BORDERCHAMP

Carolan and Smith In Pole Position On HASS Border Series Heading To Sligo
For the first time on the 2009 HASS Border Rally Championship clear leaders have emerged ahead of the chasing pack.
Thomas Carolan and Declan Smith from Co. Meath, competing in a class 9 Ford Escort have opened up a five point gap ahead of their championship rivals with two rounds of the series to go. They took full advantage of a relatively poor entry from Border registered competitors on the last round, the Mourne Rally, to record a second in class result, in the process scoring 9 valuable championship points.
Not that the pair will be complacent despite having dropped only two points so far this year. The championship is calculated from competitor’s four best scores from the six events, but with a number of other crews capable of yet achieving the maximum score of forty points, a tie-break scenario is more than a vague possibility. That being the case, competitor’s fifth and, if necessary, sixth round scores come into play. It means that the Meath crew will be fully focused on scoring as many points as possible on this week-end’s Sligo event, as well as on the season finale on the Donegal Harvest Rally in October.
Leading the chase are Daniel Conaghan and Trevor Graham in a class 12 Ford Escort. The Donegal competitors were another crew to have made the trip to the last round in Newry but will have been disappointed to have dropped some points to Carolan and Smith following a fifth in class result. Nevertheless they are still firmly in contention having taken maximum points in Mayo and Monaghan, and a third in class in Cavan. A good result here will at the very least ensure the title fight goes down to the final round.
Also in serious contention for the Border title are the class 8 Subaru Impreza WRC pairing of Niall Maguire and Enda Sherry. The popular Monaghan crew are currently on a rich vein of form, having won the last three events they started, including the Border counting rounds in Monaghan and Cavan. Despite not starting in Newry, they could yet score a maximum forty points having dropped only one point from their three starts so far. Champion five years ago, there is no doubt that Maguire would love to add another Border trophy to his collection.
A few other crews remain in contention for the HASS Border title, although they will need other results to go their way. Russell Woods and Martin Byrne from Cavan could yet force a tie-break situation were they to win class 13 on the last two rounds in their Escort. Jonny Leonard and Jackie Donaldson have won class 5 on each of the three events they have started, but lack of competitors in the category have restricted the Fermanagh crew’s overall points haul. Another crew that could enter the reckoning are Monaghan’s John Kelly and Adrian Flynn, a maximum 39 points potentially on offer to the class 10 Corolla pairing.
Of course, the HASS Border Rally Championship is about more than the overall leaderboard, and in each of the classes there are ongoing battles to come away with a category award at the end of the year. Among those to advance their championship ambitions on the Mourne Rally were the class 2 Civic crew of Ciaran Walsh and Aidan Gannon from Mayo who scored six points to move into the lead of the class. In class 5 Donegal’s Shane and Niall Timony in a Ford Puma are now only five points behind leaders Jonny Leonard and Jackie Donaldson – all still to play for here. In class 9 Shane Maguire is not letting his famous dad have it all his own way – with co-driver Stephen Thornton the Monaghan 205 crew took second in class to move into third in the championship. And in class 11 the Corolla of Paul Carron from Donegal, Patrick Herity from Sligo and the Escort of Gary Gallagher and Paddy Duffy from Donegal were all on the move in Newry, scoring 5, 6 and 7 points respectively. Finally Jack and Paul Maguire are now joint second in class 15 after a fourth in class result in Newry in their Escort Cosworth.
HASS Drive of the Day Award Goes From Strength to Strength
Away from the championship battle, much interest has been centered on the HASS Border Championship Drive of the Day award, presented on each of the six competing rounds. Daniel Conaghan and Trevor Graham are the most recent recipients, having set fastest time for a Border registered crew in class 12 on stage 4 of the Mourne Rally. They join previous winners Noel O’Donnell and Ronan Murrin on the Mayo Stages Rally, Thomas Carolan and Declan Smith on the Monaghan Stages Rally, and Peter Wilson and John Kilmurry on the Cavan Stages Rally. Who will join the roll of honour in Sligo?