Kirkistown
The opening event saw a surprise winner at Kirkistown Stephen Wright and Ger Conway in a nail biting finale. Stephen Wright and Ger Conway dominated the opening stage of the Eurocables Belfast Kirkistown Stages Rally.
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.
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.
Bishopscourt
Jonny Greer and Niall Burns extended their championship lead with a commanding victory at Bishopscourt.
Drama on the final test saw Desi Henry break a shaft near the stage finish. Derek McGarrity was unable to get around the car and hit the back of the Citroen before pushing it over the stage finish line. Both crews lost time and at the moment, it appears as though Gareth Sayers has taken second from McGarrity.
Joe McGonigle spun, hit the trackside tyres and stalled, dropping him down the order. Jason Dickson also lost time with an incident that forced him to reverse. Their dramas allowed Stuart Biggerstaff to climb three places up to fifth overall, while Gareth Sayers and Gareth Gilchrist hold on to fourth.
Maiden City Stages
Derek McGarrity and Graham Henderson won the Eakin Bros BJT Maiden City Stages Rally by 0.7s on a day of pure drama throughout the event.
Derek McGarrity and Graham Henderson grabbed the early advantage but Jonny Greer and Niall Burns moved into the lead of the Eakin Bros BJT Maiden City Stages Rally on stage 2.
They then extended their lead on stage 3 however they 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.
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.
Tour of the Sperrins
Organised by Magherafelt and District Motor Club, Jennings eventually arrived home victorious in his Ford Fiesta R5 by five seconds after a day-long battle over six closed road stages with the Citroen C3 belonging to Jonny Greer and Niall Burns.
It was reigning champion Greer who was quickest out of the blocks in his Citroen. He emerged from the opening stage with a 1.4s lead over Jennings but that was to be his only fastest time of the day.
Instead, Jennings started to reel his rival in on stage two, clawing back slender amounts of time before moving to the head of the leaderboard after the third stage.
It was Jennings who had the edge and by the end of the six-stage event, he had done enough to secure his first rally win in over four years.
Jonny Greer and Niall Burns had to settle for second position on this occasion but that was enough to secure maximum championship points. Jennings is not registered for the series so a maximum score for Greer eases a little bit of pressure off the Carryduff man’s shoulders after his retirement from last month’s third round.
In third overall was Desi Henry who’s day was thwarted by a bad tyre choice for the morning loop of stages.
Down Rally
A polished drive in tricky conditions handed Cathan McCourt a first Down Rally victory on Saturday, whilst Jonathan Greer played it safe to seal a third straight Northern Ireland Championship title.
Not registering for the series meant that McCourt & Brian Hoy could run a bigger turbo restrictor on his Ford Fiesta Rally2 car and the extra grunt paid dividends as he finished top of the pile by 46.3 seconds.
Fourth was all Greer required to successfully defend his drivers’ title on his home round of the Championship.
Drew Stewart takes the 2WD title in his MK2 Escort. Emma McKinstry claims top honours in the Womens category while Olivia Chambers claimed the co-drivers women class.
In the junior section Michael McGarrity got the better of Sean Scanlon in the Down Rally to be crowned junior champion.
In the FIA FWD Class Sean Scanlon came up short as well with Michael Nutt winning that class. Finally Jimmy Mills won the historic class in his Ford Escort RS 1800 MKII.
