Last weekend's Modern Tyre Service Mourne Rally saw Peadar Hurson secure victory for the second consecutive Pacenotes MSA Northern Ireland Rally Championship event!

Fresh from his KBB Tour of the Sperrins win just a couple of weeks earlier, the Warrenpoint driver and navigator Damian Garvey sealed another victory by a slender six seconds from Derek McGarrity and James McKee on Saturday.

 
It was McGarrity who was quickest out of the blocks though, as he powered his Subaru to the top of the leaderboard by three seconds from Hurson on stage one. Then Hurson turned up the wick to move into the rally lead, and when McGarrity lost 25 seconds during the fourth stage with a puncture, suddenly Hurson led the event by half a minute!
 
Hurson's substantial lead didn't last long though as the tables turned through stage five. He lost more than 20 seconds with a puncture leaving McGarrity back in the hunt. Over the ensuing stages, McGarrity whittled down the rally leader's advantage, and after stage eight, he regained the rally lead.
 
Hurson tried hard to fend off McGarrity's challenge but the former Northern Ireland champion matched his pace through the closing stages. Mere seconds separated the two crews through the final miles, and McGarrity would have won the event by four seconds only for a final twist in the tale...
 
Both crews received road penalties after stopping to change their punctured tyres earlier in the rally. They arrived late at time controls as a result, with Hurson receiving an additional 20 seconds of penalties while McGarrity received 30 seconds. That was enough to switch the final positions, ensuring Hurson emerged victorious by six seconds from McGarrity!
 
"It was the first time we entered the Mourne Rally and we had a great day," Hurson said afterwards. "We had a puncture midway through the second run of Gullion so that knocked us back a bit, but Derek McGarrity had punctures as well so it kept the whole thing alive!"
 
Outside the battle for victory, last year's winners, Glenn Allen and Damien Connolly, arrived home in third overall. The defending champions headed home Sean Devine and Damien Duffin, who now move to the top of this year's championship standings. They entered the event tied on points with Connor McCloskey and Francis Regan, but McCloskey retired after stage one with gearbox troubles in his Subaru.
 
There were plenty of thrills and spills in the Sunoco Fuels Group N category, but on this occasion it was Martin McCormack and Liam Moynihan who kept out of trouble to seal the category victory. They won the production class from early leaders, Alan Carmichael and Ivor Lamont, with Brian McFall and Liam McAuley third. Paul Britton and Mervyn Galbraith were also in the mix, but they rolled their Impreza out of the rally during stage five.
 
In the Superdrive sponsored two wheel drive category, Gary McPhillips and Mark Tierney had a stunning drive to secure fifth overall as well as top 2WD honours in their Mark 2 Escort. Briefly headed by Manus Kelly and Donal Barrett during the early stages, they quickly jumped on top of their game to win the category by 48 seconds. Kelly finished second with the flying Daniel McKenna and Andrew Grennan third.
 
The Pacenotes N.I. Championship now enjoys a mid-season break before returning to action in August for the first of four loose-surface forestry events. Based from Limavady Recreation Club, the Dogleap Stages will take place on Saturday 2 August. Regulations and other information can be downloaded from the official championship website at www.nirally.com.
 
Modern Tyre Service Mourne Rally - top 10
 
1 Peadar Hurson/Damien Garvey (Impreza WRC) 43m39s
2 Derek McGarrity/James McKee (Impreza WRC) 43m45s
3 Glenn Allen/Damien Connolly (Corolla WRC) 44m15s
4 Sean Devine/Damien Duffin (Impreza WRC) 45m09s
5 Gary McPhillips/Mark Tierney (Escort Mk2) 46m25s
6 Sean McArdle/Gerard McMonagle (Corolla WRC) 46m32s
7 Manus Kelly/Donal Barrett (Escort) 47m13s
8 Emma McKinstry/Kenny Hull (Impreza WRC) 47m16s
9 Martin McCormack/Liam Moynihan (Lancer Evo 9) 47m21s
10 Daniel McKenna/Andrew Grennan (Escort Mk 2) 47m32s