Garry Jennings and Enda Sherry took a fantastic third place overall on Jennings' first event in an Impreza World Rally Car on the Ulster International Rally last weekend.
Jenning's podium finish was even more satisfying as his inclusion in the event was only confirmed two hours before the start on Friday. He had originally completed the entry form with his usual Group N car but that was before the deal to use the ex-Petter Solberg Impreza S9 had been finalised. The regulations state that the event stewards can overturn the
FIA rule preventing a competitor from changing the category of his entry. This they did but only after all the International crews had agreed in writing to the change from class N4 to A8.
Drama over and placed seventh car on the road, Jennings set about repaying the faith placed in him by JMB Enterprises, who were pivotal in the arrangement to hire the car from Derek McGarrity Motorsport. However, the first stage was an anticlimax for all the crews, as Tim McNulty's accident blocked the stage, meaning everybody was allotted a notional time and the rally proper started on stage two.
The team had tested the car on Wednesday but the conditions were much different to those on the Friday stages. On dry roads and in relatively warm weather, Jennings was able to use the anti-lag system for the first time in anger on stage two.
"We'd tested in the wet and I couldn't get on with the system," he explained, "but it is definitely an advantage in the dry. The car is so responsive, but the main differences I've noticed apart from the acceleration, are the brakes and suspension. You can brake so much later into the corners than the Group N car and I'm convinced that we haven't left the ground on some of the jumps; the dampers just soak up the landings, it's brilliant."
