Donnelly leads Rally of the Lakes

Even though he was some 20 seconds adrift after the opening stage of the Ordnance Survey/Gleneagle Hotel Rally of the Lakes, Eugene Donnelly, in his Subaru WRC has moved into the lead after eight of today’s eleven stages.

Local Killarney driver, Donie O’Sullivan, in a hired McKinstry Subaru WRC, was the sensation of stage one, Moll’s Gap where he took an early five second advantage over the Subaru of Austin MacHale with Derek McGarrity third, a mere second behind.

McGarrity took the lead on the second stage and held it to the Glengarriff service halt where Donnelly had cut the deficit to a mere tenth of a second.

Austin MacHale slotted his Subaru WRC into third even though he had the wrong tyres for the slippery stages in the Beara Peninsula.

O’Sullivan was fourth with Cork driver, Liam McCarthy (Toyota Corolla WRC) completing the top five.

Stages 7 and 8 were good stages for Donnelly who has taken an 11. 2 second lead over McGarrity. MacHale and Donie O’Sullivan continue to hold third and fourth respectively, but the latter is under some pressure from the Toyota Corolla WRC of Liam McCarthy.

Andrew Stewart (Mitsubishi) has a slender lead in Group N. The Subaru of Trevor Cathers is just 1.5

seconds in arrears.

The top ten is completed by Maurice Gass (Subaru WRC), Dickie Curran (Mitsubishi) and Tim NcNulty (Subaru WRC).

Eamonn Boland punctured and lost over four minutes, he is just outside the top ten. Peadar Hurson has retired his Subaru WRC.

1. Donnelly 1h. 8m. 17.0s.

2. McGarrity 1h. 08m. 28.2s.

3. MacHale 1h. 08m. 46.1s.

4. O’Sullivan 1h. 09m. 23.2s.

5. McCarthy 1h. 09m. 43.3s.

6. Stewart 1h. 11m. 21.5s.

7. Cathers 1h. 11m. 23.0s.