Gass on his way to ITRC title

Darren Gass wrapped up an impressive win today at the Junction One finish of the Todds Leap Ulster Rally.

Darren Gass
1st Overall

Alongside regular co-driver Enda Sherry, Gass flew throughout the day, going from a 15 sec lead to a 1 min 12 sec winning margin over the ever spectacular Garry Jennings. Though less spectacular, Gass was always in control, and a spin on SS2 coupled with various problems in his hired Subaru Impreza WRC lost Jennings the time and concentration he could not afford to lose.

Garry Jennings
2nd Overall

Darragh O'Riordan rounded out the podium finishers of the Ulster Rally section, barely 2.7 secs ahead of the absolutely flying Robert Barrable. Barrable actually went fastest on the final test in his Skoda Fabia S2000, and came oh so close to third place.

Darragh O'Riordan
3rd Overall

Steve Perez managed to edge his uniquely liveried Ford Focus RS WRC into fifth place ahead of Sam Moffett. Moffett now takes control of the Irish Tarmac Production standings ahead of Garry Jennings. It remains to be seen whether or not Jennings will return to his normal Group N Mitsubishi Lancer Evo for the Cork '20' Rally or will he once again get behind the wheel of a WRC car to try and clinch his maiden ITRC Driver's Championship win.

Stephen Wright and Willie Mavitty both round out the Ulster Rally finishers, with Mavitty rejoining under SupeRally rules after retiring on Day 1.

Derek McGarrity had ran in second place overall and was keeping Gass honest and in check until his gearbox gave way. It was suggested a shaft had broken in the gearbox but whatever happened McGarrity had no gears and consequently no result.

Keith Cronin
1st Rally NI

In the Rally NI section, Keith Cronin ran away with the BRC honours in his Citroen DS3 R3. Finishing 1 min 37 secs ahead of the extremely committed Elfyn Evans, Cronin now sits atop of the BRC Driver's table, well on his way to winning his third BRC title. Osian Pryce cut it fine at the finish, taking third only 5.4 secs ahead of home hero Johnny Greer. He was greeted with champagne celebrations in his service area by his crew in the final service halt before the finish ramp. The Welsh ace was also awarded the Pirelli Star Driver award, putting him into the final season shoot out for a fully funded works drive in next year's BRC.

Elfyn Evans
2nd Rally NI

Tommy Doyle was out on only his second event in his brand new Citroen DS3 R3, and only his first event on the dry roads. Prepared immaculately by the Philip Case Rallysport team, Doyle's rally was a very up-down one. A puncture (caused by a very large nail sticking out of the tyre) and a wrong tyre choice coupled with the difficulties involved with getting to grips with such a different car were to cost him time, but it is only a matter of time before he is on his usual manic, committed and winning pace. Nevertheless, he took a fine fifth place against the cream of the BRC's crop.

Osian Pryce
3rd Rally NI

Tom Cave took sixth place in another of the dominant DS3's. Cave accumulated 50 secs worth of penalties for being late into service. A very lonely seventh place went to Matthew Cathcart in his Ford Fiesta. Callum Black took eighth in his DS3, with David Carney and Kevin O'Connor in ninth and tenth place respectively in their Citroen C2 R2 Max's.

Many, many crews failed to finish the demanding 14 stages. Mark Donnelly suffered overheating problems in his Renault Clio R3, Jukka Korhonen also suffered mechanical problems. Guy Wilks, on his first event in 2 years, was having a good rally up until SS14 when his car caught fire after an engine oil leak. Many crews crashed out of the rally, including Alastair Fisher, Desi Henry, Joseph McGonigle and Jussi Kumpumaki, who rolled his Fiesta out.

Julian Reynolds
1st Historic

After a massive back and fourth battle between Julian Reynolds Tomas Davies over the final stages of the Ulster Historic Rally, Reynolds managed to snatch the lead on the final test by a scant 3.5 secs over the final test. Davies was forced to settle for second, 1 min 41.3 secs ahead of Ernie Graham in third.

Rob Smith came in fourth in his Vauxhall Chevette, ahead of Will Onions in fifth place. Keith McIvor survived a massive moment on SS12 in his Porsche 911, almost spinning his Porsche before coming extremely close to hitting a collection of extremely hard trees. He managed to get away, and took sixth.

The second part of the BRC Challenge took place over the second day of the Ulster Rally. Day 2 was a repeat of Day 1, with Richard Sykes taking another win, 54 secs ahead of Jon Armstrong. Russ Thompson took third again in his Renault Clio, committed as ever.

This time however, Gareth White took a very lonely fourth. The rest of the Challenge were very spread out, with over 10 mins covering the 8 finishers. Adam Taylor took fifth with James Watts in sixth. Rounding out the finishers were Richard Archer and Tony Simpson in seventh and eighth place, respectively.

Frank Kelly
1st Ulster National Rally

Frank Kelly scored a popular win today on the Ulster National Rally in his rapid Ford Escort MK2. Hounded by Camillus Bradley and Derek McGeehan right to the end, Kelly's usual on-(and over)-the-edge driving style did the business today, as well as scaring a few spectators on SS12 when he locked up from flat in 6^th gear into a square left! A scant 8.7 secs covered the Top 3, with the rest of the field quite far behind.

Pat Kirk won Group N in the National field, taking fourth in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo. Alastair Cochrane took fifth, only 0.3 secs behind Kirk. Drew Stewart's Ford Escort MK2 took sixth, 1 min 41 secs off of the lead.

Insurance broker Fintan McGrady took seventh in yet another of the rapid Ford Escort MK2's, with Ian Miller's Subaru Impreza in eighth. There was a fierce debate in the forests of SS12 over which sounded better, the MK2 Escort's or Miller's Subaru. The debate was settled once the Audi Quattro running as course car blasted through the stage!