HENRY WINS AGAIN AND MOVES CLOSER TO NI TITLE
Ford Fiesta RS WRC driver comes out on top over the final stages to take hat-trick in 2019
Bushwhacker Rally
Organiser: Omagh Motor Club When: September 21 Where: Omagh, County Tyrone Championship: Northern Ireland Rally Championship Stages: 10 Starters: 68.
True to his word, top seed Desi Henry put his Ford Fiesta RS World Rally Car into V-max mode for the closing miles of Saturday’s Bushwhacker Rally to snatch victory in the final stages with Conor Mohan alongside.
The result is doubly significant as it puts Henry firmly in the mix to challenge for the Northern Ireland Rally Championship title. He has triumphed in all three rounds he has entered.
The Portglenone driver had to dig deep, however, as running first on the road meant that he was losing time carrying out ‘sweeping duties’ for those cars that were following in his tracks. It all meant that after the opening three stages Lithuanian visitor Martynas Samsonas was the surprise pacesetter.
His BMW M3X E46 had seven seconds in hand over R5 debutant Patrick O’brien, who was revelling in the performance of the Mckinstry Motorsport-owned Fiesta. Despite having to contend with a misfire which was traced back to an iffy boost valve, Niall Mccullagh in his Fiesta R5 was third. Scottish visitor Jock Armstrong was having a positive early run and shared fourth spot with Henry.
Samsonas had his lead trimmed after stages four and five as O’brien quickly began to gel with his Fiesta, while the extra grunt of Henry’s WRC car allowed him take third from Mccullagh.
Henry’s title rivals Stephen Wright (Fiesta R5) and Derek Mcgeehan (Mini JCW World Rally Car) were 10th and 11th as the pair struggled for speed and confidence. Derek Mcgarrity’s woes in the competition continued, meanwhile. Despite the intervention of M-sport between rounds, his Fiesta RS
WRC continued to be dogged by a seemingly incurable misfire.
Blue skies and sunshine made way for grey clouds and rain as the rally passed the mid-point but, despite his inexperience of the Omagh forests, Samsonas continued to look comfortable, recording top-three times on stages six, seven and eight to lead second-placed Henry by six seconds.
O’brien’s promising run was thwarted by turbo problems on SS8, with former Northern Ireland Rally champion Connor Mccloskey pulling out on safety grounds as his Subaru Impreza’s wipers refused to work.
A quickest time on the penultimate test for Henry, coupled with a blocked oil breather pipe on Samsonas’s BMW, turned the rally on its head as the leading duo traded places. With his nose in front, Henry cemented top spot with a second consecutive scratch time to make sure of maximum points by eight seconds.
In the two-wheel-drive category Adrian Hetherington emerged the winner – but only just. Shane Mcgirr led going into the final three-mile test but Hetherington, in his Escort Mk2, was not to be denied.
Results
1 Desi Henry/conor Mohan (Ford Fiesta RS WRC) 28m12s; 2 Martynas Samsonas/mindaugas Varza (BMW M3X E46) +8s; 3 Niall Mccullagh/ryan Mccloskey (Fiesta R5); 4 Conor Mccourt/caolan Mckenna (Fiesta R5); 5 Jock Armstrong/ Graham Henderson (Subaru Impreza N11); 6 Martin Cairns/ Peter Ward (Fiesta RS WRC); 7 Stephen Wright/liam Moynihan (Ford Fiesta R5); 8 Derek Mcgarrity/paddy Robinson (Fiesta RS WRC); 9 Martin Mckenna/martin Brady (Fiesta RS WRC); 10 Niall Henry/damien Duffin (Citroen DS 3 R5).
Class winners: Drew Chambers/wendy Blackledge (Peugeot 206 GTI); Austin Snow/john Henderson (Mitsubishi Lancer
E9); Damien Conlin/gareth Lewthwaite (Vauxhall Nova); Ruairi Maguire/cathan Mccourt (Vauxhall Corsa); Hugh Mcquaid/ Enda Gerety (Ford Escort Mk2); Shane Mcgirr/denver Rafferty (Toyota Starlet); Henry/mohan; Adrian Hetherington/gary
Nolan (Escort Mk2).