Derek McGarrity and Graham Henderson won the Eakin Bros BJT Maiden City Stages Rally by 0.7s on Saturday with drama throughout the event.
Derek McGarrity and Graham Henderson grabbed the early advantage at the Eakin Bros BJT Stages Rally, Based at Shackleton in Ballykelly, near Limavady, the VW Polo crew were fastest by an impressive 3.2s ahead of their rivals.
Jonny Greer and Niall Burns moved into the lead of the Eakin Bros BJT Maiden City Stages Rally on stage 2. Driving their Citroen C3, the crew set the pace by an impressive 4.9s from early leader Derek McGarrity who dropped to second, 1.7s behind the new leaders.
Jonny Greer and Niall Burns extended their lead to 2.9s through the third stage, while second placed McGarrity lost time behind another crew for the third stage in succession.
Derek McGarrity and Graham Henderson surged into the Eakin Bros BJT Maiden City Stages Rally lead after Jonny Greer and Niall Burns hit trouble during stage 4.
Greer’s Citroen didn’t sound healthy through the stage and appeared to be down on power. He didn’t want to stop too long at the service in control, instead rushing to get back to his service crew who pounced on the car.
And sadly that was it for Greer & Burns who had to retire the car on stage 5.
Derek McGarrity and Graham Henderson have a commanding lead of 11.9s over Gareth Sayers and Gareth Gilchrist in their Fiesta. with one stage to go.
A spin on the final stage almost saw them lose control of the rally at the last gasp but they clung on to seal victory at what was round three of the McGrady Insurance NI Championship.
Gareth Sayers and Gareth Gilchrist almost nabbed the win but they had to settle for second. A hard-charging Desi Henry and Paddy Robinson saw them net fastest time and the crew moved into third overall as a result, demoting Aaron McLaughlin and Darren Curran to fourth.
The next event is the Tour of the Sperrins on Saturday May 20th.
