Moffett fends off Barrable attack to win West Cork Rally
Treacherous conditions and an inspired Robert Barrable rain dance weren’t enough to steal the West Cork Rally victory from Josh Moffett and Andy Hayes.
The reigning Irish Tarmac Rally champions held an 18.6-second lead on Saturday night over Galway International Rally winners Meirions Evans and Jonathan Jackson.
Callum Devine started Sunday a further nine seconds back but neither proved to be the ones Moffett had to watch over day two’s six slippery stages.
Instead, it was Robert Barrable and Gordon Noble who defied the odds to switch their 36.1-second deficit into a serious rally challenge across Sunday’s opening loop of stages.
Tyres were the talking point in Sunday morning’s Clonakilty Parc Ferme as rain lingered overhead. Josh Moffett and Robert Barrable both opted for Michelin’s wet tyres for the intense loop of Shanaway, Sam’s Cross, and Ardfield tests that totalled over 50 stage kilometres.
Their decision was the right one as the rain plummeted from the skies around Clonakilty.
Meirion Evans and Callum Devine’s hopes of threatening Moffett in front disappeared as they struggled for grip on the wrong tyre compound.
Evans was left to rue his tyre choice for the second time in two days. His early lead on Saturday vanished when Josh Moffett’s hard tyre gamble paid off to lead after a brace of fastest times on stages three and four.
Despite his two nearest rivals drifting away, Moffett’s claim on his second West Cork victory looked to be shifting into the hands of Robert Barrable.
In wickedly wet weather, Barrable kept the foot down to secure a hat-trick of stage wins on Shanaway, Sam’s Cross, and Ardfield. His Citroen C3 Rally2 stopped the clocks on Shanaway an incredible 10.5 seconds faster than Moffett.
Straightaway it put the Dubliner into third, ahead of Devine who was 15.3 seconds adrift of Barrable’s benchmark.
Barrable repeated the feat on stage ten, Sam’s Cross, cutting Moffett’s lead by a further 11.3 seconds and moving into second ahead of Evans. Barrable later described his fastest times as feeling comfortable. He was about the only one enjoying the treacherously wet roads but there was no denying Barrable had found an unlikely sweet spot amid all the madness.
Meanwhile, Josh Moffett felt out of sorts. He reset himself for Sunday morning’s final test before service, Ardfield’s 19-kilometre coastal classic. The Hyundai i20 R5 driver was happier with his performance on West Cork’s 11th stage but still Barrable bargained him for four more seconds.
The gap was ten seconds with one more loop of three stages remaining.
Jonny Greer and Niall Burns were the only others to shine in a similar way to Barrable and Noble. The fellow Citroen crew managed to slip ahead of Sam Moffett and Keith Moriarty on Ardfield to hold fifth overall, 16.8 seconds adrift of the free-falling Devine.
Sam Moffett was without words when asked about his so-so Sunday morning. The 2017 champion had shed over 20 seconds to Greer over the three stages.
Set-up tweaks to his Hyundai i20 Rally2 had Sam Moffett feeling more confident at the start of West Cork’s final loop. It was too little too late, though, and Galway’s podium finishers had to settle for sixth at the end of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship’s second round.
Jonny Greer continued to push hard, steadily reducing the gap to Devine to under eight seconds ahead of West Cork’s Ardfield decider. The Derry driver did just enough though to hang onto fourth by 3.1 seconds, a result he’ll have to accept after a tough weekend’s rallying.
Meirion Evans found himself in no-mans land heading to the end of the 14-stage rally. After hopes of taking a third Irish Tarmac win in a row diminished, the Welshman stayed calm to seal West Cork’s final podium position.
As the rain continued to fall around Clonakilty, all eyes were on an epic showdown between Josh Moffett and Robert Barrable. They shared a stage win apiece over the last runs of Shanaway and Sam’s Cross to leave Moffett with a 6.5-second margin ahead of a frighteningly foggy Ardfield.
Barrable was fastest through the famous stage on the preceding loop and he left no stone unturned in his attempt to steal a last-gasp victory from Moffett.
But Moffett had no interest in giving up his West Cork title. Along with Andy Hayes, he tramped his Hyundai through the guttery test and flew to an eventual 8.9-second rally win.
After slip-ups in Galway’s championship opener, Moffett and Hayes have shown they are still the men to beat at the front of any Irish Tarmac event.
“Rob made it tough today,” Moffett told Andy Walsh at the end of West Cork’s fine finale, “he was on a serious push.”
“I have to give Tom [Gahan] and the guys credit because they made some important changes in service ahead of the final stages.
“We’re over the moon.”
Photos by D Harrigan Images
