After their early exit from the Jim Clark Reivers Rally,
David Bogie and Paul Beaton were over in Ireland at the weekend contesting the
Donegal National Rally in the Metro 6R4.
And yet again, the Metro showed its displeasure at being
used only once or twice a year. This time the car hiccupped constantly through
the early stages. The team changed the fuel rail with little change and so
reckoned it must be an electrical fault, possibly with the ECU.
Even so, David was lying in second place after 4 stages and
took the lead after 5, only for it all to come to an abrupt end on the sixth
when a wheel broke. There was no other damage to the car and David and Paul resumed
under SuperRally rules just to try and get to the bottom of the misfire.
Not too far behind the Metro was Calum ‘the Comet’ Duffy who
was contesting the Donegal National ahead of this year’s Tunnock’s Tour of Mull
with brother Iain. They usually visit the Emerald Isle mid season as a shakedown
for the car and crew ahead of the ‘main event’.
Now bear in mind, the Duffy brothers were competing against
some red hot Irish competition in very sophisticated MkII Escorts and they were
mixing it with the best of them. Calum and Iain were running as high as third
over the early stages until a very wet Fanad Head stage when the diff broke.
They managed to replace it, but it wasn’t the right diff
which rather hampered their top speed over the remaining stages. Having dropped
to 28th place overall they eventually finished a fighting 19th.
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