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Round 4 2008 ALMC Stages
CITY NORTH HOTEL ALMC STAGES RALLY
Round four of the Irish 205 challenge took place on the ALMC stages rally based out of the City North hotel close to Dublin. Ten competitors made the start of the event with three loops of three stages based in north Meath to be tackled on a day that could have delivered any sort of weather, making tyre choice difficult.
Early pace setter over the first stage was Ulton McGowan co driven by Niall Burns stopping the clocks 3 seconds faster than Dj Browne a good time as he settled with stand in co driver Piaras O Callaghan. Aidan Cooney/Paddy McDonagh and Andy Slattery/Shaun Forde came through next, separated by 6 seconds but down 10 seconds to the leaders. Also dropping time was Barry Mahon/Mark Feely down 16 seconds. Sean Sharkey co driven by cousin Des had a torrid first stage, hitting a bale and spinning dropping 20 seconds to the fastest. Shane Burns, Damien McGuaran and Richard Guerin also setting similar times to Sharkey. Joe Ward completed all the cars through stage one on his second event in the challenge.
Stage two saw McGowan again fastest, Browne was 2 seconds slower. Burns was third quickest 11 seconds down, holding on to third place overall. Slattery and Sharkey were just 1 second apart, Cooney a further 2 seconds back, having spun twice and McGauran also 2 seconds further back. Guerin/Donal Balfe again kept pace with this bunch with Ward/Paul Guerin also improving their pace with each stage. Mahon lost some time with a misfire but still held fifth.
Stage three was cancelled, so it was service next before the next loop. McGowan and Browne went equal fastest on stage four, leaving just 5 seconds between them. Cooney, Slattery, Sharkey, Mahon and Burns would be within 5 seconds of each other, all seven drivers within 9 seconds of the fastest time. McGauran spun in here dropping time as did Guerin and Ward.
Stage five was a fast stage, Cooney went quickest by 1 second from Mahon with Slattery 3 seconds down. The top two dropped a few seconds in here, McGowan adding 3 seconds to his lead over Browne. Burns and Sharkey were separated by one second with McGauran also showing good pace but would stop on the next road section with a blown engine. Guerin was showing signs of working hard behind the wheel but continued to lose time. Ward was in the same boat but with some electrical trouble as his cause.
Stage six saw Cooney and McGowan share fastest time with Slattery 1 second back. Browne dropped 4 seconds to the leaders with Mahon just 1 second behind him. Sharkey went well on the stage losing just ten seconds and lucky to be still in the rally after fuel pump trouble. Burns also on good form, 4 seconds down on Sharkey.
Stage seven was wet for the crews and Mahon made the most of his tyre choice, 16 seconds faster than leader McGowan to reduce the gap by half. Browne went second quickest to share the lead with McGowan who struggled in the stage. Slattery moved himself ahead of Cooney on the stage into fourth place. Burns came next with McGowan only able to set fifth fastest time along with Cooney.
Stage eight would be telling for the top three, Browne went 5 seconds faster than McGowan to take the lead. Fastest through the stage was Slattery on 7.58 with Cooney setting the same time as Browne on 8.03. Mahon came next 2 seconds down followed by McGowan. Sharkey and Burns matched each other on 8.10. Guerin and Ward held their places in eight and ninth.
The final stage was an eight mile run over the hills close to Bellewstown with plenty to catch out the drivers. The top five all had a fight on their hands. Browne had his first win in sight, McGowan was 5 seconds down but had a championship to think about, Mahon needed a strong result and was only12 seconds behind McGowan. Slattery and Cooney were locked in a battle all day, Slattery with a 6 second advantage and could not catch Mahon for third but could easily lose out on fourth place to Cooney.
As it happened Sharkey went fastest, Browne and Mahon shared second fastest taking 5 seconds from McGowan who was next followed by Burns. The drama was for fourth place when Slattery was slowed by electrical trouble. Cooney was ahead on the road and pushing hard, maybe a little to hard as he slid off on the very final downhill corner losing enough time to settle the result.
So ended a brilliant day on the stages, a fourth different winner from four events and a winning margin of just 12 seconds with third place a further 6 seconds back. Many thanks to all the marshals and organizers for an excellent days rallying.
Final Results..
Browne 1.10.23
McGowan 1.10.35
Mahon 1.10.41
Slattery 1.10.59
Cooney 1.11.26
Burns 1.11.39
Sharkey 1.12.06
Guerin 1.14.30
Ward 1.20.31
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