The fast and furious 206s have been locked in a ding-dong battle all season with Gallagher the third different Championship leader. Improving all season he must take his maiden victory soon, having missed the top spot on the last two rounds by a mere five seconds on both events.

    In fact nearly every event this season has less than ten seconds separating the top two, even after 150 miles of competitive stages. Every second counts!

    Jennings is well placed however. With two wins and a second place, his roll and subsequent 13th place on the Quinton Rally still leave him 6.5 points clear of Marko Ramanen . The Finn won the Scottish Rally in June but blotted his copy book by crashing out on the asphalt of the Jim Clark Rally.

    Only half a point further back after the Quinton is previous Championship leader Mike Faulkner who rebuilt his car in two weeks after a massive shunt on the same event as Ramanen. An event win also eludes the amiable Scot who has been a stalwart of the Peugeot one make series over the last few years. Fifth in the 206 Super Cup standings is Geordie Chris Moore who has had a mixed season winning the Rally of Wales and Quinton but retiring on the first half of the Gateshead Rally, Scottish and Jim Clark. Moore is definitely fired up and pronounces himself ready to give the Irish lads a run for their money.

    The second half of the top 10 is led by the Dunbabin twins who have a pair of fourth places to their credit followed by another of the Irish drivers, Gareth MacHale. Dubliner Gareth showed well on the asphalt of the Jim Clark and is one to watch in Ulster as he prefers this surface to gravel.

    Eighth, and the only driver other than Gallagher to have scored on all the rounds of 206 Super Cup, is Andy Pawley. He shares the same points as MacHale but is squeezed out of seventh by the tie break rule.

    The top ten is rounded out by Scot Jack Ingleby and Midlander Richard Sykes both of whom have set excellent times on individual stages and should do well if a little of the Irish luck comes their way.

    The Junior Championship top places exactly mirror the main points table with Jack Ingleby third, MacHale fourth and newcomer David Wright rounding off the top five. Rookie Championship leader Mike Bird from Galway is expected to take part to maintain his healthy lead over Matt Jessup and fellow Irishman Graham McClintock. Bird also leads the Hella most improved category.

    The Ulster Rally is the sixth round of the 206 Super Cup and the 130 miles of bumpy asphalt will prove a stern test of the competitorsí mettle. The rally HQ is the Europa Hotel in Belfast with the start and finish ramp in the nearby Donegal Place.

    Competitors arrive there on Friday at 12.30 to give the fans chance to see the cars before the 14.00 start. The first car finishes Leg 1 in Belfast at 23.00 after six spectacular stages around Co Antrim. An early bird restart at 05.10 on Saturday sees the competitors blasting through nine stages in Co Tyrone and Londonderry before their return to the finish in Belfast at 16.00.

    Several of the eighteen 206 Super Cup crews have worked tirelessly in repairing their cars after accidents on the Quinton rally but the six week gap before Ulster will mean the fierce competition will be in immaculately turned out cars.

    Peugeot 206 Cup Championship positions: