Garry Jennings dominated the Lurgan Park Rally, setting fastest time on every stage to win the high profile event by 13 seconds.  Local driver Johnny Leonard was also among the prizes as he took his Mitsubishi to eleventh overall and first in class, while Shane McGirr topped class three in his Toyota Starlet.

Any disappointment that Garry may have felt in failing to win the previous weekend’s Donegal International Rally was quickly brushed aside as he covered the first stage almost two seconds quicker than former Tarmac Champion Derek McGarrity, despite experiencing slippery road conditions.  With the roads lined by trees Lurgan Park can be a treacherous venue but Garry kept it neat and precise over the opening stages to open up a gap on the rest of the field. A slight overshoot on stage four cost him a few seconds but his lead remained intact and at the half way point of the eight stage event he held a six second advantage.

Garry continued his superiority over the second half of the rally as well, continuing to post fastest times in his Subaru. The chasing Mini WRCs of Derek McGarrity and Derek McGeehan had no answer to the Kesh driver’s times and Garry eventually secured his second successive Lurgan Park victory by 13 seconds.

Johnny Leonard has not had many competitive miles in his Mitsubishi this season and he felt he took a while to get settled behind the wheel again. Johnny, with his mother Geraldine in the navigator’s seat, was back in 18th after the first stage four seconds adrift of the class leader. At the half way mark he had climbed to 14th in the overall standings but he was still eight seconds behind the similar Mitsubishi of Darren McKelvey. From the fifth stage however Johnny began to claw back the deficit in class five and went into the final stage just over two seconds off the lead. A last stage charge saw him take almost four seconds off McKelvey to snatch a last gasp class victory.

Shane McGirr went into the event as favourite to take the honours in class three but he found himself behind the Escort of James Kennedy after the opening stage. He overhauled his rival on stage two however and pulled away to dominate the class for the remainder of the rally and finish 13th overall.