Tricky Cavan Stages will be perfect prep for Donegal Rally

The National Rally Championship heads to its third round of 2023 this weekend, the Cavan Stages Rally. With a win apiece, Callum Devine and Josh Moffett are tied at the top of the National leaderboard. The R5 rivals will be gunning for glory in Cavan with one eye on a certain three-day event three weeks later.

Seeded first, Devine is tackling the Cavan Stages Rally for the first time, perhaps giving an advantage to 2018 winner Moffett.

Cathan McCourt, Desi Henry, and Garry Jennings complete Cavan’s top five entries with the latter on a high after his impressive Tour of the Sperrins victory over Jonny Greer and Henry. If Jennings continues his recent run of form aboard his new Ford Fiesta Rally2 he’ll certainly be a dangerman come Donegal.

Cavan’s high-calibre Rally2 entry runs through the top ten with Declan Boyle and Gareth MacHale both featuring. An interesting addition is Gary Kiernan and James Fulton who will compete in a Ford Fiesta R5 on their home rally.

Mark Alcorn tops a blockbuster two-wheel-drive entry that includes a host of potential winners. Daniel McKenna and Dessie Keenan complete an initial trio of Ford Escort Mk2s before a brace of Toyota Starlets steered by Declan Gallagher and Richard Moffett.

David Moffett continues his Toyota Starlet comeback after finishing seventh in Class 14 on the Circuit of Kerry Stages Rally. Frank and Lauren Kelly have also entered Cavan’s national round following their two-wheel-drive win in the Sperrins – their first event after Kelly’s rapid reconstruction of Baby Blue.

Raymond Conlon tops an epic entry in Class 13 while the Rally4 entry hits double digits as Cavan forms part of Motorsport Ireland’s dual-surface Junior Rally Series. Keelan Grogan and Ayrton Sherlock top the front-wheel-drive entry in their Peugeot 208 Rally4.

From Rally2, through modifieds, and front-wheel-drives – crews will be in hot pursuit of Cavan Stages Rally success with many also hoping for a confidence boost ahead of Ireland’s biggest rally of the year, the Donegal International Rally.

Find out why Cavan could well be the perfect warm-up for Donegal as Onthepacenote’s Killian Duffy previews Sunday’s three stages for Rally Insight.

Seefin (10.44 km), SS1/4/7

Seefin is a tough test to open the rally with quite a few bumps and jumps. Crews will have to be really committed through its 10 kilometres if they want to get the best from it.

Corragarry (10.90 km), SS2/5/8

Cavan’s middle stage in each loop is similar in ways to the opener but it is more twisty. Corragarry actually reminds me a bit of Ardgroom, it is that style of a stage. Like stage one, it was run in 2019 but this is a shorter version than the one crews faced four years ago.

Bunnoe (14.40 km) SS3/6/9

The final stage is an epic way to end this brilliant national rally. There is so much going on in Bunnoe, a proper mix of tight, twisty, and fast sections. The cars will be bombing their way down main roads before turning off into really narrow backroads.

There is a lot of time available here which will keep the rally open until the very final stage.

Overall, the characteristics of Cavan’s three stages will really challenge drivers and co-drivers but it is the ultimate warm-up for Donegal – it is comparable to what they’ll face on Donegal International’s opening day.

Photo by Roger Dawson