Irish crew take top two places at Roger Albert Clark Rally
Draperstownâ's Marty McCormack and Magherafeltâ's Barney Mitchell (Ford Escort RS1800) won the five-day Roger Albert Clark Rally that finished in Carlisle. Pic: Martin Walsh.
There were joyous scenes at the finish of the final stage of the Roger Albert Clark Rally as Irish crews took the top two places. After five gruelling days of rallying, Draperstown’s Marty McCormack (Ford Escort RS1800) co-driven Magherafelt’s Barney Mitchell, took his fourth victory in the event that finished in Carlisle yesterday (Monday) afternoon. Omagh’s Cathan McCourt (Escort RS1800) and Millstreet native Liam Moynihan took second place - five minutes and 30s behind.
There was drama all through the event that covered stages in Wales, Scotland and England. On Sunday evening long time leader Oliver Solberg lost the lead when the axle of his Escort RS1800 snapped and also broke a driveshaft to end the leg in fourth place - 27s off second spot. At the final overnight halt, McCormack was four minutes and 57s ahead of the Lancia Stratos of Seb Perez and his Irish co-driver Gary McElhinney with McCourt/Moynihan 15s further behind in third.
Solberg’s car was repaired and he began the final leg of five stages with his sights set on finishing runner-up. The Swede pushed hard through the morning’s opener but all went awry when he slid off the road close to the stage end.
Meanwhile, McCormack kept a safe pace and entered the last stage (S.S.33) over five minutes ahead of Perez with McCourt just 30s behind. The 63km stage wasn’t without its drama when Perez slid his Lancia Stratos off the road about half way through the stage and McCourt netted second place. Welsh driver Jason Pritchard (Ford Escort RS1800), who lost time with two punctures on the penultimate leg and had slipped to fifth overnight set the best time on the final stage to complete the podium line-up. Elsewhere, Tyrone’s Vivian Hamill and his Mayo co-driver Andrew Greenan (Ford Escort RS1800) finished sixth and the Ulster crew of Robert Woodside/Dean Beckett (Porsche 911) were ninth in general classification.
At the end of the final stage a delighted McCormack, who also won the event in 2019 and 2017 with Mitchell as his co-driver and in 2012 when he was co-driven by Phil Clarke said, “I just can’t believe it, that was a tough one. It’s been a real fist fight the whole way but here we are.’ Reflecting on the epic encounter he added, “When I was stuck in a ditch on Dalbeattie on Saturday I wouldn’t have said that I would be standing here today. It’s not about being fast all the time, it’s about being there at the finish. Barney (Mitchell - his co-driver) has been legendary, on Friday when I scared both of us (certainly myself) he put his hand up and said, right, that’s enough.” Meanwhile, a delighted McCourt, who had little experience of driving the Ford Escort on gravel events remarked, “Our plan was to keep our nose clean, we’ve done that and probably proved a lot of people wrong. A lot of people had me out on the first stage. I’m so glad to be here, second is phenomenal for me. It’s been five long days, little sleep, living out of a camper van but, sure, I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
1. M. McCormack/B. Mitchell (Ford Escort RS1800) 5h. 48m. 26s; 2. C. McCourt/L. Moynihan (Ford Escort)+5m. 30s; 3. J. Pritchard/P. Clarke (Ford Escort RS1800)+6m. 56s; 4. D. James/E. Jones (Ford Escort RS1800)+ 16m. 36s; 5. M. Stuart/S. Young (Ford Escort RS1600)+16m. 45s; 6. V. Hamill/A. Grennan (Ford Escort RS1800)+23m. 09s; 7. D. Mennell/S. Brown (Ford Escort RS1800)+23m. 19s; 8. P. Thompson/J. Davison (Ford Escort RS1800)+23m. 40s; 9. R. Woodside/D. Beckett (Porsche 911)+27m. 06s; 10. B. Smith/S. Smith (Ford Escort RS2000)+29m. 37s.
