The gutsy Donegal comeback that exemplified rally character
Faultless from stage one, Matt Edwards and David Moynihan had done everything right in their bid for a maiden Donegal International Rally victory.
After completing 198 competitive kilometres, a further 63 stood between them and the ultimate dream of any British or Irish rally driver.
Edwards led from Friday’s opening Malin Head test – dealing with torrential downpours, mastering Knockalla, and managing a double-digit lead over last year’s winners Callum Devine and Noel O’Sullivan.
The power was in his hands – until it wasn’t.
Just when you thought the three-time British Champion could do no wrong, reports filtered through of a crippled Ford Fiesta Rally2 crawling through Atlantic Drive. For the third year in a row and the second time on the infamous Rosguill peninsula, Edwards’ Donegal dream was left in tatters.
“It was all going well,” started Edwards. “We had a little moment not long into Atlantic Drive with cold tyres from the start-line delay but there was no reason to be concerned about anything going on.
“I felt in control of the car and my emotions – everything felt right. It was just like how I felt going into the last three stages on the Circuit (of Ireland).
A few kilometres later, though, Edwards’ Fiesta clobbered into a bank on the outside of a tightening right-hander. The Irish Tarmac title contender had missed a pacenote and Atlantic Drive’s corner-after-corner nature offered no forgiveness.
“What caused the off was just a freak occurrence,” Edwards continued. “It has never happened before and it will probably never happen again.
“We could have got away with it if the corner had a more open exit. Whatever the corner was, I didn’t know what it was. I knew there was a four-left after but by the time I had turned into the three-right, tightens-over-crest I couldn’t tell you what the corner was.
“I just didn’t digest the corner’s pacenote and at that speed that is all that it takes. If I can go up to a corner and not have to brake for a three-right then I am not going fast enough.”
But we are not here to talk about Edwards’ off. What happened afterward was remarkable. His hopes of spraying the champagne on Donegal’s finish ramp were over but Edwards persisted. Against all odds his Fiesta made it to the end of the stage, losing just under a minute to his rivals.
So what goes through a rally driver’s head amidst such drama?
“My first instinct was: ‘Well, it is still going forward, there is no steam, and it is steering to a degree.’
“I took it out of stage mode straightaway and tried to figure out where the problem was by diagnosing what I was doing with the steering wheel and pedals.
“It was clearly the front-left but was there something detached or bent? There is quite a big difference between the two because if something is detached then that is a car-stopper. The fact that it was just bent allowed me to focus on how it was compromised.
“Is it going to put you off the road or is it manageable until you get to the finish? These are the things going through your head.
“You go into survival mode – how do I get this car to the finish of the stage?
“I don’t have a choice in these things mentally. When something starts going not quite right it is completely automatic for me to try to get it to the end.
“At the end of the day if I am in a rally car then there are definitely other people’s interests at stake.
“I like to think that whatever you do to get to the end defines you rather than the single mistake that was originally made.”
What made Edwards’ scenario worse was the fact that he still had the 20 flat-out kilometres of Fanad Head to overcome before reaching the safe confines of service. His Atlantic Drive excursion had dropped him from first to third, but fifth-placed Josh Moffett was less than 18 seconds behind.
“After Atlantic Drive, it was damage limitation. We were lucky with what we hit but it was still a reasonable impact, bending the steering arm 45 degrees.
“Before Fanad Head, I lengthened the track rod to compensate for the bent steering arm and reduce the amount it was toeing out. I did the same on the other side to try to get the car driving straight, even if the steering wheel was out.
“We started Fanad Head and the car felt very vague with its steering but when you put more lock on then it started to work. The steering wasn’t linear turning right but it was alright when we were turning left.
“By the time we got to the main road with the chicanes on it we were back in full stage mode with thoughts in the back of our minds that it still wasn’t great and something else may be broken.
“There was a compromise but we were up to a reasonable pace. You learn the new characteristics of the car and get the best out of it.”
The compromised set-up and figure-it-out-as-you-go approach, paired with Edwards’ natural driving ability, delivered an incredible sixth-fastest time. 2.7 and 3.7 seconds back, previous Donegal winners Declan Boyle and Garry Jennings were left scratching their heads.
Edwards and Moynihan had dropped to fourth and a spin at the end of Gartan (the first stage after service), cost them another 16 seconds to put them in fifth.
Disappointed, dejected, but as determined as ever, Edwards went on a mission on Donegal’s final stage of its three-day schedule.
Edwards’ Fiesta flew through Fanad, this time with an intact suspension system, to set his eighth fastest time of the weekend – 7.7 seconds faster than any of his Rally2 counterparts.
“When we got stuck between two hedges after spinning on Gartan, I just knew that it wasn’t our day.
“Going into the final stage on Fanad we were only 4.6 seconds behind Josh and I knew that position was really important to get back.
“I also wanted to finish the rally on a high, positive note, and thankfully that is what we did.”
When Onthepacenote’s Andy Walsh captured Edwards’ emotions at the end of his latest Donegal rollercoaster, it reminded me how all that intense concentration, energy, and emotion is released as soon as car and crew pass through that final stop control.
It is not the story Edwards was hoping for as he headed into Sunday’s six stages but for those captivated by the action on Donegal’s hedgerows, it was an Irish rallying tale that will be retold on the ditches for years to come.
It is also a story that reiterates the value of never giving up. Edwards’ efforts were rewarded with 13 crucial Irish Tarmac Rally Championship points. A tally that takes him 1.5 points shy of championship leader Keith Cronin.
With two rounds still to go, Edwards is right on course to achieve that Irish Tarmac crown in his debut season in Ireland’s premier motorsport series.
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Photos by Fergus McAnallen
