13th Overall at Maze Long Kesh

County Down’s Jonathan MacDonald and Jordan Gilliland sealed 13th overall and second in class at last weekend’s Maze Long Kesh Rally, an event which formed part of the inaugural Festival of Speed (N.I.).

Driving their 19-year-old Pacenotes Rally Magazine and Millers Oils backed Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 1, the crew tackled six stages based within the old Maze prison site, which featured a mixture of sealed surfaces and gravel covered roads.

Thousands of spectators descended on the venue to watch the rally as well as a host of other activities, which included autotesting, motocross, 4×4 displays, the Flyin’ Ryan stunt team, a fairground plus much more.

The rally formed one of the main attractions and more than 50 crews entered the event. While Kenny McKinstry was the top seed, MacDonald started at number 53 after submitting a late entry.

The crew were immediately on a good pace in their GoMotorsport.net and RallyForums.com sponsored car, setting 14th fastest time on the event opener, despite not having time to walk the stage before the start.

Stage two proved to be eventful when the crew hit one of the spectacular jumps. Their Evo was launched into the air, and at the next corner, MacDonald ran wide over some of the trackside tyres!

Despite the incident, the crew maintained 14th overall. A solid run through stages three and four ensured they continued to hold 14th, but a huge three-way battle was on the cards for the final two stages.

Just 1.5 seconds separated three crews, with Stephen Smith’s Civic 0.5 of a second in front of MacDonald, while Andrew McCormick’s Chevette was one second in arrears. And to make it even more interesting, the final two stages of the event were Super Specials!

MacDonald was fastest of the trio through the fifth test, but with only one second in hand, the Donaghadee based crew couldn’t afford to relax. Another hard charge was on the cards for the final Super Special stage, but as they left service, they discovered new brake pads were needed…

“We could hear noises from the front brakes,” navigator Gilliland explained. “There was very little pad left – it was metal on metal. Unfortunately it was too late to do anything about it so we had to carry on.”

MacDonald and Gilliland launched into the stage on another all-out attack, and although they experienced a few moments of brake fade, they crossed the finish line neck and neck with their rival Smith.

The Evo 1 crew set 10th fastest overall time but on this occasion, it was Smith who was quickest. He had taken one-tenth of a second out of the Donaghadee contenders, but it wasn’t enough to nab the position. MacDonald and Gilliland had done enough to seal 13th overall and second in class!

“I’ve never had so much fun in the rally car,” MacDonald said afterwards. “It is a great venue for the rally, the stage was fantastic and the Super Special added another dimension to the event. I don’t think I’ve ever driven the car as hard as I did over those last two stages. Thanks to Stephen Smith and Paul Finlay for a great race!”

“Hats off to the organisers for what was a fantastic day out with plenty of attractions for all the family,” he added. “I can’t wait until next year!”

In-car footage of the crew in action on the final stage of the event can be found online at www.irally.com/festival2012.

Maze Long Kesh Rally 2012 Results – top 15
Full results available from www.rallyscore.net

1 Kevin Barrett/Paul Barrett (Impreza WRC) 18m13.2s
2 Kenny McKinstry/Michael Gilmore (Impreza WRC) 18m14.6s
3 John McGaffin/Lesley McGaffin (Impreza WRC) 18m21.9s
4 Alan Carmichael/Roy Carmichael (Lancer Evo 9) 18m29.5s
5 Ray Brammer/Damien Fleming (Impreza WRC) 19m01.8s
6 Sean Cassidy/Damien McCann (Fiesta 4×4) 19m04.2s
7 Jason Curran/Barbara Love (Lancer Evo 19m22.3s
8 Michael Conlon/Ciaran McPhillips (Escort Mk2) 19m23.9s
9 Mervyn Wedlock/Thomas Wedlock (Escort Mk2) 19m30.8s
10 William Smith/Gloria Smith (Mini) 19m35.4s
11 William Mavitty/Cormac McElvinney (Lancer Evo 9) 19m38.0s
12 John Waring/Lorraine Reynolds (Escort Mk2) 19m41.4s
13 Jonathan MacDonald/Jordan Gilliland (Lancer Evo 1) 19m43.7s
14 Stephen Smith/Paul Finlay (Civic) 19m44.6s
15 Andrew McCormick/Chris McSherry (Chevette) 19m47.2s