Ulster Rally 2012

The Ulster Rally rolled around again and as has become tradition we help Paddy McCollum out by doing a passage control on the Saturday, 18th August. It's always an early start but as the weather was to be good we didn't really mind. Marshaling is a much more pleasant experience in the sunshine and it was nice to spend almost the only good of summer outside. Although Rachel did get badly sunburned even though she has suncream on.



Craig Breen had the new 208 R2 out for it's first rally appearance but it was only as a 00 car. The car looked really well and I noticed that it had a wee wooden insert in the handbrake lever which is a pretty nice touch. All the drivers were suffering in the heat and were just a sweaty mess by the time they got to us, they must have been working hard.

My friend Robert Erwin was out in his 1600 RWD Corolla and set some great times though he had some problems that dropped him down the final standings.

 

Lurgan Park Rally 2012

I love Lurgan Park Rally, and not only because it is only a few minutes from my house. It's a pretty perfect set up for a good days spectating. They get a good quality of cars and drivers, there are tarmac and loose sections, I can watch every stage from a different corner, I can get a good look around the service park and there is a display area so I can see some shiny cars too. Rachel and I headed over fairly early on Saturday the 28th July as we like to get parked handy and see all the stages. Kris Meeke was going to be there along with 3 WRC MINI's so we were expecting a big crowd and it looked like the weather was going to be good. We aren't new to spectating so even though we put on our sun cream, we took our coats with us too. It's a good thing we did as the weather changed from bright sunshine to heavy rain every 10 minutes or so.

As soon as we went in we were greeted  by two lovely old Opels/Vauxhalls. The Manta is a stunning bit or work, and the Viva had been well looked after too. I think I could see myself buying a Viva sometime, every 6 months or so I look them up on the internet to see if I can afford a nice one, but I cant. I bet by the time I get round to seriously looking for one their price will have skyrocketed out of my reach.

As we were early we went straight over to service to see the sights. There was plenty of interesting machines on display. Here is a selection of what caught my eye. First up was this Hillman Avenger with its period service barge. Then Stuart Biggerstaffs Metro 6R4, followed by the tail of two MINI's, these two belong to Derek McGeehan. Then I tried to fit 5 Impreza WRC's into one photo but its a bit more like 3 and two halfs, but still 5 Subaru WRC's in a row is very impressive for a single venue/exhibition rally. Another very nice Subaru is Garry Jennings Group A example. It's great to see that car out on the stages. Garry drives it very sideways and the noise brings back great memories. Then a quick snap of the engine bay of Derek McGarritys MINI, those cars are beautifully built, a work of art. And to finish off a couple of older machines, a Renault 5 Turbo and a MG Midget.

 

 





I tried to get a photo of Kris Meeke but my photography skills let me down. This is the best I could do, poor effort.





We went in to the forest to watch the first stage, it's pretty nice in there. My second attempt to get a photo of Meeke was even worse than the first, or maybe he is just too fast to get a photo off.



I didn't take many more action shots as I'm not very good at it and I prefer to just watch the rally. I did think this one was worth putting in as it had 2 MINI's in it.

This was also a pretty special rally as it was my nephew Daniel Mullan's first ever rally, he seemed to enjoy it pretty well.

RallyScore.net Results