Evans finds Cork 20 comforts to seize day one lead
An epic drive over Cork 20’s opening eight stages has given Meirion Evans and Jonathan Jackson a 6.8-second overnight lead over Callum Devine and Noel O’Sullivan.
Irish Tarmac Rally Championship leader, Devine, looked like he was going to be the driver to beat again this weekend when he started the rally off with the fastest time on its curtain-raising Caherduggan test.
But Evans responded straightaway on the succeeding Ballynoe stage to lead an Irish Tarmac event for the first time since March’s West Cork Rally. The Welshman ran with harder Michelin tyres than his podium-placed rivals on Cork’s opening loop and it seemed to pay off on the drier-than-expected Ballynoe.
Evans was quickest by 7.2 seconds on stage two with Josh Moffett and Devine perhaps too cautious after stage one’s greasier conditions. Devine finished Cork’s opening loop 5.3 seconds behind Evans with Moffett less than a second further back.
Cork 20’s second stage claimed the Ford Escort Mk2 of Historic leaders Neil Williams and Anthony O’Sullivan. They held a staggering 21-second lead after Cork’s first stage but slid into a ditch on Ballynoe’s third corner after losing their brakes.
Tomas Davies inherited Williams’ lead and held the position until Saturday’s final stage when Michael McDaid and Declan Casey sneaked in front. McDaid was forced to fight back from intercom issues early on Saturday morning.
Back at the front, Josh Moffett made it three different winners on Cork’s first three stages with the fastest time on his second pass over Caherduggan. The reigning Irish Tarmac Champion moved to within 0.6 seconds of rally leader Evans, jumping ahead of Devine who felt his tyre choice may have been too soft for the conditions.
Evans responded to the threatening Moffett with a hat-trick of fastest times from stage four to six. The short but tricky Curraglass test caught out Moffett and the Hyundai pilot was lucky to survive his stage five moment. Devine and Evans were curious about what happened when they spotted the tyre marks that bore evidence of Moffett’s hairy, fourth-gear, 360-degree spin.
Moffett was fortunate to escape any damage and did well to only lose ten seconds in the process.
Ryan Loughran posted the third-fastest time on the same stage, just 0.4 seconds slower than Devine. Loughran had been tweaking his Ford Fiesta Rally2’s set-up and his stage-five flyer highlighted his own development as a front-end Rally2 driver in the Irish Tarmac Championship.
Loughran enjoyed an intense battle with James Ford over day one’s eight stages. Ford finished the day with a 10.3-second advantage to hold fourth overall ahead of Loughran.
A fastest time on Saturday’s penultimate stage was a rare highlight for Devine who, in general, struggled to find his usual pace in Cork. Perhaps he was hampered by conservative tyre choices but still, he’ll know his fourth Irish Tarmac win of the year isn’t out of reach as he only lies 6.8 seconds behind Evans.
Josh Moffett completed day one 11 seconds behind Evans, rounding out the top three positions.
In modifieds, Frank and Lauren Kelly hold a 14.5-second lead over Eddie Doherty and Tom Murphy with Cork’s Colin Byrne a further 17.1 seconds back.
Another impressive drive by Ioan Lloyd and Sion Williams gives them control of the Rally4 category. The Welsh duo finished day one 34.8 seconds ahead of Cian Caldwell and Liam Egan.
Photos by D Harrigan Images
