Bust fuel pump ends Raymond’s title hopes

Editorial Department • Published 12 Aug 2010 16:00 0 Comments

Raymond Johnston’s hopes of winning Group N in the Northern Ireland Rally Championship were all but extinguished on Saturday when mechanical failure ended his challenge on the Dogleap Rally. In contrast, Marc Johnston had a trouble free run to fifth overall and third in group N, while Jonny Leonard took another step towards a championship class win with maximum points in class one.

Raymond Johnston went into the forestry event knowing he needed a good finish to get his season back on track, but he was only two miles into the opening stage when fuel pump problems ended his event. Despite having started the year with a Group N victory on round one, Raymond now has three non finishes from six rounds and his hopes of going one better than last year when he took second in the championship look to be over.

For Marc Johnston, however, there was no such ill-fortune. Driving a Mitsubishi Marc made a steady start and built his speed up as the event progressed. For much of the day he was locked in battle with the similar car of Ian Cochrane, but on the penultimate stage he pulled clear with a time that was good enough for third fastest overall. He eventually finished in fifth place and on the Group N podium, 16 seconds ahead of Cochrane.

In class one, Jonny Leonard and Jackie Donaldson continued their relentless charge towards class success. For the fifth consecutive event the pair claimed maximum points in their Fiesta, and the Northern Ireland class title now looks a formality with four rounds still to run. Derrygonnelly’s Kris Farrell failed to add to his championship points when he retired his Proton on the last stage of the rally. The next round of the series is the locally based Lakeland Stages Rally on 11 September.

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This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 12 Aug 10

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