Jennings back to winning ways

Editorial Department • Published 3 Jun 2010 16:00 0 Comments

Share this

Garry Jennings claimed the Group N victory at the Cavan Rally. Photos by www.kgrally.com

Garry Jennings returned to winning ways on Sunday with Group N victory on the Cavan Stages Rally, and he was one of a number of Fermanagh drivers to top their class. Stephen Baxter, Johnny Leonard and Alan McMahon also claimed class wins in classes six, five and three respectively. For Garry Jennings it has been a frustrating year to date, with fast stage times not being reflected in overall results due to a variety of mechanical problems. Although Cavan was not a round of the Irish Tarmac Championship, Gary was still keen to post a good result as he continues his preparation for the Donegal International Rally next month. The Ballinamallard driver started brightly and established the Group N lead at an early stage. It was a lead he was never to relinquish despite a series of late dramas. With three stages remaining he had a comfortable lead, but then an unfortunate series of punctures saw him drop down the overall standings to seventh.

"I had three punctures on the last three stages," he explained. "I was trying to make one set of tyres do all day, and I was driving very sideways so I was being sore on the tyres. I probably lost about two minutes in total, and a couple of the Escort guys caught me in the last few stages."

Despite the time loss he still finished with a minute advantage over his nearest Group N rival, and the event felt helped restore his confidence before the next round of the Irish tarmac series. "It was a good shakedown for Donegal. I will rebuild the engine now and I'm really looking forward to it providing I get an entry."

Stephen Baxter also produced a start to finish win in class six. Partnered by Richard Cathcart's regular co-driver Martin Brady he brought his Fiesta R2 to the finish over a minute clear of the second placed driver. Jonny Leonard and Jackie Donaldson are having a great season in the Northern Ireland Championship and they brought that form south of the border to clinch a convincing victory in class 5, while Alan McMahon and Benny Grainger, making a rare appearance in their Honda Civic, completed a quartet of Fermanagh class winners with success in class three.

This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 03 Jun 10

Return to the main index, get more from this section or browse our Sport archives.