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Shackleton Rally
John Bradley, with Ryan Crozier on the notes, secured his first career victory at the Shackleton Rally, the event moving from Londonderry and previously known as the Lark in the Park.
The Ford Escort Mk2 duo finished eight seconds clear of PJ Mcdermott’s S12B Subaru Impreza WRC.
At the finish, 26-year-old Bradley cut a happy but equally surprised figure as the win was confirmed.
“We thoroughly enjoyed the day; everything went well. We even managed a few big slides!” he said.
The lead swapped hands at the halfway point when the tyres on Mcdermott’s car started to go off. In warm and bright conditions, Mcdermott lost further time when he spun and stalled his Impreza.
That opened the door for Bradley, who turned an eight-second deficit into a four-second advantage.
Bradley cemented his position with second and fourth fastest times on the closing two asphalt tests.
The final spot on the rostrum went to the returning Pauric Duffy, who used the event as preparation for the Monaghan Stages Rally the following day. He finished two seconds in arrears of Mcdermott and blamed the time loss on being unable to perfect his braking points around the EX-RAF airfield.
The husband and wife pairing of James and Heather Kennedy (Ford Escort Mk2) did well to hang on to Duffy’s coattails, but a change of tyre compound for the fourth test was to prove their undoing.
In Group N, Neil Kirkpatrick and Richard Livingston were the sole starters and took the spoils in their Mitsubishi Lancer, while Robert Reilly and Eamon Conway (Honda Civic) were the first front-wheel- drive crew home. Despite dropping two spots over the final short stage, they held on to beat James Leckey and Ciaran Carey (Peugeot 106). Results 1 John Bradley/ Ryan Crozier (Ford Escort Mk2) 23m13s; 2 PJ Mcdermott/ Niall Burns (Subaru Impreza WRC) +8s; 3 Pauric Duffy/ Kevin Glynn (Ford Fiesta R5); 4 James Kennedy/ Heather Kennedy (Ford Escort Mk2); 5 Barry Morris/ Declan Campbell (Ford Escort Mk2); 6 John Bonner/ Denver Rafferty (Ford Escort Mk2); 7 Fintan Mcgrady/ Drew Wylie (Ford Escort Mk2); 8 Chris Mcgurk/ Liam Mcintyre (Mitsubishi Lancer E9); 9 Seamus Morris/ Jarlath Kelly (Darrian GTR); 10 Robert Reilly/ Eamon Conway (Honda Civic).
Class winners: Michael Nutt/ Dessie Nutt (Honda Civic); Neil Kirkpatrick/ Richard Livingston (Mitsubishi Lancer E9); Stephen Caldwell/ Daryl Sproule (Vauxhall Corsa); Reilly/ Conway; Ryan Mccusker/ Barney Mitchell (Ford Escort Mk2); John Bradley/ Ryan Crozier (Ford Escort Mk2); Bonner/ Rafferty; Mcgurk/ Mcintyre; Mcdermott/ Burns (Subaru Impreza WRC); Pauric Duffy/ Kevin Glynn (Ford Fiesta R5).