Recently we were sent this report from the Jonny Leonard team about their results from the early part of the 2010 Hankook MSA Northern Ireland Rally Championship and an insight into how the Fermanagh driver has fought his way to within striking distance of class championship leads.
Saturday 27th Feb saw the start of Jonny Leonard and Jackie Donaldson’s attack on the Hankook NI Rally Championship, contesting the Pedro Pet Foods Stages at Kirkistown race circuit in their F.A.L HIRE backed Ford Fiesta ST.
SS1 Saw Leonard take the Lead in Class one by 8 seconds from nearest Fiesta rival Stephen Wright, another top 3 stage time on SS2 set the scene for an exciting battle amongst these equally powered machines. However, On SS3 disaster struck for Leonard when a Driveshaft broke near the end of the stage. Luckily the crew were able to limp into service where their RGD Motorsport team replaced the broken shaft.
Leonard bounced back on SS4 with another fastest stage time but the time lost with the driveshaft failure was too much to claw back over the remaining stages.
The crew ended up 3rd in class one and collected valuable points for their championship campaign.
Leonard speaking after the event said: “We had a great day’s fun, we were unlucky with the driveshaft breaking on stage 3 but to set some good times against these more experienced Fiesta crews is inspiring. The Hankook tyres were perfect, Kept us on rails all day!”
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Round 2 the McGrady Insurance stages within the confines of the Bishopscourt race circuit proved to be another successful event for the Co. Fermanagh pairing.
Leonard was once again ‘quick out of the blocks’ taking victory on the opening stage which set the scene for the day, the 19 year old Engineering student taking class wins on 5 out of the 6 stages.
The team took class victory and also netted the M-Sport parts bonus scheme award of £150 parts voucher as leading Fiesta crew.
Leonard commented: “I’m delighted with the result, both Stephen and Desi pushed hard all day but it‘s great to come away with First in class and to secure more points for the championship. The car was brilliant and the Hankook tyres worked exceptionally well!”
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Round 3 the UTV Drive Circuit of Ireland National Rally proved to be a tough one for the Enniskillen crew and indeed the team at RGD Motorsport.
The team started the event with the championship in mind and points ‘in the bag’ as the main aim knowing this would be a tough event with the extra challenge of night stages. The crew saw this event as a marathon and not a sprint.
However through the first loop of stages things seemed to go from bad to worse, a few niggling problems with the suspension coupled with a loss in power and overheating problems left plenty to do in the RGD camp at first service. The team tweaked the suspension and sorted the overheating problem but the “loss in power” was slightly more serious with bent valves in the engine.
The crew were advised to carry on but to try and limit any further damage to the engine and to ensure they saw the finish line of the Newry based event. Two punctures on one of the night stages seemed sure to finish the crews championship hopes of further points but to the delight of the team they battled through the remaining night stages and into the sunshine of Sundays Monaghan Stages. With the sunshine on the Sunday Jonny and Jackie’s luck seemed to change and the exhausted crew came over the finish ramp on Sunday evening 1st in class and 18th O/A.
“This was a very tough event for us; we had a number of problems but fair play to Rodney at RGD he kept us going all weekend. I’m just happy to get to the finish”
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The TNR Alu-Systems Tour of The Sperrins Rally at the weekend saw Jonny Leonard and Jackie Donaldson extend there class 1 championship lead in their Ford Fiesta. After 4 rounds of the NI Rally Championship the duo have had 3 class wins and a 3rd place leaving them at the top of the points in a very competitive class.
The Tour of the Sperrins saw the crew lead from the outset, with Jackie doing a great job on Patterson Pace Notes the crew set fastest times on every stage to win by 1 minute and 5 seconds from the second placed Fiesta of Philip Ewart.
Speaking after the Maghera based event Leonard said; “Another great result for us, the stages were fantastic and the car never missed a beat. After the first loop of stages it was really a case of preserving our lead, we kept a level head and had a steady run to the finish.”
He continued to say; “Thanks must go to Hankook for ‘keeping us on the black stuff’, the tyres have performed faultlessly over the opening 4 rounds and also to Jackie for keeping me between the hedges. I would like to acknowledge, F.A.L. HIRE and my Mum and Dad for making this possible, Rodney at RGD Motorsport for doing a top job on the car. And finally Patterson Pace Notes”
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The crew now lead class one by 21 pts from Philip Ewart in his similar Fiesta. They are also a strong second in the chase for the Hankook GpN prize drive behind point’s leader Mark Donnelly in his Lancer.
However, Leonard’s main aim this season is The Hankook Junior Prize Drive, an all expenses paid drive (including the car) on an overseas International event in 2011. Hopefully some more strong performances should see the young Fermanagh man in with a shout!
The crew move on now to Round 5 of the Hankook NI Rally Championship, The Modern Tyre Service Mourne Rally, Where they hope to continue their success.
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