Duggan retains Killarney Modified crown despite sensor scare
Rob Duggan claimed his fifth Modified Killarney Historic Rally win, powering to an 18.6-second victory over Declan Gallagher. It was his fourth Killarney Modified win alongside co-driver Ger Conway.
An electrical cut-out on Killarney’s Moll’s Gap opener denied two-time World Rally Champions Kalle Rovanpera and Jonne Halttunen the chance to challenge for modified honours but thankfully the issue was resolved to allow the Finns to complete the rest of the rally.
Rovanpera’s Toyota Starlet ground to a halt for four and a half minutes on Moll’s Gap before driving through the rest of the famous test. With no sign of the fault returning, Rovanpera attacked the stages after service, thrilling the thousands of spectators with a stage win on the next Moll’s Gap test and another on Caragh Lake.
The drama was spread throughout the modified pack on the Moll’s Gap opener. Duggan set a blistering time, as we have become so used to over the years. His 15-second stage win was made even more impressive when he described a throttle position sensor issue that interrupted his first stage of the rally.
Kevin Eves is one of few drivers capable of challenging Duggan on his home stages but the Pettigo pilot was forced to stop on stage one. Eves’ pre-event prep was cut short due to Ireland’s recent wet weather and his return to two-wheel-drive will be one to forget after recent impressive drives aboard a Ford Fiesta Rally2.
Gallagher and co-driver John McCarthy was Duggan’s closest challenger on stage one but couldn’t overcome an understeering feeling through the famous test. Colin O’Donoghue was a further four seconds back after his Ford Escort Mk2 popped into limp mode on several occasions.
Duggan’s throttle position sensor issue hindered his efforts through the next two stages as his Ford Escort jumped from no throttle input to 75% input coming out of the slippery Kerry corners.
Gallagher seized the rare opportunity to threaten Duggan on home ground, grabbing two successive stage wins to move within 3.1 seconds of Duggan. His understeer feeling seemed to be limited to Moll’s Gap as he reeled in Duggan.
O’Donoghue, Conor Murphy, and Gary Kiernan completed modified’s top five after stage three, however, Murphy was out of contention after his Mk2 Escort bounced off the road at Caragh Lake’s finish-line.
Jonathan Pringle finished stage three in sixth, 3.6 seconds behind Kiernan, after battling with his power steering on Saturday morning.
A frustrating puncture on Caragh Lake cost Johno Doogan over 30 seconds, pushing him down five places from fifth to 10th.
Another rapid time over Moll’s Gap extended Duggan’s lead over Gallagher, although it was Rovanpera who could claim “Fastest up the Gap” honours second time around. What a contest it could have been had Rovanpera’s opening stage gone smoothly.
Gallagher kept Duggan honest up until Killarney’s penultimate test. Standing water was a problem through Kilcummin and the Donegal driver was glad to survive the stage after a big moment aboard his Toyota Starlet. The 4.2-second time loss to Duggan quickly became a secondary thought.
A final-stage win capped off a brilliant drive from Gallagher and McCarthy to push Duggan and Conway all the way in Killarney. The competition was tight and only for Duggan’s Moll’s Gap mastery Gallagher could have upset the local man’s Killarney Historic record.
O’Donoghue was over a minute behind in third after a challenging day of mechanical distractions but did enough to stay ahead of the chasing pack.
Fourth position looked set to go to Pringle but the Cavan driver dropped out in the Kilcummin night-stage. McKenna was at hand to inherit fourth after a difficult day aboard his Mk2 Escort. The Monaghan man was managing a misbehaving front-right damper all day and struggled to find his usual front-running pace.
Kiernan completed the top five, 7.2 seconds behind, on his brief return to two-wheel-drive competition.
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Photos by D Harrigan Images
