2003 Firecracker Rally Report

7 November 2003

Eddie Murphy and Barry Taggart won the Firecracker Rally, the last round of the Northern Ireland Navigation Rally Championship.  They had a faultless run in their Vauxhall Nova, and finished on 2 penalties. 

The rally was decided around the 60 mile mark, when the route instructions made up of clock face diagrams caused Phil and Alan Dorman initially to go off on the wrong route.  By the time they had corrected their mistake, the rally had been lost.  But they did finish runners up on the rally on 8 minutes, and champions for the year, after 5 previous victories.

Leslie Young/Lewis Boyd were another crew to be put off course by those clock faces, and that left them in a tie for 3rd place with Graeme Smyth/Jonathan Charlesson.  Young/Boyd clinched the place on the further cleaner rule.  Charlesson was in an unfamiliar car, as his regular driver, Stephen Wishart, was enjoying his honeymoon.

The Novice Class was a remarkably close fought rally, with the top 8 crews finishing on 12 penalties or less.  Clifford Auld/John Lindsay won for the second time this year, finishing on 6 penalties, 1 penalty ahead of John Stafford/Morris Kyle.  There was a three-way tie for third, with the furthest cleanest rule being needed again to sort the positions out.  Paul Gray/Jim Smith were awarded 3rd, and with it the runners-up spot in the class championship.  Father and son, John and Jonathan Henderson were 4th and Eddie Robinson/Alan Shilliday were 5th in their Peugeot 106.

Patrick McCollum

Results

Overall

  1. Eddie Murphy/Barry Taggart            Vauxhall Nova     2 mins
  2. Phil Dorman/Alan Dorman               Vauxhall Nova     8 mins
  3. Leslie Young/Lewis Boyd               Ford Sierra       22 mins
  4. Graeme Smyth/Jonathan Charlesson      Peugeot 106       22 mins
  5. Paul Biggerstaff/Alan Cromie          Vauxhall Astra    39 mins
  6. Willie McKeown/Patrick McCollum       Vauxhall Corsa    48 mins

Experts

  1. Eddie Murphy/Barry Taggart            Vauxhall Nova     2 mins
  2. Phil Dorman/Alan Dorman               Vauxhall Nova     8 mins
  3. Leslie Young/Lewis Boyd               Ford Sierra       22 mins
  4. Paul Biggerstaff/Alan Cromie          Vauxhall Astra    39 mins
  5. Willie McKeown/Patrick McCollum       Vauxhall Corsa    48 mins

Semi-Experts

  1. Graeme Smyth/Jonathan Charlesson      Peugeot 106       22 mins

Novices

  1. Clifford Auld/John Lindsay            Triumph 2.5Pi     6 mins
  2. John Stafford/Morris Kyle             Mini Clubman      7 mins
  3. Paul Gray/Jim Smith                   Ford Escort Mk I  8 mins
  4. John Henderson/Jonathan Henderson     Talbot Sunbeam    8 mins
  5. Eddie Robinson/Alan Shilliday         Peugeot 106       8 mins
  6. William Todd/Maurice Cresswell        Vauxhall Corsa    9 mins
  7. George Wallace/Stephen Wallace        Ford Sierra       11 mins
  8. Patsy Branney/Andy Gilmore            Skoda Favorit     12 mins
  9. Chris Ragg/James Woods                Mini              21 mins
  10. John Adams/Mervyn Elder              Peugeot 205       37 mins
  11. Alan Millar/Keith Patterson          Nissan Almera     56 mins
Posted by PMcCollum on 26/9/2008; Last updated by PMcCollum on 26/9/2008