Devine seals maiden Donegal International Rally victory
Callum Devine and Noel O’Sullivan survived challenging weather conditions to claim their first Donegal International Rally victory, making it a hat-trick of wins in the 2023 Irish Tarmac Rally Championship.
The Volkswagen Polo R5 duo put their Donegal demons of 12 months ago to bed, finishing 55.5 seconds ahead of Matt Edwards and David Moynihan. Devine had been locked in a rally-long battle with Josh Moffett before the latter clipped a bank and broke their Hyundai i20 R5’s rear-right wheel towards the end of Fanad Head on Sunday afternoon.
“A 4.7-second lead means nothing,” remarked Devine ahead of Sunday’s six stages. “We will have to go for it today.”
And go for it he did, two benchmark times over High Glen and Atlantic Drive increased his advantage over Moffett to 17.7 seconds after Donegal’s 16th stage.
The rally leader didn’t seem completely happy in his driving, struggling to find a perfect rhythm – something that is particularly important on stages like Atlantic Drive. Devine’s grasp on victory faced another threat on Fanad Head when rain rolled into the coastal test.
Devine hoped his pre-Fanad advantage would be enough when he approached the wet sections with caution. What he didn’t know, though, was that Josh Moffett’s Donegal International Rally defence had come to blows near the end of the 17.9-kilometre test.
Searching for every second in his chase of Devine, Moffett slid wide on a medium left-hander and his Hyundai i20 R5 clattered into a bank. The impact broke the Hyundai’s rear right wheel, putting Moffett out of the rally with three stages remaining.
Josh’s brother Sam Moffett was embroiled in his own battle heading into the mixed conditions of Fanad Head. The two-time Donegal winner had Matt Edwards’ Polo R5 breathing down his neck.
Edwards was full of confidence after an impressive run of four stage wins on Saturday moved him from seventh to fourth following differential issues on Friday morning. A brace of second-fastest times on High Glen and Atlantic Drive edged Edwards to 1.7 seconds of Sam Moffett’s podium spot.
Moffett and Edwards were both struggling with understeer and received nominal times on Fanad Head as Sam stopped to ensure his brother Josh and co-driver Andy Hayes were okay when he arrived at the scene of their accident.
Meirion Evans finished Sunday morning’s loop of stages in fourth overall. He passed Garry Jennings on day three’s High Glen opener as the Fermanagh man lost 10 seconds with flat-shift problems. The issue persisted through Atlantic Drive and Fanad Head with Jennings having to clutch for gear changes. He finished the loop in fifth just 8.9 seconds ahead of Robert Barrable.
53.1 seconds seemed a comfortable margin for Devine and O’Sullivan with three stages lying between them and a maiden Donegal International Rally victory. But a deluge of rain at the start of High Glen had them wondering what else would be thrown at them before Fanad Head’s eventual rally finish line.
The rain bounced off the bonnet of Devine’s Volkswagen, ambushing his windscreen right up to Glen Village. Driving without wet tyres, Devine was never so glad to see a dry road as he was when he flew through High Glen’s mountain section.
The Claudy driver held his nerve to complete the 12-kilometre stage with the second-fastest time, 4.6 seconds slower than the hard-charging Matt Edwards who opted for a cross of Pirelli tyres for the changing conditions. Edwards’ effort was 12.4 seconds faster than Sam Moffett, enough to grab second place from Moffett by 10.7 seconds.
Moffett’s resistance was hindered when his windscreen wipers couldn’t clear the water away from his eye line fast enough. He feared the inevitable after crawling through the start of the stage.
Another storm stood in Devine’s way on Donegal’s penultimate stage, Atlantic Drive.
“The rain came out of nowhere,” described Devine at the end of the stage.
The drama must have sucked every emotion out of the 29-year-old but he once again was bang on the money. The second-fastest time on stage 19, half a second slower than Edwards, was more than enough to keep his victory hopes on track.
Edwards’ latest stage win solidified his runner-up spot as Sam Moffett backed off in the Atlantic Drive rain. The gap between the two was now 24.2 seconds heading into Donegal’s Fanad Head finale.
Meanwhile, Garry Jennings’ day was going from bad to worse. After a superb display of driving over the first two days, Jennings was now down in eighth after his Ford Fiesta Rally2 cut out twice in Atlantic Drive, costing him two minutes.
Robert Barrable, Ryan Loughran, and Jonny Greer now held fifth, sixth, and seventh. Loughran can be especially pleased with his performance punching in several top times despite his lack of Rally2 experience.
Clouds hung over Fanad Head as Devine and O’Sullivan approached the 17.9-kilometre coastal classic with 49.7 seconds in hand over Edwards and Moynihan.
Devine raced against the rain to bring his Polo R5 home in splendid style, taking the fastest time on Fanad Head and winning the 2023 Donegal International Rally by 55.5 seconds over Edwards.
“We pushed hard this morning,” said a tearful Devine at the end of Donegal’s final stage. “We were worried about the rain and we didn’t want to mess our result up with tyre choice.
“This is the dream rally to win. I’m delighted, I have no words.
“This is the rally that everyone wants.”
Sam Moffett brought his Rally2 i20 home in third, 37.5 seconds ahead of Meirion Evans with Robert Barrable and Ryan Loughran rounding out the top six.
Kevin Gallagher and Ryan Moore brought their Darrian T90 safely home to a massive two-minute, 19-second modified victory over Damien Tourish and Domhnall McAlaney.
Tourish, who hasn’t competed on a closed-road rally since last year’s edition, was fighting for second with Kevin Eves up until Eves’ Toyota Corolla had enough with two stages to go.
David Moffett and Martin Connolly completed the modified podium after fighting back from a one-minute time-sucking spin on the rally’s second stage.
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Photos by Gavin Woods
