Irish rally driver, Daniel Barry is amazed he is still a competitor on the Rallye Monte Carlo after the first day of the legendry event.  A tentative start to the day almost finished with a bang for Daniel (Enniskerry) and his co-driver Martin Brady (Navan).

Heavy rain this morning altered the feel of the event from the start, with the first stage changed from ice and snow to large puddles and ice patches.  The 45km second stage was slightly better, and the Ice Note Crews information was greatly appreciated inside the Mitsubishi Evo9.  A slight problem with the brakes however caught Daniel off guard on a downhill corner and they left the road momentarily, ironically damaging a brake pipe and loosing yet more time.

It was the second loop of these stages where things got really interesting though, as the rain stopped and the temperature dropped.  Between the stages the crew changed their own tyres, but the changing conditions required a change back to the original choice further down the road – things on the Rallye Monte Carlo change that fast!

During the final stage of the day, with 18km of the longest stage of the event still to do, the gearbox failed and the crew were forced to coast a large amount of the remaining distance.  By the time they had reached the remote tyre service the gearbox was jammed in just one gear, and with a 75km road section back to service both Daniel and Martin thought their event was over.  “The gearbox went with such a bang I thought we had smashed a wheel” said Martin “Daniel was trying to get any gear he could, and initially it was jumping out, before it jammed in one, we were sure it was game over, but the mechanics said while it was still driving, drive it back, and by some small miracle we made it, just 2 minutes late!”  The gearbox was totally destroyed, however the Wexford based Barry Motorsport Team managed to replace it in under 40 minutes – “the Team did a fantastic job, I was convinced it was game over for us and we would never get back to service, but luck was on our side and here we are!” commented Daniel after what could only be described as hectic final service.  

The event covers 6 stages on Leg 2, high in the French Alps, so the crew can expect to experience snow and severe ice on the first stages.  The event is currently led by Ford’s Mikko Hirvonen, followed by fellow Irishman Kris Meeke in his Peugeot 207 S2000.  Daniel currently lies 38th.

Regular updates and photos will be available on the team website www.barrymotorsport.com and Facebook users can keep up-to-date throughout the days of the event on the “Barry Motorsport” page.  We are also Twitter-ing via Rally.ie for the latest information if you are not registered…

For further information on the IRC – www.ircseries.com
For Further information on the Rallye Monte Carlo – www.acm.mc
Listen on World Rally Radio – www.wrc.com