11/06/07 - Cookstown's Glenn Allen and Damien Connolly sealed their fourth consecutive maximum points haul at last weekend's Modern Tyre Service Mourne Rally, with victory at round five of the Pacenotes MSA Northern Ireland Stage Rally Championship.

Now at the mid-point of the series, Allen's position is looking ever more dominant in his bid for championship laurels. Fastest or equal fastest on all 12 stages confirmed his number one status, as he brought his Toyota Corolla WRC home victorious by more than one minute.

"Brilliant!" Allen exclaimed after the finish. "We had a grand day, the car ran faultlessly and I think we were quickest or joint quickest on every stage. It was very warm in the car, we lost some amount of sweat! Now we're back to gravel for the Dogleap - I'm not sure what way that will go as Stephen (Moore) has done a lot of loose events this year."

It was a perfect day for the Cookstown man to capitalise on his rivals after two of them decided not to contest the event. Although they both submitted entries, Enniskillen's Raymond Johnston and Strabane's Sean Devine decided not to start. That left Allen keeping an eye on Pomeroy's Stephen Moore and Tony McHugh, but Moore admitted he was still learning how to get the most from his car on tarmac.

Moore, who trailed Allen by seven points in championship terms before the Mourne event, held second overall after the opening two stages despite his lack of tarmac experience. He was a few seconds ahead of Sunoco Fuels Group N leaders, Richard Cathcart and Martin Brady, but they were set to have an early bath on stage three.

"I wasn't that confident with car over the first stage," Cathcart recalled. "The rear was stepping out on the fast stuff but it was better once the tyres were warm. We had a good run through stage two but midway through the third stage, we just came out of a long medium left when the throttle cable broke! I was totally devastated, we didn't have anything to fix it. That's three retirements in a row - I'm told that bad luck is supposed to come in threes so hopefully it's true!"

Neil McCance and Sean Ferris were trailing Cathcart by two seconds going into that third stage, so they promptly took control of the production category and second overall after moving in front of Moore. With victories at the Tour of the Sperrins and Manx National rallies behind him, McCance has been on a roll in recent months.

Unfortunately, his good luck was set to abruptly end during stage four, as he endured another type of 'roll'. After switching to a hard compound tyre during service, the Comber driver admitted the car was handling much better during that fourth stage. Confidence was high until a greasy square left caught him unawares.

"I tried to take the car up a gear but in hindsight, it was lunacy!" McCance admitted. "As far as the rally was concerned, we were second overall and had a 20 second lead in Group N. I was not out to race Glenn Allen and there was no need for me to take the corner a gear higher - but I did."

"We ran wide and went up a bank," McCance continued. "I thought we had got away with it so I put my foot down, but we couldn't see the tree stump. We hit it hard and the car went end over end, coming to rest on its roof. In some respects, it's a missed opportunity but the championship is still wide open. If there's a hard way of doing something, I'll find it!"

With Cathcart and McCance out of the event, and Moore struggling to match the pace of his rivals through the longer stages, incredibly Gary McPhillips and Mark Tierney found themselves holding second overall in a Mark 2 Escort! They were having an incredible run with their two-wheel-drive car, beating a lot more powerful machinery.

In fact, McPhillips would have sealed second overall at the finish, only for a 1min50sec road penalty which dropped him down the order. Instead, it was Sean McArdle and Gerard McMonagle who sealed the runner-up spot after Stephen Moore and Tony McHugh broke a driveshaft two stages from home.

"It was alright," a slightly despondent Moore said. "I'm still learning how to drive the car on tarmac but at least I matched Glenn on a few shorter stages. As the day went on, we were getting faster but the stage before the finish, we broke a driveshaft and lost 30 or 40 seconds."

Moore dropped to third overall as a result, but he still picks up 15 championship points as McArdle is not registered for the series. In fourth position, George Robinson and Tommy Speers had a good run with their Escort Cosworth while Norman and Lisa Armstrong picked up the top two-wheel-drive award and an excellent fifth overall.

In the Sunoco Fuels Group N category, Eoin McErlean and Donard McCann grabbed their maiden category victory, propelling them back into the hunt for the title. After a disappointing KBB Tour of the Sperrins Rally when his gearbox failed on only the second stage, victory for McErlean was a just reward for the Magherafelt man.

"We just wanted to have a steady run after various calamities on the last couple of events," McErlean admitted. "On stage three we caught another competitor and there was no room for him to pull in, so I'm sure we lost five or six seconds there. After that, it was a matter of keeping our noses clean."

Stephen Kelly and Ann Taggart hounded McCann through the opening miles but they ripped a wheel off their Lancer on stage six, dropping them down the order. Instead, it was John Walker and Des Wilson who took second in the category and eighth overall, while Paul Britton and Cathal Lagan were third in class and completed the top ten.

The Superdrive sponsored two-wheel-drive category was topped by Norman and Lisa in fifth position. They finished 14 seconds ahead of William Carey and Jimmy Graham, who were seventh overall, while Alistair Cochrane and Pam Norris were ninth and picked up the Superdrive cash prize.

Modern Tyre Service Mourne Rally - top ten results

1 Glenn Allen/Damien Connolly (Corolla WRC) 38m39s
2 Sean McArdle/Gerard McMonagle (Corolla WRC) 39m54s
3 Stephen Moore/Tony McHugh (Focus WRC) 40m20s
4 George Robinson/Tommy Speers (Escort Cosworth) 40m24s
5 Norman Armstrong/Lisa Armstrong (Mark 2 Escort) 40m58s
6 Eoin McErlean/Donard McCann (Lancer Evo 8) 41m11s
7 William Carey/Jimmy Graham (Mark 2 Escort) 41m12s
8 John Walker/Des Wilson (Lancer Evo 9) 41m16s
9 Alistair Cochrane/Pam Norris (Escort) 41m23s
10 Paul Britton/Cathal Lagan (Impreza) 41m29s

Round six - North West Motor Factors Dogleap Stages Rally

The Pacenotes championship now takes a short summer break but will bounce back into action in August with the North West Motor Factors and Limavady Borough Council sponsored Dogleap Stages Rally. This year's event takes place on Saturday 4 August and features a new headquarters and service venue with the Roe Valley Recreation Club.

Friday 3 August will also feature a three-mile shakedown stage for competitors, before they tackle 10 stages when the rally starts in earnest the following day. More information will be announced on the official championship website at www.nirally.com in due course.

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