Garry Jennings claim the win at this years Tour of the Sperrins as WRC star Josh McErlean suffered mechanical issues at the first stage of the event.
After a busy night making his return to the Tour of the Sperrins possible, unfortunately Josh McErlean has stopped on the first stage with suspected gearbox issues.
Garry Jennings stormed into the lead as Desi Henry loses time with an overshoot and Joe McGonigle took extra caution suspecting he punctured his Citroen C3 Rally2 after hitting a rock early on.
The crews where full of praise for the final stage of this morning’s loop. The high-speed test over the mountain was bathed in April sunshine – a rally driver’s dream.
Garry Jennings set Crockandun’s benchmark to extend his early lead as Desi Henry gets accustomed to his Volkswagen Polo R5, climbing up the leaderboard after a stage one overshoot.
The Tour of the Sperrins’ leading two-wheel-drive crews are putting on a cracking show this afternoon. One tenth of a second separated David Bogie and Gareth Irwin through Gortanewry. Irwin’s charge brought him within 0.3 seconds of second-placed Damian Toner with two stages to go.
Garry Jennings and Rory Kennedy powered on to complete a perfect day aboard their new Ford Fiesta Rally2 to take a well deserved win on the Sperrins’ fantastic stages.
Aidan Wray and Paddy McCrudden claimed second spot while Ryan Cauldwell and Stephen O’Brien made up the rest of the top 3 in their Skoda Fabia.
A solid drive by Aaron McLaughlin and Darren Curran on the Tour of the Sperrins ensures they double their tally of top scores in this year’s Brown & Brown NI Rally Championship. Gareth Irwin and Justin McAuley took the 2WD class win.
