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For
Immediate Release: 30th March 2010
Transmission
failure ends Alastair's
Brilliant Bulldog Start
The Bulldog International Rally, round one of the British Rally
Championship presented 100 miles of superb Welsh forest stages
for the crews on Saturday. For Co. Tyrone's Alastair Fisher,
who finished third in the British and Irish Rally Championship's
last season, it presented the first chance in 2010 to measure
his performance once more against the best in Britain, and Alastair
once again proved he had great pace. On stage 6 however the
Group N Mitsubishi Evo 9 succumbed to a rare mechanical failure
in the rear differential, and for Alastair and Letterkenny co-driver
Rory Kennedy it was the end of their Bulldog efforts.
However
it was quite some effort early on for Alastair and Rory. "Keith
Cronin had a superb time on the first 17 mile stage, but we
were happy enough with our pace in comparison with the other
crews." Indeed after two stages Alastair was lying in third
place overall behind leader Cronin and second placed Craig Breen
in his Super 2000 Fiesta, but Craig's rally ended on the road
section after stage 2 with fuel pressure problems.
Stage
3 was a re-run of the opening Myherin test and Alastair blasted
to his first fastest time, a full 6 seconds ahead of Dave Weston
Jnr in his Subaru. "We had fastest times on stages 3 and
4, we settled into a good rhythm and the braking zones were
much cleaner. It seems to be at times the smoother you are with
these Group N cars the better your time on the clock . We had
also made a few minor tweaks to our pace-notes on the first
run over the tests, and that helped us carry a wee bit more
speed. Gerry McGarrity as ever had done a great job with the
car, and it was handling very well, the balance felt good."
It was an impressive pair of stages for the Team UK MSA Elite
driver, and it put Alastair a firm second just 30 seconds behind
leader Cronin, and 30 seconds ahead of third placed Weston Jnr.
Fortunes
were to change however by the end of the very next stage. "After
stage 5 on the road section I heard a knocking noise from the
rear, and when I inspected the rear differential there was oil
leaking. We had no option but to drive on into the next test,
the car limped through in front wheel drive only, but when we
stopped after the stage finish, we had lost all drive so that
was it.
It is disappointing on the first round not to finish as we were
leading the UK Evo Challenge also, but I was happy with the
car, I feel the car now has a lot more traction since upgrading
to DMS suspension, coupled with the excellent grip from the
Pirelli K6 tyres we are a good half a second a mile faster than
last year."
With
only four days to get the car re-prepped and into tarmac specification
prior to this weekend's Circuit of Ireland, its going to be
all systems go back at McGarrity Motorsport workshop in Fermanagh
in readiness for round two of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship
in which Alastair lies in equal third place overall.
Marshall Clarke will be stepping into the co-driver's seat this
weekend, as Rory Kennedy is on holiday. Marshal has co-driven
for World Production Champion Niall McShea in the past, and
Alastair is very much looking forward to this Easter classic.
"I
know Marshall quite well and I am looking forward to having
him on board for the first time for which is also my first attempt
at the full Circuit. There is an 18 mile night stage on the
Saturday evening so that should be quite challenging. Galway
was a good start to the Irish Tarmac Championship for us, so
let's hope we can keep that going."
For all the latest news, check Alastair's website-www.alastairfisher.com
Issued by Andrew Bushe Promotions www.andrewbushe.com
All editorial and images attached are copyright free.
