Ulster Rally 2008 Results: Eamonn Boland wins to clinch his first Irish Tarmac Rally Championship title

Eamonn Boland silenced any critics he may have had after the Rally Isle of Man to score a convincing start to finish victory on the Toddsleap.com Ulster Rally 2008. Boland was never headed as he made his intentions clear from the very first stage.

You could tell everything was going well when he would say little in service, just that everything was fine. Boland becomes the first driver from south of the border to win this highly specialised event. It was a great way for him to officially win the tarmac title and he can now celebrate by going on his world tour of forthcoming WRC events he has planned.

Second place went to the favourite for overall victory Kevin Lynch. He had dropped down to sixth overall after a couple of stages at the beginning and complained that the car was moving about under him and was all over the place. At the first service yesterday evening he changed the centre-diff settings and tweaked the set-up. After that, he set a couple of fastest times to move him back up to second but he could never make up what he lost on the first few stages and despite setting more fastest today he could only chip 4 or 5 seconds out of Boland who would immediately respond with a fastest time. So Lynch had to settle for second at the finish in Armagh.

Eamonn Boland commented to rallynews.net on his win:

We pushed on towards the end but nothing stupid. It wasn't really pressure. It was a very enjoyable rally, great way to win the championship."

In the BRC contest it was Mark Higgins who dominated after initially coming under pressure from Guy Wilks. Wilks though had an untidy drive with a couple of offs (in one incident he lost a wheel) resulting in differential trouble and his BRC title bid has received another setback. Higgins took the BRC spoils and finished 3rd o/a with Wilks 4th o/a. Gwyndaf Evans came home 3rd in the BRC and 7th overall after admitting to never really settling into the rally. 

Boland records his first Ulster Rally and Tarmac championship title success:

Phillip Morrow brought cheer to his Northern Ireland fanbase to take 4th in BRC and 8th o/a. Morrow felt it wasn't until today that he got to grips with his new TEG Subaru and acclomplished his goal of bringing the car home and getting points for TEG.

Derek McGarrity eventually managed 5th after various set-up issues, spins, punctures and stopping at the scene of Hurson's accident where he recieved a notional time. McKinstry took 6th in his first time out in Kevin Barrett's RHD S11 which took a while for him to acclimatise to and he suffered a few spins, as well breaking his glasses thus impairing his night vision.

McKinstry was 6th in an S11:

Seb Ogier scored a decent 13th o/a and first 2WD car home on his first visit to Ireland and will now have some idea what Rally Ireland will be about. Second two wheel drive car was Brian O'Mahony who suffered some mechanical glithches throughout but was happy to finish.

In the ITC Group N battle Kevin Kelleher took another step closer to the title as he finished ahead of rival John McClaughlin, who, after a steady enough start had a few offs near the end to drop him out of contention. Keith Cronin took maximum points in the Evo Challenge finishing 11th o/a.

Onboard Adrian Hetherington SS1 Ivy Hill in the Ulster National Rally:

In-car Jason Pritchard Citroen C2R2:

Notable retirements included Peader Hurson who crashed his S10 heavily on SS1. James Wozencroft had a major accident himself on SS2 requiring him and his co-driver to go to hospital for observation. Sturat Jones retired his MG S2000 with mechanical problems. David Bogie retired with engine/mechanical woes and although restarted under Superally this morning he pulled out immediately to preserve the Evo 9 for the next round of the Evo Challenge.

Meanwhile, former Northen Ireland Rally Champion Stephen Mawhinney told RallyBuzz that he has recently purchased and is restoring an ex-Russell Brookes Talbot Sunbeam. He intends to compete in selected events next year with the car in it's original Andrews Heat for Hire livery.

Darren Gass ended up on his roof and out of the rally after a promising start:

Top Ten Ulster Rally Results:

1		EAMONN BOLAND DAMIEN MORRISSEY	SUBARU IMPREZA S12B WRC	5	1	1:56:14.4		1:56:14.4	**:**.*  (**:**.*)
2		KEVIN LYNCH FRANCIS REGAN	SUBARU IMPREZA S12B WRC	5	2	1:56:43.0		1:56:43.0	+28.6  (+28.6)
3		MARK HIGGINS RORY KENNEDY	SUBARU IMPREZA	4	1	1:58:23.4		1:58:23.4	+2:09.0  (+1:40.4)
4		GUY WILKS DAVID MOYNIHAN	MITSUBISHI LANCER EVO 9	4	2	1:59:25.5		1:59:25.5	+3:11.1  (+1:02.1)
5		DEREK MCGARRITY JAMES MCKEE	SUBARU IMPREZA WRC	5	3	1:59:38.0		1:59:38.0	+3:23.6  (+12.5)
6		KENNY MCKINSTRY NOEL ORR	SUBARU IMPREZA WRC	5	4	2:00:26.1		2:00:26.1	+4:11.7  (+48.1)
7		GWYNDAF EVANS PAUL NAGLE	MITSUBISHI LANCER EVO 9	4	3	2:00:31.4		2:00:31.4	+4:17.0  (+5.3)
8		PHILIP MORROW GORDON NOBLE	SUBARU IMPREZA N12	4	4	2:01:35.4		2:01:35.4	+5:21.0  (+1:04.0)
9		GLENN ALLEN DAMIEN CONNOLLY	TOYOTA COROLLA WRC	5	5	2:02:42.5		2:02:42.5	+6:28.1  (+1:07.1)
10		DAVID HIGGINS IEUAN THOMAS	SUBARU IMPREZA N14	4	5	2:02:44.0		2:02:44.0	+6:29.6  (+1.5)

 

GLOBAL GROUP IRISH TARMAC RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP PROVISIONAL STANDINGS:

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

• Ulster Rally 2008 Top Twenty Entry List, new Irish Tarmac Rally Champion Eamonn Boland heads the field
• Murphy Construction Cork 20 Rally 2008 Results: Eamonn Boland wins to round off a fine year
• Galway Summer Stages Rally 2008 Results: Patrick Elliott wins to secure his first Irish Dunlop National Championship
• Eamonn Boland plans to contest a few WRC events in the next few months and 2009
• Irish Tarmac Rally Championship changes in format following TROA meeting and 2009 Championship dates