Top 10 Finish at Aghadowey

Donaghadee driver Jonathan MacDonald secured his best result to date when he finished eighth overall at Saturday’s ASNU Bumpers Aghadowey Rally, a round of the Rallysport Association Summer Series.

Navigated by Nathan Scott and Caroline Crawford, who shared the hot seat during the day, the crew were competing n their Birch Motors and Millers Oils backed Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 1.

With more than 100 competitors entered, there was plenty of opposition, and early morning rain made the event even more challenging.

The damp conditions ensured a very slippery start to the day, particularly through the concrete areas of the venue. But despite the tricky conditions and a couple of near overshoots, MacDonald immediately moved into eighth overall after stage one.

The rain subsided and conditions improved for stage two, where the crew were some 25 seconds quicker than their first run. And despite a tyre-hopping moment on stage three, they maintained eighth overall at the mid-point of the event.

“It was the first time that I’d driven the car in slippery conditions so there was a big learning curve in the morning,” MacDonald admitted. “Places around the circuit were like driving on ice and we had a few lucky escapes!”

The stage was run in the opposite direction for the final three runs, and MacDonald continued to set top 10 stage times. Going into the final test, he was one second adrift of David Keller in seventh, and three-tenths of a second ahead of ninth placed Didzis Teteris.

Determined to hold on to eighth overall, MacDonald decided to attack the final stage. All was going well until an overshoot just three corners from the finish. The crew lost some valuable seconds as a result, allowing Teteris to move in front.

But Keller also lost time on the stage, so MacDonald maintained eighth overall in the GoMotorsport.net Evo to secure his best result to date!

“I was frustrated with the mistake on the final stage but we survived to tell the tale,” MacDonald said. “It could have been worse…had we lost another two seconds, we would have dropped another four places. It was that close!”

MacDonald is now preparing for the Roy Haslett Preparations Stages Rally where Bangor navigator, Gareth McKay, will join him for an attack at the Bishopscourt venue on 13 July.

Results (top 10)

1 Sean Cassidy (Fiesta 4×4) 21m34.5s
2 Gary Cartmill (Lancer Evo) 21m48.8s
3 Fionan Reid (Impreza) 21m49.2s
4 Damien Donnelly (Celica) 22m08.0s
5 Derek Gurney (Sierra Cosworth) 22m10.6s
6 Darren O’Brien (Civic) 22m18.9s
7 Didzis Teteris (Impreza) 22m34.4s
8 Jonathan MacDonald (Lancer Evo) 22m38.1s
9 Seamus McDaid (Impreza) 22m38.8s
10 Ian Ferry (Sierra Cosworth) 22m39.5s