Edwards leads Donegal Rally after dramatic Friday action
Matt Edwards and David Moynihan hold a 12-second lead after day one of the 2024 Donegal International Rally. The Circuit of Ireland winners set four fastest times on Friday’s six stages to lead a tantalising race for Donegal glory.
Edwards went fastest on Donegal’s Malin Head opener, his first stage aboard a brand new Ford Fiesta Rally2. The Welshman’s stage one benchmark was 0.7 seconds quicker than Irish Tarmac Rally Championship leaders Keith Cronin and Mikie Galvin.
Cronin struggled to find his usual tip-top rhythm in mixed conditions on Friday morning but jumped into a nine-second rally lead with the fastest time on stage four.
Edwards made a perfect start to his third Donegal assault, recording a hat-trick of stage wins on the opening loop of Malin Head, Mamore Gap, and Coolcross tests. An overshoot on stage four’s first junction cost Edwards a chunk of time as he conceded his top spot to Cronin.
The lead changed again on stage five, Mamore Gap, when Cronin slid his Rally2 Fiesta into a stone wall on a square left. The subsequent rear suspension damage confirmed the Ballylickey driver’s first retirement of his Irish Tarmac campaign, opening up the title fight with two rounds left after Donegal.
Cronin’s demise aligned with Callum Devine’s maiden stage win behind the wheel of his recently acquired Skoda Fabia Rally2. The defending Donegal Rally winner made a steady start to the rally, trying to stay within touching distance of the leaders as he began understanding how his Fabia handled on the slippery Irish stages.
Devine’s set-up tweaks seemed to work as he finished Friday in second position, 12 seconds behind rally leader Edwards.
A series of competitive times penciled Cathan McCourt’s name into third on Donegal’s overnight leaderboard, 12.8 seconds behind Devine. McCourt’s pace was a welcome addition to the fight for Rally2 rewards, the Tyrone challenger making only his third rally start of the year and was another driver bringing a new Rally2 Fiesta to the hills.
2022 Donegal International Rally winners, Josh Moffett and Andy Hayes, had a testing opening day. Their first stage was spoiled with pop-off valve issues but Moffett managed the problem well on the next stages, keeping the revs up in his Citroen C3 Rally2 to reduce its reliance on boost power.
Moffett’s power steering cut out on stage four, costing him at least 15 seconds and put him in a battle with Meirion Evans and David Kelly.
Kelly had started the rally with a rapid fourth-fastest time on Malin Head, less than three seconds off Edwards’ benchmark. The 28-year-old’s hard tyres may have suited stage one’s dry road surface but it was less than ideal on Mamore Gap and Coolcross.
Friday’s race for fourth ended with Moffett on top, three seconds ahead of Evans’ Toyota Yaris Rally2, and 4.8 seconds ahead of Kelly’s Volkswagen Polo R5.
Stage one knocked out several Donegal contenders with Desi Henry proving the first Malin Head victim. The Citroen pilot hit a stone that was pulled out from the side of a road and lost three minutes with a puncture.
The drama continued when the plethora of modified cars tackled the 14.3-kilometre stage. Mark Alcorn suffered a rally-ending impact when his Ford Escort Mk2 collided with a wall on the exit of a blind left-hander while Kevin Eves retired his Toyota Corolla with mechanical trouble before the end of the same stage. Home hopeful Damien Tourish punctured his Escort on stage one, losing one and a half minutes.
Kevin Gallagher was fastest in two-wheel-drive on stage one but fell behind Gary McPhillips on the next test. A brace of fastest times for Gallagher’s Darrian T90 put him back in a 16.7-second lead over the hard-charging Toyota Starlet of Declan Gallagher.
Declan Gallagher posted a fantastic fastest time on Friday’s penultimate test to claw back 8.5 seconds on his namesake. The duel ended with Kevin holding a 10.5-second overnight advantage over Declan with McPhillips a further 22.4 seconds back in third after taking a more cautious approach to Friday’s final rain-soaked stage.
Killarney’s Rally of the Lakes’ modified victor Colin O’Donoghue was loving his Donegal debut and finished the day fourth in Class 14 and fifth in two-wheel-drive, 15.7 seconds ahead of David Bogie. Conor Harvey is having a brilliant run in his Class 13 Ford Escort, holding fourth in the modified pecking order.
Chris O’Callaghan had been fourth in two-wheel-drive before losing his brakes on stage six and falling off the road. The recent Circuit of Ireland modified winner managed to complete the stage but lost two and a half minutes in the process.
Ryan McHugh and Declan Boyle ended a dazzling day of Rally4 action with a 5.7-second advantage over his Donegal compatriot Kyle McBride.
McBride had set the front-wheel-drive pace throughout the day and was unfortunate to lose his 12.1-second lead on the final stage after picking up a puncture two kilometres into the 12.1-kilometre test.
Ioan Lloyd rounded out Rally4’s top three, 10.3 seconds behind McBride.
Keelan Grogan dropped 19 seconds after a big moment on stage one and had an overshoot on the next pass of Malin Head but finished the day on a high with the second-fastest time on stage six. Grogan is fourth in Rally4, 36.4 seconds behind Lloyd.
Photos by D Harrigan Images
