Eves snatches victory on final stage

Editorial Department • Published 26 Jul 2012 13:00 0 Comments

Kevin Eves snatched victory on the final stage of the Campbell Contracts Rally Time Trial, with his best time of the day leapfrogging him from third to first on the Clarke's Quarry based event in Lisnaskea.

Driving a Mitsubishi Evo, Kevin was behind both Enda McNulty and Neill Harron with one test remaining, but he covered the stage over a second faster than McNulty, and with Harron's failure to record a time Kevin found himself at the head of the leader board, 1.3 seconds clear.

The return to a quarry setting proved a very popular move by Enniskillen Motor Club and the event attracted a strong entry, with the relatively affordable entry fee helping to boost competitor numbers. The format saw drivers tackle the route six times without the help of a navigator, with their best three times counting towards their overall total. With each stage taking less than two minutes the format led to a very closely contest battle for honours, with mere seconds separating the leading contenders in most classes.

In class one Trillick's Damian McAleer edged home less than a second ahead of James McGovern, both in Toyota Corollas. Class two was dominated by Mitsubishi Evos and was even tighter, ultimately decided by four tenths of a second. The top award went in favour of Eamon Mimnagh ahead of Marc Johnston.

In class three Trillick's Leroy Mills missed out on the top spot by less than two tenths of a second, but in class five Andrew McMahon's victory was relatively straightforward.

The Fivemiletown driver brought his Peugeot 106 home six seconds clear of Dermott O'Hagan, with Nigel Hodgins a further second back in third.

In class seven Shane McGirr went into the event as favourite, and he justified his pre-event billing by claiming the top spot in the class, as well as the prestigious honour of being the first two wheel drive car home.

Jonny Leonard was sharing a car with McGirr, and he brought the unfamiliar Toyota Starlet home second in class seven behind its owner.

Frank Kelly claimed the Stewart Clarke trophy for the fastest stage time by a Ford Escort.

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This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 26 Jul 12

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