Gass leads Ulster overnight

ITRC points leader Darren Gass will carry a 15.4 sec lead into Day 2 of the 2012 Todds Leap Ulster Rally after 6 demanding stages.

The day began dry with the first loop comprising of the infamous Knockboy, Torr Head and Glendun. Baking sun greeted the crews as they tackled the first loop, with not a cloud in sight. Gass lead into service with Derek McGarrity second and Darragh O'Riordan third. Garry Jennings spun his hired Subaru Impreza WRC right around in front of GRN's resident photographer, losing precious time.

The second loop saw the National runners added into the mix, along with the Ulster Rally, Rally NI, Ulster Historic Rally and the BRC Challenge event. The top runners managed to avoid the heavy rain that fell at the end of the loop, almost catching out a lot of crews.

After the end of the second loop, which ended the day, Gass continued to lead, but this time by an amazing 15 secs over McGarrity. 11 of those seconds came from the second run over Torr Head, when a perfect tyre choice helped Gass extend his lead up to 15 secs. Garry Jennings will remain third overnight, 1 min off of the lead in his Subaru.

Behind the Top 3, Darragh O'Riordan sent his Subaru up a bank, losing 20 secs. The debris spread about by O'Riordan's excursion caused Alastair Fisher, Joe McGonigle and Desi Henry punctures, dropping them 2 mins plus.

Robert Barrable is fifth overnight, ahead of Sam Moffett, Steve Perez and Stephen Wright round out the surviving Ulster Rally crews. Willie Mavitty didn't survive the first day, but will re-join tomorrow under Rally 2 regulations.

In the Rally NI section of the rally, Keith Cronin is rocketing away from the opposition in his Citroen DS3. He maintains a 55.6 sec lead over Elfyn Evans' Ford Fiesta R2. 29 secs back is Johnny Greer, who displaced Osian Pryce for third over the final test.

Tommy Doyle holds fifth place in his newly acquired DS3, adjusting to his new mount rapidly. Tom Cave is breathing down his neck however, only 1 sec behind. Mark Donnelly is seventh after Cave got by on the day's final test.

Guy Wilks is on his first event out in a few years, piloting the little Renault Twingo R2 Evo into eighth place. Reported low sun on SS6 cost the former British Rally Champion a few seconds. Jukka Korhonen and Matthew Cathcart round out the Top 10.

In the Ulster Historic Rally, Tomas Davies leads a quartet of Ford's in his Escort MK2. 1 min 10 secs separates the Top 4, with Julian Reynolds, Ernie Graham and Tim Pearcey in the other 3 Ford's. Rob Smith's Vauxhall Chevette and Keith McIvor's Porsche 911 round out the Top 6.

Richard Sykes holds a comfortable 30 sec advantage over Jon Armstrong in the Ulster Challenge Rally. Times are fairly spread out in the Challenge Rally, with just under 6 mins separating the eight runners.

The sole MINI John Cooper Works WRC in the rally currently leads the Ulster National Rally overnight, with Derek McGeehan piloting his example perfectly along the tight lanes to command a 21.9 sec lead overnight. Going well in second place is Ulster Rally newcomer Frank Kelly, complete with new 'special' half shafts (designed for transferring 300+bhp from the engine to the road). Less than 2 secs behind Kelly is Camillus Bradley's bright orange MK2 Escort in third.