Devine storms to fourth Killarney Rally of the Lakes win
Callum Devine and Noel O’Sullivan moved up a gear on Killarney’s second day to secure their fourth Rally of the Lakes victory in a row.
The Skoda Fabia Rally2 crew started the day in third, half a second behind Meirion Evans, and 5.3 seconds behind Matt Edwards.
Rally leader Edwards feared his lead would come under threat due to his limited experience of Moll’s Gap, Ballaghbeama, and Shanara. It didn’t take long for his fears to come into fruition as Devine stormed to a 7.8-second fastest time over Moll’s Gap to move into the lead for the first time in the weekend.
Devine took another 6.2 seconds out of his rivals through Ballaghbeama before Evans set Shanara’s benchmark to put the pressure on second-placed Edwards.
The Circuit of Ireland Rally winners repeated their Moll’s Gap and Ballaghbeama dominance on Sunday’s second and final loop of stages to maintain their mastery of Kerry’s iconic tests. Devine’s swift blast through stages 13 and 14 had built his pole-sitting advantage to over 20 seconds, and he was able to cruise through Shanara to secure a 14-second victory.
A pair of second-fastest times through Moll’s Gap and Ballaghbeama had Evans and his local co-driver Ger Conway usurp Edwards for second. A final stage win for the Toyota Yaris Rally2 pilot ensured he took second overall, his best asphalt result since last year’s Donegal International Rally.
Edwards will be satisfied with his podium finish after a difficult start to the year. Second-place ITRC points will help his cause, especially with pre-event championship leader Keith Cronin crashing out on day one. The Welshman will now look forward to June’s Donegal International Rally, an event in which he has shown rally-winning speed in the past.
Eddie Doherty was never far off the frontrunners’ pace but found himself in no man’s land, too far adrift from third and a comfortable cushion in front of fifth. The Kilkenny driver set four fourth-fastest times and two third-fastest times on Sunday to consolidate his fourth position.
It was a battle of the Boyles for Killarney’s final top-five finish. Michael Boyle and Dermot McCafferty started Sunday with a 24.8-second advantage over Declan Boyle and Patrick Walsh.
Michael Boyle lost the advantage to his Father with a 30-second time loss over Ballaghbeama. The Father-Son competitors traded blows over the next few stages, with Declan eventually sealing fifth by 7.4 seconds.
Rob Duggan and John McCarthy maintained their strong overnight modified lead to take a 51.5-second two-wheel-drive victory over Colin and Kieran O’Donoghue. The O’Donoghues were in top form on Sunday, sealing four stage wins from six, but Duggan’s famed speed over Moll’s Gap helped him keep them at bay. Duggan set the fastest Modified times on both runs over Moll’s Gap, his opening attempt good enough for an incredible sixth overall.
Damian Toner and Aodhan Gallagher inherited third when Denis Hickey dropped three minutes on Killarney’s penultimate Ballaghbeama test. Toner had been coming under pressure from Conor Shanahan throughout Sunday’s stages with the drifter reducing Toner’s advantage to 1.2 seconds with one stage to go. Toner, who leads ITRC’s Modified standings, responded on Shanara to keep Shanahan at bay and secure third by 5.4 seconds.
A storming run over Moll’s Gap had Alan Ring and Adrian Deasy take a sensational 16.4 seconds out of overnight Historic leaders Meirion Evans and Anthony O’Sullivan. Ring was now in the lead and he increased his gap with another rapid time over Ballaghbeama. Evans responded with a fastest time on Shanara but the Ford Escort RS1800 was still 8.1 seconds behind Ring’s BMW M3.
Ring ensured home Historic honours were his with further stage wins on Moll’s Gap and Ballaghbeama to take an eventual 30-second victory over Evans and O’Sullivan.
John O’Donnell edged to within 6.3 seconds of Evans after a fastest time over Sunday’s first pass through Ballaghbeama. The Donegal driver was unable to make further inroads on Sunday afternoon, however, and had to settle for third.
Fergus O’Meara and Brian Duggan capped off their fourth-place finish with a stage win on Killarney’s Shanara finale with Phil Rogers and Tommy Hayes taking a brilliant fifth.
Darragh Walsh and Gary Lombard secured a 23.2-second Junior victory ahead of Kyle and Aaron Browne with Niall Guaghan and John McLaughlin a further seven seconds back.
Photos by D Harrigan Images
