MOTOR SPORT/World Rally Championship:Marcus Gronholm and Timo Rautiainen of Finland held off the challenge of Irish crew Gareth MacHale and Paul Nagle in in a dramatic First Choice Flooring Galway International Rally yesterday. All were in Ford Focus WRCs.
Ford's M-Sport Team came to this event to prepare well in advance for Rally Ireland in November and scored a perfect result. The rally ended in heartbreak on yesterday's penultimate stage for Eugene Donnelly and Paul Nagle, as they slid off the road and out of the race.
From Saturday's first stage in the Portumna area, three-time Irish champion Donnelly in his new Subaru WRC was the only driver to keep up with Gronholm.
British champion Mark Higgins had an early setback, a puncture dropping him outside the first 10. Gronholm had a spin and an overshoot on stages three and four, and Donnelly closed on the leader just 1.1 second behind.
MacHale, in his first run in the latest left-hand-drive Focus WRC, was having a difficult time, an engine stall followed by an overshoot and a damaged wheel rim dropping him to eighth. A puncture dropped his father Austin from fourth to outside the top 10.
A puncture on SS7 cost Gronholm the lead, which Donnelly held despite enormous pressure from the Finn.
At the end of the first day, Donnelly had a five-second lead over Gronholm, Gareth MacHale was back up to third but 1 minute 38 seconds behind Donnelly.
Eamonn Boland and Kevin Lynch were next, and Higgins was up to sixth.
Although the roads were dry, the stages were extremely slippery, with Higgins wryly remarking "there is no grip, I'm hanging on for dear life".
Donnelly held his lead over yesterday's early stages around Ballinasloe, watched by huge crowds. Starting stage 16 in his relentless pursuit, Gronholm narrowed the gap to just over one second.
A split second error saw the leading Subaru slide off the road and a devastated Donnelly was out. Gronholm made no mistakes in the treacherous conditions to take over the lead and drive his Ford Focus WRC triumphantly onto the finish ramp back in Galway city, declaring "it was a difficult rally but we learned a lot. It was good to have Donnelly to push me. It was sad for him to go off, he was driving well".
Gareth MacHale was delighted to inherit second, saying "I'm happy enough, I didn't think I'd be on the pace with the new car".
Higgins was equally pleased to finish third, ahead of Boland and Lynch, and there was a rousing reception at the finish for six times winner Austin MacHale who finished ninth overall.
