Greer clinches Killarney crown after rally-long Breen battle
Jonny Greer and Niall Burns claimed their first Killarney Historic Rally victory after a brilliant Ford Sierra tussle with Craig Breen and Paul Nagle.
The two crews traded places throughout the event and looked set for a final Molls Gap showdown. Greer went fastest on Killarney’s penultimate test to completely dissipate Breen’s one-second advantage.
There was nothing between Greer and Breen with one stage remaining.
Unfortunately, the final stage shootout wasn’t to be, however. Breen was forced to pull his Ford Sierra Cosworth to the side of the road with a broken driveshaft ahead of Molls Gap’s start-line.
While Greer was sad to see his rival’s demise, it eased his nerves through Killarney’s finale as he completed a long-awaited success on the event.
“We had a lot of problems the first time we brought this car to Killarney in 2018,” explained the Northern Irishman. “Then we had to retire with engine issues on the next two Killarney Historics.
“It was frustrating that we weren’t getting any results from the effort we were putting in.
“Since the Ulster Rally in August, we have been full-time trying to get the car ready for this rally.
“We put in a lot of hard graft and did a lot of testing to get the car to where we want it to be.
“It has been our own little project with nobody to get advice from. All we have is what Dad and the guys know from working on them back in the day.
“The difference in the car now is unbelievable. It is a credit to everybody who has got it here.”
Greer and Burns were second-fastest through Killarney Historic Rally’s opening stage – the iconic Molls Gap – 0.7 seconds behind Breen’s rear-wheel-drive Sierra Cosworth.
Cathan McCourt’s Ford Escort Mk2 was only 1.6 seconds slower than Breen’s benchmark over Molls Gap while the Subaru Legacy of Alan Ring was also within touching distance, 0.6 seconds further back.
The visiting crew of Sebastian Ling and Aled Rees completed Killarney’s early top five but they bowed out after an off-road excursion on Ballaghbeama.
Eamonn Kelly and Conor Mohan were Killarney’s first casualties. The Junior British Rally Champions crawled to a halt at the famous Molls Gap left-hander. Their new-build Ford Escort Mk2 running into engine trouble.
McCourt fell away from the lead battle in Ballaghbeama when a big moment encouraged him to err on the side of caution. But worse was to follow for the Tyrone pilot.
Contact with a bale spun his Mk2 Escort on Kilgobnet, dropping him down to fifth behind Ring and Neil Williams.
At the front, Greer was showing his liking to Kilgobnet. The NI Rally Champion’s Sierra Sapphire jumped past Breen to hold a 1.2-second lead at Killarney’s first service halt.
Greer’s lead didn’t last long, though, as Breen bounced back with a 4.4-second stage win on Molls Gap. Ironically the World Rally Championship crew set the time with the help of a spare differential provided by Greer’s team. A sign of rallying’s sportsmanship and comradery.
A spin on a Ballaghbeama left-hander cost Breen a few seconds and gave Greer another sniff of Killarney’s top spot.
Breen’s Ballaghbeama mistake looked even more costly when Greer stopped the clocks fastest on the second pass of Kilgobnet. A tenth couldn’t separate the two crews after six testing asphalt stages.
It was a dead heat heading to Molls Gap and they were ready to give it their all for a hard-fought victory.
But Breen’s driveshaft had other ideas on its first event after an impressive rebuild by Tom Gahan Motorsport.
Greer was left to cruise home to a 30.6-second victory over Alan Ring and Adrian Deasy.
Ring endured a testing day in Kerry even though he was picking up his second runner-up Killarney Historic finish in a row. His early pace was halted by technical issues that gradually worsened throughout the event.
The consistent frontrunner suffered similar aggravations on the Cork 20 but Ring can take heart from the knowledge that the underlying pace for Historic victories is there when he resolves his car trouble.
Killarney’s final stage drama temporarily overshadowed a stunning fastest-time over Molls Gap by Cathan McCourt. McCourt went on an all-out attack in his little yellow Escort.
Showing battle scars from incidents earlier in the day, McCourt’s Mk2 Escort had 10 seconds to find if it was to jump ahead of Neil Williams’ similar rally car.
Williams held the enviable top Ford Escort position heading into Killarney’s last stage.
The Welshman’s best efforts weren’t enough to stop the hard-charging McCourt determined to right his earlier wrongs. It was a double reward for McCourt and co-driver Liam Moynihan who sealed Killarney’s final spot on the podium.
Williams had to settle for fourth in the Historics but he was more than happy with his performance in Killarney alongside assured co-driver Anthony O’Sullivan.
The reigning Historic Irish Tarmac Champions sealed top ITRC points on 2023’s opening round although the Welshman is unsure if he can commit to a full campaign again next year.
Fergus O’Meara completed Killarney Historic Rally’s top five in his Ford Escort Mk2, grabbing a healthy haul of Irish Tarmac points.
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Photos by Roger Dawson
