1999 Erne Safari Rally Report
9 April 1999
The resurgence of navigation rallies in Northern Ireland over the last 2 years continued last weekend at Enniskillen. 40 crews started the Erne Safari rally, an event that struggled 5 years ago to attract half the number. A compact 75-mile route west of Enniskillen was well judged for both drivers and navigators.
Leading the pack at the end of the night was Eric and Glenn Patterson, their little Riley Elf having only 2 minutes penalty. This was the sort of performance that landed them last year's championship and it was nice to see them back in top form. Second overall and first Class 2 crew went to another father and son pairing, this time Trevor and Ricky Reid on 22 minutes penalty, while a third father/son team Philip and Brian Dorman were third on 43 minutes penalty. Notable retirements were John Henderson and Lloyd Cochrane, whose Sunbeam drove into a ditch, and Tom and William Brown, whose Sierra 4x4 fried its clutch rescuing the Sunbeam.
Class 3, on easier instructions, was won by Barry and Kris Meeke who managed not to incur any penalties at all, while the large Class 4 enty was won by the local crew of C Dunleavy and R Lindsay from Florencecourt.
The Stanley Gordon Oils championship now couldn't be closer at the top. The Dormans have only a one point lead over the Pattersons going into the long summer break, with the next round being Dungannon on 10 September 1999.
Results:
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Patterson/Patterson Riley Elf 2 minutes
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Reid/Reid Escort 22 mins
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Dorman/Dorman Nova 43 mins
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Young/Boyd Sierra 45 mins
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Lindsay/McCollum Mini 47 mins
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Falloon/White Escort 62 mins
Posted by PMcCollum on 23/2/2010; Last updated by PMcCollum on 23/2/2010