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Yorkshire: Citroen Trophy event summary

Barrable takes 2010 Citroen Racing Trophy Irish duo Robbie Barrable and Damien Connolly made it four wins from six events on International Rally Yorkshire this weekend to secure the 2010 Citroen Racing Trophy in style. Their total score at the ...

Barrable takes 2010 Citroen Racing Trophy

Irish duo Robbie Barrable and Damien Connolly made it four wins from six events on International Rally Yorkshire this weekend to secure the 2010 Citroen Racing Trophy in style.

Their total score at the end of the Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Championship's one make series for Citroen C2R2 Max pocket rockets, was just two points shy of perfect, taking 108 of a possible 110, having finished second to their rivals on the season opener back in March.

Such apparent domination of the series belies the level of competition between around half a dozen drivers for not only prestige and the champions' trophies, but a share of nearly 0x20ac120,000 in prize money across the six events.

Every one of the five regular drivers who contested the series took turns at setting fastest stage times, but the bulk were split between Barrable and main title rival Mark Donnelly. It was actually Donnelly who set most fastest times, he and his two co-drivers Paddy Robinson and Aidan Friel taking 36 wins to Barrable's 32.

It was Barrable who dominated on the final round in Yorkshire from the start though, beating Donnelly by a full two seconds per mile on the opening sixteen mile night-time gravel test.

Donnelly's fight-back next day was short-lived, the Ulsterman clawing six seconds back on Saturday's opening stage, only to retire with transmission problems before he completed stage three.

This left Aussie Molly Taylor, who had re-united with 2009 championship-winning co-driver Phil Clarke, best of the rest in second. She led a trio of Citroens all on the same minute from the finish of the stage, but by the start of the next test in Staindale, the procession was short by one.

The appalling luck that has dogged Richard Sykes and Simon Taylor's season continued, their engine expiring before the stage start. Sykes was understandably numb as he waited for his team to recover the car, texting the championship media office with, "Unbelievable!!!! Another engine gone! Still nil points?"

He proved that despite the string of non finishes, the Englishman had maintained something of a sense of humour as he had joked at the start that some kind of "Best Non-Finisher" award would be appropriate if the worst happened -- and it did.

Joe McGonigle and Niall Burns' have also had a season of bad luck, but being quickest on stage four and staying close to Barrable's times for the remainder of the event, it looked like being a good finish to the season for the eventual champion's countryman.

Having passed Taylor for second on stage five, they had pulled nearly a minute clear by the final run through Givendale, but it was here that they would stay, a mechanical failure meaning they never made it to the teatime finish in Scarborough.

So the final winners of International Rally Yorkshire took their place on the top of the podium of both event and championship, Barrable and Connolly worthy victors of a great season in the Citroen Racing Trophy.

-source: brc

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