Duggan pushed to limit in three-second Killarney modified win

December 4, 2023 Rallyinsight

A determined Rob Duggan and Ger Conway had to dig deep to fend off defending winners Kevin Eves and Chris Melly to a 3.4-second victory in the modified section of the Killarney Historic Rally.

It was the fellow Kerry crew of Conor Murphy and Sean Collins that set the early pace in Killarney, though. They went 4.5 seconds faster than Duggan on the wet and frosty Dromin opener.

Duggan’s windscreen wipers refused to work on Saturday morning and he was distracted by the rain. A steamy engine bay added to his troubles through the 12.4-kilometre stage.

A further 4.1 seconds back, Eves had a multitude of moments in his Toyota Corolla, just about keeping it between the hedges in the challenging winter conditions.

Modified pacesetters on the recent Donegal Harvest and Fastnet rallies, Declan Gallagher and Gavin Doherty were within half a second of Eves as Daniel McKenna and Andrew Grennan completed the top five.

Usual modified suspects Gary Kiernan and Chris Armstrong were both struggling to match the pace at the front. Kiernan knew he was too cautious on stage one but still admitted to having a few moments including a hairy wobble over a crest on one of Dromin’s fast straights. An overshoot cost Armstrong a handful of seconds, putting him ninth, three-tenths of a second behind Kiernan.

Murphy extended his lead to 15.8 seconds after stage two as he conquered Caragh Lake with a rapid time. Duggan continued to struggle without any wipers and dropped into third – his Ford Escort was sandwiched between the Toyotas of Eves and Gallagher. Three-tenths of a second was all that separated the crews from second to fourth.

Pettigo’s Kevin Eves was the man to beat on Killarney’s third test, setting the fastest time through Shanara to extend his advantage in second over Duggan to 2.9 seconds. Eves’ attack edged him closer to rally leader Murphy as the Kerry man’s gap in front was halved when he spun on the final stage of Killarney’s opening loop.

The Toyota Starlet of Gallagher and Doherty remained in the hunt, 0.7 seconds behind Duggan.

If things were interesting after stage three, Killarney’s fourth Dromin test cemented an edge-of-the-seat race for modified honours.

After struggling to find his usual rhythm over the opening three stages, Rob Duggan ran riot through Dromin to set a blistering time 4.7 seconds faster than any of his rivals. A steering rack change in the preceding service halt had increased Duggan’s confidence and put him within one second of the rally lead.

A fogged-up windscreen had hindered Murphy’s run and he now faced pressure from Duggan and Eves who were both less than three seconds behind at Killarney’s halfway point.

Just when it looked like Murphy was faltering he once again blitzed the 13.5-kilometre Caragh Lake test – extending his lead over Duggan to 7.3 seconds.

Eves closed the gap to Duggan to seven-tenths of a second while a fast time from Gallagher put him back within six seconds of Eves.

The drama continued on a shortened stage six as Conor Murphy’s Ford Escort Mk2 was left stricken in Shanara. The rally leaders went off the road on a fast left-hander, ending their hopes of a home modified win.

That put the rally lead in the hands of 2022 winners Kevin Eves and Chris Melly as they jumped back ahead of Duggan with two stages to go. With 1.2 seconds between them and only a 6.6-second gap back to third-placed Gallagher, a win in Killarney was still all to play for.

The rally lead changed once again on Killarney’s penultimate Rockfield test. A fastest time for Duggan put his Escort 0.7 seconds clear of Eves’ Corolla as they headed into the darkness of the rally’s night-time decider.

Despite the obvious lack of light, Duggan and Conway almost matched their earlier Rockfield benchmark which proved to be enough to stay ahead of rivals Eves and Melly.

The 3.4-second win ensured the title stayed in the county with the duo taking their third Killarney Modified victory together, Duggan’s fourth in total.

Declan Gallagher and Gavin Doherty completed the top three, 52.3 seconds ahead of Daniel McKenna and Andrew Grennan. McKenna’s Escort was wearing some minor damage after clipping a bank on stage four.

Gary Kiernan upped his pace through the day to finish fifth overall. The Cavan driver was locked in a day-long battle with his county compatriot Chris Armstrong. The pair traded places over the eight stages with Kiernan grabbing a top-five finish thanks to strong times over the final two Rockfield stages.