COPE LEADS, BUT MANX CHALLENGE IS FIGHTING
Regular visitor John Cope is living up to his 'favourite' tag, leading the Jaks Bar Asphalt Stages Rally after the opening nights action, and set to lead the way as rallying comes to Peel for the first time this afternoon.
It's close though; Cope and Manx co-driver Rob Fagg have their Subaru Impreza WRC just six seconds ahead of Mark and Eunice Cubbon (Mitsubishi Evo 7), with Steve Quine and Paul McCann (Vauxhall Astra) only another three back in third.
In fact Cope found himself down in fourth place after what he described as a 'scraggy' run on the opening stage of the evening at Snuff the Wind, with the Cubbon's taking an early lead ahead of visitor Daniel Harper (BMW Mini) and trials ace Steve Colley (Evo 6), who had cost a couple of seconds by having the flying finish marked in the wrong place on his notes. Quine meanwhile was also on the pace despite his lamp-pod slipping off the bonnet.
The second test however took in the long run up the Peel/Kirk Michael coast road, suiting the speed and power of the Subaru as Cope moved back ahead.
Both Cubbon and Quine hit back on Druidale/West Baldwin, but the advantage was lost when the stage was cancelled late in the night after a series of incidents.
After service at St Johns the crews headed out to do the loop again, and the leaders overshot a chicane, allowing Harper to snatch the lead with a blitzing run. It was short lived however as engine problems hit the Mini on the next test and he looks unlikely to re-start on Saturday.
Cope again flew down the coast road, fully 15 seconds faster than Donny Gill (Evo 2), but his lead of 16 was slashed to just six on the final Druidale and Baldwin run as Quine took a stunning stage win.
Already almost 20 crews are out of the event, with John Cressey retiring his Mini on stage 2 with a blown engine, Andrew Leece and Graham Collister also out with mechanical problems.
A further ten stages over 40 miles follow on Saturday, with a 10am re-start at the former Jurby Parade Ground. Again it’s two loops of three stages before lunch, with the Lhen roads around Jurby and Andreas to start, then up Tholt-y-Will from the Claddaghs, and finished with the super-fast run along the Brandywell Road to the Cottage and on down Druidale.
After that, all roads lead to Peel, which the crews will tackle four times, mixing in at 30 second intervals.
Positions after day one (stage 6 of 16) - Top 10
| Total | Difference | ||||||
| Pos |
No | Driver | Co-Driver | Vehicle | Time | Lead | Prev |
| h:m:s | |||||||
| 1 | 1 | John Cope | Rob Fagg | Subaru Impreza WRC | 0:25:09 | - | - |
| 2 | 5 | Mark Cubbon | Eunice Cubbon | Mitsubishi Evo 7 | 0:25:15 | 0:06 | 0:06 |
| 3 | 3 | Steve Quine | Paul McCann | Vauxhall Astra Sport | 0:25:18 | 0:09 | 0:03 |
| 4 | 7 | Donny Gill | Steve Gurney | Mitsubishi Evo 2 | 0:25:33 | 0:24 | 0:15 |
| 5 | 4 | Daniel Harper | Chris Campbell | BMW Mini S | 0:25:41 | 0:32 | 0:08 |
| 6 | 8 | Steve Colley | Liz Humphreys | Mitsubishi Evo 6 | 0:25:56 | 0:47 | 0:15 |
| 7 | 15 | Kex Walker | Danni Mathews | BMW 325 | 0:26:23 | 1:14 | 0:27 |
| 8 | 6 | Noel Kelly | Richard Burchall | Mitsubishi Evo 6 | 0:26:31 | 1:22 | 0:08 |
| 9 | 11 | Richard Curphey | Andrew Holmes | Vauxhall Nova | 0:26:56 | 1:47 | 0:25 |
| 10 | 19 | Adrian Kermode | John Coleman | Porsche 911 SC | 0:27:15 | 2:06 | 0:19 |
End of Leg 1 Results
- The Peel stage, which starts by the Fire Station and heads around the House of Manannan, along the quay and the promenade, will close to traffic at 12.50pm, opening not later than 5.15pm. First car is due at 2.26pm. During the closure their will be pedestrian access via side streets to the House of Manannan and also to other shops and businesses which remain open, including the Harbour Lights restaurant and Davidson’s Ice Cream Parlour.
- The presentation of awards for the event will take place at the Hydro Hotel, Douglas promenade on Saturday night, from around 8pm. It is free entry to all and the organisers would particularly like to invite everyone involved in organising the event, in whatever capacity.
- The organisers ask spectators on any of the stages, particularly Peel, to park only in appropriate places and with courtesy to the general public. Peel will run as Castletown does on Rally Isle of Man, with crews starting their second run of each loop mixed in with later runners attempting their first run, meaning a car will start the test every 30 seconds.
- The event will be one of the first in the British Isles to use WRC-style door numbers. The MSA have given organisers the opportunity to switch this year from the old style square plates, so smaller numbers will appear on the doors, with larger luminous numbers on side windows. It is hoped they will particularly help on Friday’s night stages.