Determined Devine grabs overnight Rally of the Lakes lead
Callum Devine and Noel O’Sullivan completed day one of Killarney’s Rally of the Lakes with a 7.5-second advantage over Robert Barrable and Gordon Noble.
The defending Rally of the Lakes winners will be happy with their overnight lead but know that Barrable and local ace Rob Duggan are still big threats behind.
Devine had a tough start to the event when his Volkswagen Polo R5 suffered a front-left puncture after clipping a rock on Killarney’s iconic Moll’s Gap opener.
Hometown hero Rob Duggan set a blistering time through stage one to grab an early 9.8-second lead on his first R5 outing since 2018. Barrable was the best of the rest in second while Meirion Evans completed the top three.
Jonny Greer and Niall Burns were forced to spectate at the Gap when their rally ended on the first stage. Their Citroen C3 Rally2 slid wide in the slippery early morning conditions with the subsequent damage leaving them stranded.
Duggan extended his advantage on Healy Pass but his sensational start was to endure its first setback on the next test.
Galway International Rally winners, Meirion Evans and Jonathan Jackson, set the second-fastest time through Healy Pass but an accident on Cod’s Head put their Polo R5 out of the running.
Devine and Josh Moffett were the only drivers to complete the stage before Evans’ off temporarily stopped the stage. The Derry driver flew through the bumps, jumps, twists, and turns of the epic Cod’s Head test, going 14.5 seconds faster than Moffett.
The crews who completed stage three at road speed were given Moffett’s time, putting Devine right back in the mix after his stage one puncture.
Devine jumped into the rally lead on stage four, Ardgroom, as Duggan started to feel the effects of his lack of R5 experience. He slipped four seconds behind Devine while Barrable, who set Ardgroom’s fastest time, was less than a second behind Duggan.
Josh and Sam Moffett were further back, locked in their own battle for fourth.
The relentless Ardgroom test took its toll on the Rally2 crews as Gareth MacHale, Aaron MacHale, and Brendan Cumiskey all retired on the Beara peninsula.
A brace of stage wins on Healy Pass and Cod’s Head extended Devine’s lead to 12.3 seconds with Barrable now his nearest rival in second.
Barrable responded with his own brace of fastest times through Killarney’s final two stages of Saturday. The Dubliner was in fine form all day and will be eyeing up Devine’s lead on Sunday’s eight stages.
Sam Moffett edged closer to his brother’s fourth-place position over Saturday’s final loop. Monaghan’s Hyundai stars are only separated by 2.4 seconds.
Kevin Eves and Chris Melly’s Toyota Corolla has been a sight to behold on Saturday’s mountain passes and coastal curves. Their charge to the front of modifieds put them in an impressive sixth place overall with Jason Black and Karl Egan their nearest challengers in two-wheel-drive.
The satisfaction on the crews’ faces after enjoying the driving challenge and pleasure of Moll’s Gap, Healy Pass, Cod’s Head, and Ardgroom has been great to see today.
With Barrable on form and two more runs of the Gap in Duggan’s sights – the race for Rally of the Lakes victory is going to be a good one.
Photos by Roger Dawson
