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Bird flies across Manx roads but lead is put in jeopardy |
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Monday, 14 May 2007 |
Paul Bird holds a narrow lead in the battle for the honours in round three of the Hankook MSA Gravel Rally Championship, the RBS International Manx Rally, after leg one on Friday but after picking up a problem he is facing a race against time to fix his car for re-start on Saturday.
A wet and foggy outlook provided some drama to the opening five stages of action. Bird and co-driver Andy Richardson, in the Pirelli shod Stobart VK Subaru WRC, lie 7.2 seconds ahead of the Subaru Impreza WRC of Roger Duckworth and Mark Broomfield but they suffered a scare as they stopped on the road section on the way back to service after damaging the radiator in the water splash on stage five. The pair managed to get the car back to service just in time but the issue puts Bird’s lead in jeopardy but it is hoped the problem will be resolved by the TEGSport team and that the crew can carry on in the morning.
“We’re really hoping that we can get the problem fixed by the morning
so we can continue,” Bird said. “Up until then the event had been going
well.”
Duckworth earlier suffered a problem with a misfire but it did not
prevent him from setting the pace across stage five as he sits 17.7
seconds ahead of four-time event winner Kenny McKinstry and Noel Orr.
Jon Ingram, on his first Gravel Championship outing of the year,
finished the day fourth overall in his Highgrove Estates Subaru Impreza
WRC. Ingram and co-driver Ian Allsop set the pace over stage four and
were second quickest on stage five, he earlier passed series leader
Steve Perez in the third test.
Fifth placed Marcus Dodd in the Hyundai Accent WRC set the second
fastest time on stage one but slipped off the pace across the following
four tests as the rain continued to make conditions poor across the
tarmac surface with fog later adding to the competitors woes as vision
was marred.
Leading Group N runner Phil Morrow ended the day in sixth. Morrow and
stand-in co-driver Daniel Barritt passed three cars across the five
tests and suffered with an engine cut-out problem on stage two.
The rally continues tomorrow with a further 10 stages starting from the Grandstand at 8.45am.
Provisional results after leg one:
1, Paul Bird/Andy Richardson (Subaru Impreza) 0:35:03.4
2, Roger Duckworth/Mark Broomfield (Subaru Impreza) 0:35:10.6
3, Kenny McKinstry/Noel Orr (Subaru Impreza) 0:35:21.1
4, Jon Ingram/Ian Allsop (Subaru Impreza) 0:36:06.3
5, Marcus Dodd/Andrew Bargery (Hyundai Accent) 0:36.17.5
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