2003 Circuit of Down Rally Report

21 March 2003

Phil and Alan Dorman took a second consecutive victory in the Northern Ireland Navigation Rally Championship on Newry and District's Circuit of Down Rally. There was a new Clerk of the Course for this rally, as David McElroy took over from the long standing Neil Fletcher. The event also moved further north from its previous territory. Based in Banbridge, the rally straddled the Armagh/Down border and finished in Gilford.

The rally began with a lot of head scratching for the navigators, as there had been an error in the measured mile set up for the event. This left most of the crews struggling to work out the average speed they should have been travelling. Although some crews worked out how to compensate for this quicker than others, it wasn't until the mid way break, when the navigators were able to discuss it together, that everyone got their trip meters recalibrated.

It had been a close battle all night for the lead, with only 1 penalty separating the top 3 crews at the half way halt. These were the winners of the last round, the Dorman brothers, on 5 minutes; last year's champions, Eddie Murphy and Barry Taggart on 6 minutes, and the winners of last year's event, Willie McKeown and Patrick McCollum, also on 6 minutes. Of these, Murphy/Taggart missed a control to drop them to 4th by the end. Willie McKeown and Patrick McCollum continued to trade single minutes with the leaders, despite their trip meter failing at half way. It ended with the Dormans (Nova) on 12 minutes and McKeown/McCollum (Corsa) on 13, and it strengthens the championship lead for the Carrickfergus brothers.

Third overall were Stephen Wishart and Jonathan Charlesson, who climbed from 6th at the break by not missing any controls. This made it the second consecutive 1-2-3 finish for Queen's University Motor Club. In fifth were the local crew of father and son, Trevor and Ricky Reid, out in their first event this year.

The Novice Class was also won by 1 minute, with David Gibson/William Hamilton (Escort) just edging out the Skoda of Patsy Branney/Andy Gilmore. The latter crew had been leading, but unfortunately an early arrival near the end cost them 2 penalties and the win. Both these crews did extremely well, as they amassed only 4 and 5 minutes penalties respectively. John Stafford/Martin McHugh had their best run yet in the fiercely competitive Novice class to finish 3rd in their Mini. Father and son, George and Stephen Wallace were 4th in their VW Golf, and the Peugeot 205 of Laurence Christie/Andy Whale did enough to maintain the lead of the class championship by finishing 5th. There were quite a high number of DNFs, with only 24 of the 30 starters finishing, and Chris Ragg/James Woods were one of these. They had looked set for a top 3 placing in the class until their Mini suffered a cracked manifold.

Robert McGimpsey, an experienced and successful competitor in many different motorsport disciplines, was having a rare attempt at night navigation, and indeed it proved successful, as he and his daughter, Leeann, had a convincing win in the Beginners' Class. They had been lying third at the half way halt, but unlike their fellow competitors, they found all the secret controls in the second half to earn victory. They finished almost 40 minutes clear of Hubert Scott and debutant navigator Richard Swanston. It had been a long day for Hubert, as he had driven from his home in Preston, England on the day of the event in his rally car. The winners of the first two rounds, Alistair and Jonathan McKane, were 3rd.

Patrick McCollum

Results:

Overall

  1. Phil Dorman/Alan Dorman Vauxhall Nova 12 mins
  2. Willie McKeown/Patrick McCollum Vauxhall Corsa 13 mins
  3. Stephen Wishart/Jonathan Charlesson Peugeot 106 40 mins
  4. Eddie Murphy/Barry Taggart Vauxhall Nova 47 mins
  5. Trevor Reid/Richard Reid Ford Escort 48 mins
  6. Paul Biggerstaff/Alan Cromie Vauxhall Astra 51 mins
  7. Leslie Young/Lewis Boyd Ford Sierra 80 mins
  8. DNF Gordon Simpson/Derek Graham Peugeot 306 - mins

Experts:

  1. Phil Dorman/Alan Dorman Vauxhall Nova 12 mins
  2. Willie McKeown/Patrick McCollum Vauxhall Corsa 13 mins
  3. Eddie Murphy/Barry Taggart Vauxhall Nova 47 mins
  4. Trevor Reid/Richard Reid Ford Escort 48 mins
  5. Paul Biggerstaff/Alan Cromie Vauxhall Astra 51 mins
  6. Leslie Young/Lewis Boyd Ford Sierra 80 mins
  7. DNF Gordon Simpson/Derek Graham Peugeot 306 - mins

Semi-experts:

  1. Stephen Wishart/Jonathan Charlesson Peugeot 106 40 mins

Novices:

  1. David Gibson/William Hamilton Ford Escort Mk I 4 mins
  2. Patsy Branney/Andy Gilmore Skoda Favorit 5 mins
  3. John Stafford/Tony McHugh Mini 21 mins
  4. George Wallace/Stephen Wallace Volkswagen Golf 25 mins
  5. Laurence Christie/Andrew Whale Peugeot 205 39 mins
  6. Clifford Auld/John Lindsay Triumph 2.5Pi 45 mins
  7. Colin Quinn/Pat Quinn Rover 214 74 mins
  8. William Todd/Maurice Cresswell Vauxhall Corsa 85 mins
  9. Paul Gray/Jim Smith Ford Escort Mk I 92 mins
  10. Gerald McQuaid/Barry Elmore 438 mins
  11. DNF John Henderson/Jonathan Henderson Talbot Sunbeam - mins
  12. DNF Michael Annett/Bryan Heaney Opel Ascona - mins
  13. DNF Chris Ragg/James Woods Mini - mins

Beginners:

  1. Leeann McGimpsey/Robert McGimpsey Mini 62 mins
  2. Hubert Scott/Richard Swanston Peugeot 106 101 mins
  3. Alistair McKane/Jonathan McKane VW Golf 102 mins
  4. Roy Allen/Nigel Campbell Rover 166 mins
  5. Graham Smith/Andrew Lyness Peugeot 106 259 mins
  6. Roy McCracken/Graeme Campbell Proton 306 mins
  7. Des O'Loan/Ryan O'Loan Subaru Impreza 512 mins
  8. DNF Sam Paul/Kenneth Paul Talbot Sunbeam - mins
  9. DNF Maurice Kyle/John Hughes Seat - min
Posted by PMcCollum on 26/9/2008; Last updated by PMcCollum on 26/9/2008