Bradley and Crozier take Shackleton victory

With an unusual hot weather combination combined with a new layout to the Maiden City Motor Club’s rally home in the vast expanse of the MJM Shackleton complex, a unexpected and spectacular 6 stage rally event unfolded under the blue skies in the shadow of Binevenagh in the beautiful County Derry landscape.
The Eakin Izuzu Brian James Trailers Rally, based at the MJM Shackleton complex, features a new start and new finish with a carefully thought out route taking on features that are unique to this expansive course.
With an entry level of almost 40 cars, the Club produced an interesting mix of cars, some keen to test out for the Monaghan rally event on the following day, as well as seasoned and new competitors, keen to cover stage miles and practice on sealed surfaces.
Early leader of the event was number 2 seed PJ McDermott from Burt in Co. Donegal.
Stage 2 saw McDermott’s time improve, and lead the event, but no. 1 seed Pauric Duffy and Kevin Glynn from Monaghan, went on a charge and moved ahead with a best stage time of 3:32 sec., and a highest average speed of the day of 57.2 mph.
P.J. continued to lead the event by stage 3, with a fasted stage time of 3:51 secs, but young Peter Bennett and his even younger navigator, Strabane’s Ethan McColgan, crashed their Evo 9 into a bale on the course, and damaged the front struts on the car, leaving them out of the event.
By stage 5, John Bradley and Co-driver Ryan Crozier from Draperstown in the Escort, began to move up a gear, gaining a time of 3:50 sec, well ahead of the opposition, with PJ McDermott’s car lacking the drive to keep up. As PJ was going to the Monaghan Rally the following day, he said, “I want to preserve the car to ensure it will go the distance in Monaghan tomorrow!”
With John Bradley in the lead, he maintained the distance between himself and Pauric Duffy, who was now on a charge as well, and recorded a fastest stage time on SS6 of 4:04secs., on the longest stage of the rally. Interestingly, Carndonagh man Aaron McLaughlin and his co-driver, recorded fastest stage times off 4:04secs for both stage 5 and 6, but due to the stage max on SS1, were out of contention.
Bradley and Crozier in their Escort II, crossed the line on a time of 23:13secs., 8 seconds ahead of PJ McDermott and Nial Burns’s Subaru. Closely followed by Pauric Duffy and Kevin Glynn.
Other notable local drivers included Class 1 winners Michael and Dessie Nutt from Castlerock, and class 4 driver Robert Reilly and Eamon Conway from Claudy.
Another notable young driver, in his first ever drive in a rally car was Joel Eakin, co-driven by Irish and British Award winning Championship driver, Callum Devine from Park. The Eakin / Devine crew finished a credible 19th place on what was their first event rally with Eakin at the wheel.
Declan McCay, Clerk of the Course thanked Mr Peter Eakin of Eakin Bros., Claudy, for his support of the event, with the Eakin Isuzu, Brian James Trailers brand, and also thanked the MJM Group for their use of the Shackleton venue at Ballykelly, Co. Derry.