LOUGHRAN HOLDS ON... JUST
Organiser: Donegal Motor Club When: January 25 Where: Termon, County Donegal Starters: 75 Stages: Six
Ryan Loughran said he had never been forced to drive as hard as last weekend on his way to victory on the Donegal Mini Stages by
4.1 seconds at the wheel a
Ford Escort Mk2.
Loughran and co-driver Gareth Doherty lost brakes on the 10-mile opening stage and suffered on fast sections of SS2 with their wet tyre choice, which meant they sat 7.1 seconds behind Kevin Gallagher’s Darrian T90 GTR at the first service.
Gallagher then retired on the following stage due to an accident, promoting Loughran into the lead. Paul Reid moved into second despite hitting a rock on SS1, which had a detrimental effect on the steering of his Escort.
Reid finally had an uninterrupted pass over the
Lough Keel stage on the third attempt (SS5), having been stopped by blockages on the previous runs. However, his lack of experience there proved costly.
He lost out to eventual runnersup Damian Gallagher and Mac Walsh in their Escort Mk2.
It was to get worse for Reid, who retired on the closing stage with mechanical woes.
Expecting gravel on the road, Gallagher took care on SS1 and reported “moments” on SS2 to sit fifth, almost 20s off top spot.
On the second loop and with a harder tyre the Escort Mk2 driver moved into contention, just 3.3s behind Loughran with one stage remaining. He was unable to make further inroads on the final stage and had to settle for second.
Johnny Jordan had a good start to the season with an “unexpected” third after a big moment on the penultimate stage. The Toyota Starlet, with Paddy Mccrudden on the notes, was sixth after the first loop and made two places on the Lough
Keel repeat before taking the final podium place, 1m4s behind Gallagher.
Turkey Run and Dogleap winner Aaron Mclaughlin was in a Mitsubishi Lancer E9 and took fourth alongside Darren Curran.
Marty Toner and Sharon Clarke Moore had a steady performance to fifth in their Escort Mk2, ahead of William and Demi Mcfadden in a G3-version Escort. The Ramelton driver found his tyre choice did not suit SS2, stalled on SS3 and could not reverse before suffering throttle issues at the finish of SS5.
JR Mcdaid was cautious and said it was not his day so did not push over the closing miles. Seventh, though, was the result with Eamonn Doherty, followed by another Escort Mk2 driven by Paddy Mcdaid and Timmy Lunn who had a costly SS4 spin, with just 0.3s separating the two crews.
Starlet crew Christy Gallagher and Lee Cullen won their class in ninth, moving from 17th after SS1. Alexander Cochrane and Chris Johnston climbed up the leaderboard in a similar fashion to complete the top 10.
Pinto-powered James Cassidy had thought his seeding at 10 was ambitious but finishing 11th he was not far from the prediction following a mistake at a chicane forcing the Meath man to reverse his Escort Mk2.
Results
1 Ryan Loughran/gareth Doherty (Ford Escort Mk2) 50m14s; 2 Damian Gallagher/mac Walsh (Escort Mk2) +4.1s; 3 Johnny Jordan/paddy Mccrudden (Toyota Starlet); 4 Aaron Mclaughlin/darren Curran (Mitsubishi Lancer E9); 5 Marty Toner/sharon Clarke Moore (Escort Mk2); 6 William/demi Mcfadden (Ford Escort G3);
7 JR Mcdaid/eamonn Doherty (Escort Mk2); 8 Paddy Mcdaid/timmy Lunn (Escort Mk2); 9 Christy Gallagher/ Lee Cullen (Starlet); 10 Alexander Cochrane/chris Johnston (Escort Mk2).
Class winners: Eamonn Sweeney/john Coll (Honda Civc); Eamonn Kelly/conor Mohan (Ford Fiesta); Patrick Fitzpatrick/james Mceneaney (Escort Mk2); Kevin Mclaughlin/conal Mcnulty (Civic); Gallagher/cullen; James Cassidy/domhnall Lennon (Escort Mk2); Toner/ Clarke Moore; Mcdaid/lunn; Neil Brogan/danny Cannon (Civic); Mclaughlin/ Curran.