21st at New Year Stages

Donaghadee’s Jonathan MacDonald secured 21st overall at last weekend’s New Year Stages Rally, held at Kirkistown Race Circuit.

Navigated by Bangor’s Gareth McKay, the crew were overjoyed with the result after being seeded at 48 in their 19-year-old Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 1.

It was MacDonald’s first time behind the wheel of his Co. Down Spectator backed rally car since July, and it was his first visit to the Kirkistown venue. The slippery track added to the already challenging conditions but despite a spin during the opening stage, the crew found themselves holding a top 20 position.

“We had a big slide at the hairpin,” MacDonald explained, “and I just over-corrected. By the time I found reverse and we got going again, quite a bit of time was lost. I was a little bit rusty but it really shouldn’t have happened.”

A solid run through the second stage saw them move up to 17th overall, and despite a gearbox problem during stage three, they climbed to 15th.

“The car started jumping out of first gear,” MacDonald explained. “That forced us wide on a few occasions so we lost a few seconds but it could have been worse.”

The crew had a faultless drive through stage four but there was more drama to come on the fifth test for the Birch Motors and Millers Oils backed crew.

“We ran wide on the gravel section which filled the wheels full of mud,” MacDonald explained. “After that happened, there was an extremely bad vibration in the car – I could barely see the road in front of me. I thought something was loose so I put the hazard lights on and backed off.”

The crew lost around half a minute with the incident and plummeted to 26th overall. It was only after the stage that they realised it was the mud covered wheels that were causing the problem!

“I’ll put this one down to inexperience!” MacDonald admitted. “I never imagined that wheels full of mud could cause so much vibration in the car. The whole car was literally shaking. At least it was nothing more sinister than that.”

With the wheels washed, the crew headed back on track for the final stage. They had lost any chance of a top 15 finish so it was a case of damage limitation through the final test. Everything went exactly to plan, and an impressive 11th fastest stage time promoted them to 21st overall.