JUST WHAT THE VET ORDERED

Enniskillen Motor Club can justifiably look back on the 1978 Permapost Rally and conclude that it has to have been one of the best forest rallies ever held in Northern Ireland.  The entry list had quality – Billy Coleman, Bertie Fisher, Ronnie McCartney, Ger Buckley, Robin Lyons, Hugh O’Brien – and quantity with 92 competitors on the entry list, and very few non-starters.  This was clearly an event not to be missed.

It was great to have had such an enthusiastic sponsor as Mr George Kidney of Ballycassidy Sawmills Ltd., who enticed Billy Coleman to come “up North” with the offer of the use of his Son’s RS1800.  The only disappointment must have been that Billy didn’t win the event, trailing Ronnie McCartney in his RS1600 until the half-way point, and then struck by an electrical fault on the longest stage of the rally which put him right out of contention.

It was a cold and wet July morning when Billy Coleman sat into the immaculate Permapost RS1800 with the Number 1 on the doors.  His preparation for the event was a quick run up and down the road in the car with it’s owner, Ernest Kidney, strapped into the passenger seat.  

This was Billy’s first time to contest a round of the Pirelli/Belfast Telegraph championship, and his first time back in Ulster forests since the Texaco in 1974.  Co-driver, as had become the norm recently, was Peter Scott, looking very professional in a pair of the sponsor’s spare Nomex overalls.

At number 2 was last year’s Permapost winner, and reigning Pirelli/Belfast Telegraph Champion, Ronnie McCartney.  Probably the reigning “king of the forests”, and still a crowd favourite, Ronnie elected to use the STP/Team P.R.Reilly Mk1 RS1600.  Perhaps the car didn’t look as immaculate as the array of RS1800s around it, but as sure as night follows day, it would be driven as fast as any of them when it would come to the gravel.

At number 3 was Robin Lyons in his ex-works Avenger and he was looking forward to having a good run in a ‘really quick” car.  Winston Henry and Ivor Ferguson were lined up at position 4, just ahead of Ger Buckley/John Caplice in their Electrical and Pump Services RS1800.  Ger was just a little apprehensive about the wet conditions and reckoned it would take him a few stages to get to grips with the forests here.

Bertie Fisher had only decided at the last minute to compete and was slotted in at number 6, while Freddie Patterson took over the place reserved for John Lyons.  John was unable to compete due to an eye infection, thought to have been contracted in his recent meteoric drive in Donegal without a windscreen.

The first two special stages were in the Lough Bradan complex, starting with the South forest.  This is a narrow, slippery stage with many difficult downhill bends near the finish.  Ronnie McCartney was, as always, fast out of the blocks and was three seconds quicker than Coleman, and eight faster than O’Brien.  Shockingly, this was as far as Robin Lyons would go in the ex-Andrew Cowan works Avenger, spinning it off the road and damaging the transmission badly enough to have to call it a day.  Bertie Fisher was very exciting to watch, but his over-exuberance cost him a spin and 20 seconds to the front runners.

SS1 – Lough Bradan South

1. R.McCartney 1m 56s;
2. B.Coleman 1m 59s;
3. J.Davidson 2m 02s;
4. H.O’Brien 2m 04s;
5. W.Henry 2m 06s;

Roy Alcorn and Jimmy Logan were next up on 2m 07s;

On Lough Bradan North, McCartney was again fastest, again three quicker than Coleman, and again eight quicker than O’Brien.  On this stage, Autotest legend Ken Irwin went off the road at exactly the same corner as he did last year, Bill Livingstone rolled his Escort RS1600, and Ger Buckley was trying to come to terms with how narrow the stages were.

SS2 – Lough Bradan North

1. R.McCartney 4m 19s;
2. B.Coleman 4m 22s;
3. H.O’Brien 4m 27s;
4. W.Henry 4m 38s;
5. J.Logan 4m 39s.

For the benefit of spectators, a two-mile test was run through the Castle Archdale Estate, and here Bertie Fisher managed to make it to the top of the timesheet.  He beat McCartney by a second and Coleman by three on a test that included an exciting section of tarmac (on forest tyres), while Coleman made an uncharacteristic mistake and visited the scenery in front of hundreds of astonished onlookers.

Winston Henry, who had been fourth quickest on the first two tests, suffered a broken steering arm and plunged into the undergrowth losing close to seven minutes.  Robert Copeland in his Toyota Corolla also made contact with the shrubbery, while Tommy Reid’s RS2000 was struggling with a clutch problem, and hoping to have it changed before the lunch halt.

SS3 – Castle Archdale

1. B.Fisher 2m 32s;
2. R.McCartney 2m 33s;
3. B.Coleman 2m 35s;
4. B.Law 2m 36s;
5. J.Logan 2m 37s.

The Manor House Hotel was the picturesque setting for Lunch, and with parc fermé rules in force, competitors had time to discuss times with each other and exchange tales of good and bad fortune.  McCartney was eight seconds ahead of Coleman, with O’Brien fifteen behind the Cork man.  Jimmy Logan found himself in fourth place overall in his Group One RS2000, just ahead of Bertie Fisher, who was all of 44 seconds off the lead.

Belmore Forest got things under way again and despite disappearing rear brakes, McCartney topped the time sheet.  Billy Coleman was second, five seconds adrift and two seconds ahead of O’Brien.  The Tyrone vet was settling in nicely and the car was running well for him, a pleasant change for someone dogged by bad luck on his last few events.

On this stage, Ian Rock almost collected the finish timekeeper, losing control after crossing the finish line and trying his best to roll the car.  After spending some time retrieving his car from the undergrowth, he was able to continue, but with a bit more care.  Freddie Patterson retired with suspension damage sustained in an off-road excursion

Tommy Reid was now in possession of a new clutch and managed to get back on the pace, but it didn’t quite match up to the pace of fellow Group One leader, Jimmy Logan.

SS4 – Belmore

1. R.McCartney 4m 27s;
2. B.Coleman 4m 32s;
3. H.O’Brien 4m 34s;
4. J.Logan 4m 38s;
5. =B.Fisher/I.Cathcart 4m 39s.

Special Stage 5 was Ballintempo and McCartney was still struggling with failing rear brakes.

SS5 – Ballintempo

1. R.McCartney 5m 02s;
2. B.Coleman 5m 07s;
3. J.Logan 5m 13s;
4. I.Cathcart/R.Alcorn 5m 15s;
5. G.Buckley 5m 16s.

Billy Coleman was forced to take on more fuel before the longest stage of the rally, Lough Formal.  It was here that everything would change.  Four miles in, a timing pulley on the engine of McCartney’s car parted company and shed the timing belt.  His sixteen second lead came to nought, and Coleman should have inherited the lead, but it was not to be.  An electrical fault caused the Permapost Escort to grind to a halt and spend some eleven minutes trying to figure out what was wrong.

Hugh O’Brien inherited the lead, courtesy of fastest time, and Ger Buckley was getting into the groove to take second place.  Winston Henry was trying very hard here but managed to damage his suspension on a hard landing on his way to third fastest time.

SS6 – Lough Formal

1. H.O’Brien 10m 29s;
2. G.Buckley 10m 43s;
3. W.Henry 10m 48s;
4. B.Fisher 10m 51s;
5. J.Logan 10m 53s.

B.Coleman 22m 03s.

The overall standings after six stages were:

1. H.O’Brien 29m 21s;
2. J.Logan 30m 09s;
3. G.Buckley 30m 21s.

For Special Stage 7, Big Dog, Billy Coleman had his electrical problem resolved and set about the remaining stages with little to lose.  He set fastest time on each of them, although O’Brien didn’t mind as he drove to protect his lead.

SS7 – Big Dog

1. B.Coleman 2m 00s;
2. =W.Henry/H.O’Brien 2m 04s;
3. G.Buckley 2m 05s;
4. =B.Fisher/G.Robinson/J.Gilleece 2m 06s.

SS8 – Conagher

1. B.Coleman 3m 08s;
2. B.Fisher 3m 10s;
3. =G.Buckley/H.O’Brien 3m 11s
4. =B.Law/D.Francis 3m 12s.

SS9 – Black Slee

1. B.Coleman 3m 34s;
2. H.O’Brien 3m 39s;
3. =B.Fisher/I.Cathcart 3m 40s;
4. =J.Logan/G.Robinson 3m 41s

SS10 – Lough Navar

1. B.Coleman 4m 01s;
2. J.Logan 4m 03s
3. G.Buckley 4m 05s;
4. W.Henry/I.Cathcart 4m 07s
5. H.O’Brien 4m 08s.

It was a delight to see a broad smile on Hugh O’Brien’s face at the end of the event.  The Omagh vet took his first Ulster forest rally win since the CAM Rally in 1971 when he used the ex-Mikkola Twin Cam Escort.  It was a bitter disappointment for Ronnie McCartney who had thought perhaps his luck had changed after his second place in Donegal, but he was heard to remark that the cost of running one full house Escort was becoming prohibitive for him, never mind two!

Overall Results:

1. H.O’Brien 42m 23s;
2. J.Logan/P.Ervine 43m 17s;
3. B.Fisher 43m 25s;
4. G.Buckley/J.Caplice 43m 28s;
5. P.McCartan 43m 40s;
6. I.Cathcart/J.Clark 43m 54s;
7. D.Boyd/W.Parkinson 44m 28s;
8. G.Robinson/W.McIlmoyle 44m 29s;
9. T.Reid/D.Todd 44m 30s;
10. B.Law/J.Meeke 44m 32s.

Group One:

1. J.Logan/P.Ervine
2. G.Robinson/W.McIlmoyle
3. T.Reid/D.Todd
4. B.Law/J.Meeke
5. J.Gilleece/L.Wier

Class 1

1. S.McCabe
2. W.Anderson/D.Hopper
3. D.Hadden/J.Crosslé

Class 2 – As per Group One

Class 3

1. G.McGarrity/D.Hackett
2. E.Kenmore/J.Armstrong
3. R.Kernahan/G.Saunders
4. S.Orr/K.McKee

Class 4

1. P.McCartan/P.Wright
2. R.Copeland/
3. R.Law/R.McGurk

Class 5

1. H.O’Brien
2. G.Buckley
3. B.Fisher
4. I.Cathcart/J.Clark
5. D.Boyd/W.Parkinson