National Championship set for Mizen Head title showdown
Ireland’s National Rally Championship heads to Bantry for a finely poised Fastnet Stages Rally title showdown between rivals Josh Moffett and Callum Devine.
Eight epic stages along West Cork’s Mizen Head will decide what has been a compelling championship on Sunday.
Defending champion Moffett holds a 19-point advantage over Devine but the two drivers tied on 101 points after two dropped scores are considered. Keith Moriarty’s lead in the co-drivers’ championship similarly evaporates when dropped scores are taken into account.
Moffett is hoping to seal his third National Championship crown in a row, an achievement that would match fellow border county drivers Declan Boyle and Niall Maguire.
Devine, meanwhile, has a chance of winning the eight-round series in his first year of competing in it. The Derry driver entered the championship aiming to gain seat time ahead of Irish Tarmac events but now finds himself in the dream situation of going for the ITRC and NRC double in 2023.
It all means that Bantry is the place to be this weekend if you want to witness another scintillating battle between Devine’s Volkswagen Polo R5 and Moffett’s Hyundai i20 on Fastnet’s winner-takes-all championship finale.
Daniel Cronin will start Fastnet third on the road, eyeing up a shot at stealing third in the championship from Donegal’s Declan Boyle. Seeded just behind, Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy hotshots Patrick O’Brien and Eamonn Kelly will aim to end their seasons on a high. It is Skoda versus Volkswagen in this bid for next-generation bragging rights.
Modified frontrunner Eddie Doherty completes what is a spicy top ten of Rally2 machinery as the Modified Irish Tarmac Champion makes his debut behind the wheel of a Skoda Fabia R5.
Conor Murphy, Declan Gallagher, and Chris Armstrong lead the two-wheel-drive contingent. Seeded 24th, Tim Flood has an excellent opportunity to seal the National Rally Championship’s Mk2 Trophy as well as Class 13. Flood is tied on points in Class 13 (after dropped scores) with the Toyota Corolla of John Warren.
The scene is set for a superb season-ending showpiece and Fastnet’s stages will surely deliver. Taking us through the three tests is Onthepacenote’s stage guru Killian Duffy.
Mizen Head (15.8 km) – SS1/4/7
Fastnet’s opener is a replica of the rally’s itinerary from four years ago.
Mizen Head is a classic. It is a fast-flowing stretch of tarmac that runs right along one of Ireland’s most famous peninsulas.
It is one of the country’s best stages with plenty of medium-speed corners, fast sections, and in general offers quite a lot of grip.
Mount Gabriel (9.0 km) – SS2/5/8
The event’s shortest stage will be sandwiched between Mizen Head and Mount Kid on Fastnet’s first two loops before deciding the rally results at the end of the day.
The nine-kilometre test packs a punch with a bumpy opening section and a corner-after-corner ending. In between, crews will have to keep their foot down on fast and flowing roads.
Mount Kid (15.0 km) – SS3/6
Mount Kid is a great committed stage across one of the region’s mountains.
It is only run twice but will reward the best crews with good time margins if they are prepared to stick their neck out on what is a busy 15-kilometre test.
Photos by D Harrigan Images
