Devine completes dream Donegal Rally double
After three intense days of Irish Tarmac action, Callum Devine and Noel O’Sullivan kept their cool to secure a second successive Donegal International Rally victory.
The reigning Irish Tarmac Rally Champions made a steady start to the 20-stage classic, setting the fifth-fastest time on Donegal’s Malin Head opener.
Driving a Skoda Fabia Rally2 for the first time, Devine’s main intention was to stay within reach of early pacesetters Matt Edwards and Keith Cronin.
When championship leader Cronin retired from top spot with suspension damage picked up from a stone wall collision on stage five, Donegal looked set to be a straight fight between Edwards and Devine.
The two Irish Tarmac rivals traded times throughout Saturday’s eight stages with Edwards holding onto a 16.2-second overnight lead.
A down-on-power Ford Fiesta Rally2 cost Edwards some time at the start of Sunday’s opener. Quick-thinking Edwards made an effective tweak to get his car back up to speed after the first kilometre but lost 3.1 seconds to Devine’s stage-winning Skoda.
Devine was putting the pressure on and before he knew it a second Donegal title was within his grasp. The constant corners of Atlantic Drive caught out Edwards when he misread a pacenote, ran wide, and damaged his Fiesta’s front-left suspension.
Unbelievably the three-time British Rally Champion kept going, losing a minute to his rivals before making impromptu repairs ahead of the next Fanad Head test.
Edwards’ never-say-die attitude ensured he stayed within the top four heading into Donegal’s final service halt.
A 37.5-second lead for Devine dissipated on Donegal’s penultimate Gartan test when he spun on an innocuous hairpin. Suddenly Meirion Evans’ Toyota Yaris Rally2 was only 20.3 seconds adrift and waiting to pounce on any further mistakes.
Devine kept his emotions in check, however, to make a smooth sailing through the 19.9 kilometres of Fanad Head, recording a 17.4-second Donegal International Rally victory that propels him back up the 2024 Irish Tarmac Rally Championship’s pecking order.
A runner-up finish for Evans, and stand-in co-driver Ger Conway, was an impressive achievement for the Yaris’s ITRC debut. Evans’ best Donegal result to-date was made even more encouraging considering he finished day one 55.8 seconds adrift.
Four stage wins highlighted David Kelly’s supreme speed in his home county as he secured a maiden podium finish on an Irish Tarmac event. Kelly and trusty co-driver Dean O’Sullivan have shown big improvements this year and will be delighted with their result nine seconds behind Evans.
Kelly, Evans, and Josh Moffett battled hard for positions throughout the rally with their fourth-place battle turning into a race for third when Cathan McCourt crashed out on Sunday’s opening test.
Moffett’s assault on a second Donegal International Rally win never really got going after suffering from pop-off valve and power steering issues on Friday. The Citroen C3 Rally3 pilot swapped places with Kelly on Saturday, picking up a fastest time in the process but couldn’t match the 28-year-old’s pace on Sunday.
A spin on Gartan for Edwards added insult to injury after his earlier drama on Sunday afternoon and dropped him 4.8 seconds behind Moffett with one stage remaining.
Knowing the value of every Irish Tarmac point, Edwards attacked Donegal’s Fanad Head finale as if Moffett’s fourth position was first.
The Welshman completed Fanad 7.7 seconds faster than anyone else, moving ahead of Moffett to seal a fourth-placed finish – some consolation to an otherwise disheartening final day.
Michael Boyle completed Donegal’s top six, fighting back from a time-sapping puncture on Lough Keel. Boyle benefitted from his father Declan’s gearbox-inflicted retirement from sixth on stage 18 before jumping ahead of Garry Jennings on Fanad Head.
In the Donegal National Rally, Declan Gallagher started the final day with a slender one-second lead over Kevin Gallagher’s eye-catching Darrian.
The Darrian quickly threw down the gauntlet on Gartan and Atlantic Drive, moving ahead of Declan Gallagher’s Toyota Starlet by 17.3 seconds. Just when it looked like Kevin Gallagher and Ryan Moore would sneak their third Donegal National victory in a row, their Darrian lay down on Fanad Head. A broken wire was diagnosed as the root cause but the 25-minute time loss was a gutting blow for the Donegal crew.
Now holding a three-minute lead, Declan Gallagher’s all-but-certain modified win was put in jeopardy when smoke billowed from his Starlet at the start of Donegal’s final loop of stages. Starved of oil his Starlet somehow limped through Fanad Head to ensure Gallagher achieved his first ever Donegal National Rally win and an incredible ninth overall.
Gary McPhillips and Paul Sheridan clinched second, over two and a half minutes behind Gallagher and John McCarthy.
Third in the national section went to David Moffett and Martin Connelly.
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Photos by D Harrigan Images
