Stephen Wright and Ger Conway have secured victory at the Eurocables Belfast Kirkistown Stages in a nail biting finale at the opening event of the NI Rally Championship.
Stephen Wright and Ger Conway dominated the opening stage of the Eurocables Belfast Kirkistown Stages Rally. In damp, slippery conditions, the Fiesta powered crew set fastest time by an impressive 5.1s from the Citroen belonging to reigning champion Jonny Greer and his navigator, Brian Crawford.
Derek McGarrity and Graham Henderson were less than a second further back with Joe McGonigle and Ciaran Geaney fourth ahead of another former champion, Stuart Biggerstaff.
In stage 2, Stephen Wright and Ger Conway continued to lead the event but Jonny Greer and Brian Crawford closed the deficit by 2.4s, leading them trailing the rally leaders by 2.7s.
Greer fitted a softer compound tyre for the test and the change worked wonders as he powered through to fastest time. Meanwhile, Wright revealed he reckons he lost a couple of seconds behind another competing car on the opening test but he had no such trouble on stage two.
In third, Derek McGarrity also fitted a different set of tyres for the stage and he was much closer to the leading pace. Just a few tenths behind Wright on the stage, eight-times champion McGarrity and navigator Graham Henderson continue to hold third overall in his VW Polo GTi R5.
As we approached the halfway mark, and a change to the stage layout, rally leader Stephen Wright fended off the charge from Jonny Greer through the third test, taking one-tenth of a second out of the chasing Citroen. The gap between the pair now stands at 2.8s at the event midpoint.
Third placed Derek McGarrity’s challenge began to fade. He was a further seven seconds adrift and needed to keep an eye on his mirrors with Aaron McLaughlin now on a charge, just over a second behind.
Gareth Sayers and Gareth Gilchrist dropped behind McLaughlin to fifth, just a few seconds ahead of Stuart Biggerstaff who switched to a harder compound tyre for the stage and felt it took too long for them to start working.
In the 2WD category, Jason and Gareth Black pulled out a little bit of a gap at the top of the tables. They had five seconds in hand over James and Heather Kennedy, while Jamie Grant and Jonny Chambers are up to third ahead of Kyle White.
The heavens opened ahead of the start of stage four before eventually easing off again. Tyre choice was a little bit of a lottery but both Stephen Wright (pictured) and Jonny Greer seemed to get it right.
For the second stage in a row, the two crews were separated by just one-tenth of a second, with Wright edging the fastest time once again. With two stages to go, 2.9s separate them. It’s all to play for.
A final stage shoot-out was on the cards at Kirkistown Race Circuit after second placed Jonny Greer took almost two seconds out of rally leader Stephen Wright through the fifth stage!
With one stage remaining and only 1.2s separating the two crews, things are really heating up in the battle for the Eurocables Belfast Kirkistown Stages spoils!
So this was it the final stage and despite Challenger Jonny Greer was fastest through the sixth test Wright held on tight to win the rally by just one-tenth of a second!
Second placed Jonny Greer tried hard to reel in his rival over those closing miles but with his Citroen running in class 10, and with less power than his rivals class 11 Fiesta, he had his work cut out.
Nonetheless, Greer still secures maximum McGrady Insurance Championship points, getting his title defence off to the best possible start.
Aaron McLaughlin rounded off the podium positions with Gareth Sayers and Derek McGarrity completing the top 5. Jason and Gareth Black won the RWD Class with James and Heather Kennedy winning the historic class respectively.
Round two of the McGrady Insurance Motorsport UK Northern Ireland Rally Championship takes place next month. The Race & Rally Stages at Bishopscourt Race Circuit is scheduled for 11th March.
