won Category 3 over Connor Corkill. The FIA Class saw Jimmy McRae make a winning return to the Ulster lanes, winning by 1 min 51 secs over John Keatly. Indeed, it could have been a bigger margin, had McRae not incurred a 1 min road penalty.

Dessie Nutt/Geraldine McBride
Porsche 911
1st Historic Category 1 

David Stokes/Guy Weaver
Ford Escort MK1 RS1600
1st Historic Category 2

Tomas Davis/Eurig Davis
Ford Escort MK2 RS1800
1st Historic Category 3

Pat Kirk won the Ulster National Rally by 1 min 42 secs over Geoffrey Dolan's Talbot Sunbeam. Niall Henry took his Subaru to third overall, 11 secs behind Dolan. Rising star Amy Cox took second in Class 6, only 11 secs behind winner Alan Atcheson. George Robinson in his Subaru Impreza WRC lead until SS10, when he crashed out of the rally.

Pat Kirk/Peter Ward
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX
1st o/a Ulster National Rally

Jack Rowe put in an impressive performance in his Ford Fiesta R2 to win both rounds of the BRC challenge double-header. The first day saw Rowe win by 2 mins 44 secs over Jamie Brown's Fiesta ST, whilst the second day saw Rowe's winning margin reduced, though he still won by over 30 secs.

If there was to be a 'crash of the rally' award, it surely would have gone to Alex Laffey. Laffey's Fiesta was thrown into a multiple end-over-end roll on the Tardree stage. Both driver & navigator Chris Williams escaped serious injury, Williams suffered a broken collar bone. Such was the damage to the Fiesta, a silence descended over the service park when it was brought in on the back of a recovery lorry. Williams later thanked the rescue team who and the medical team who brought him to hospital.

Marty McCormack getting a good soaking!

Pirelli Star Driver Tommy Doyle

'Big Tim' having a laugh.