Devine sneaks Circuit of Ireland Rally win after late drama
Callum Devine and Noel O’Sullivan grabbed a one-minute, 24.9-second Circuit of Ireland Rally victory after three of the top four hit trouble on its penultimate test.
The 2023 Irish Tarmac Rally Champions looked set to settle for a runner-up finish on their first event in six months, but drama on the Circuit’s treacherous The Hollow stage left the rally in their hands with one test remaining.
Four second-fastest times on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning had put Devine in a comfortable second as he got back up to speed aboard his Curran Gate Skoda Fabia Rally2.
With Keith Cronin continuing to set the pace out front, Devine was focusing on Matt Edwards in his wing mirrors. An overshoot on stage five, Sweathouse, put Edwards 27.1 seconds behind Devine, but he quickly responded on the next loop.
A hat-trick of fastest times brought Edwards within 6.4 seconds of Devine with two tricky tests to go.
Cronin and co-driver Mikie Galvin had dominated the rally up until Edwards’ string of benchmark times. The Ballylickey pilot was masterful in the mud and rain that prevailed throughout the first half of Saturday, building a 39.4-second lead after his six straight stage wins.
The defending Irish Tarmac Rally Champions could do no wrong, but their Citroen C3 Rally2 was to say otherwise as they left the first stage of the Circuit of Ireland’s final loop. Cronin noticed his brake pedal went straight to the floor on the road section to The Hollow. The rally leader’s brakes were shot, and his winning hopes were dashed when he picked up a one-and-a-half-minute time penalty while bleeding his brakes.
The quick fix did nothing to help the issue, and things went from bad to worse as they suffered a rear-left puncture mid-stage. Cronin had no choice but to drive over rocks and stones as he cruised through the 14.6-kilometre test without brakes or a handbrake.
Cronin’s perseverance got him to the finish in eighth position, and his tally of fifth-place Irish Tarmac points will be some consolation.
Stage ten was the Circuit of Ireland’s third pass through The Hollow. The pounding rain and big cuts were a bad combination on the farmyard-style countryside stage. Cronin was the first of several crews to run into trouble.
Third-placed Edwards and co-driver David Moynihan will have seen Cronin’s pre-stage panic and, with Devine in their sights, knew that the Circuit of Ireland win was back on the cards. Unfortunately, their series of stage wins came to a sudden stop on the slippery test. Edwards’ Hyundai i20 Rally2 went off on the rally’s penultimate stage, making it two retirements from two in their Irish Tarmac campaign. It will be a bitter pill to swallow, considering how much their pace was building through the Circuit’s challenging two days.
Fourth-placed Eddie Doherty also failed to make it through The Hollow. The Circuit of Kerry winner was looking cool and calm all through the event, but the gravelly stage was to spoil his hopes of a big haul of Irish Tarmac points.
That left Garry Jennings and Rory Kennedy ready and waiting to snatch a last-minute runner-up finish. Jennings had been having a frustrating rally after a stage one intercom issue and a stage four puncture spoiled what otherwise was a strong showing of stage times.
Jennings was 15th after the Circuit of Ireland’s Ivy Hill opener but several top-five times, including the second-fastest time on stage five, had him climb up to fifth.
The Ford Fiesta Rally2 ace was suddenly up to second after Cronin, Edwards, and Doherty’s troubles. A brace of runner-up stage times secured their second-place finish to round off a successful three weeks of rallying for the Fermanagh-Donegal pairing.
David Kelly was struggling to find a good rhythm through Saturday morning’s wet stages but a strong comeback, including the fastest time on the Circuit of Ireland’s decider, propelled him onto the final podium spot.
Paul Barrett and Michael Boyle completed the top five. Boyle had a rollercoaster of an event with several overshoots and a couple of trips into fields but most importantly, he stayed clear of any punctures, which earned him a top-five finish.
Josh Moffett and Andy Hayes were enjoying the tricky conditions aboard their dated Hyundai i20 R5. Moffett was upping his pace and eyeing a podium finish before getting stuck in a ditch on stage five. With no damage, he returned under super-rally regulations to complete the rally.
Another contender to drop out was James Ford, who retired from fifth place on the second pass of The Hollow.
Barry Morris and Darren Curran dominated the modified category in their Darrian T90, finishing an incredible ninth overall. Morris won all but three of the Circuit of Ireland stages and had lady luck on his side when he encountered mechanical trouble on stage eight. He was set to lose out to his rivals before his potential penalties were dropped when the stage was red-flagged.
The local pilot took a well-deserved two-minute, 38.9-second two-wheel-drive victory over Damian Toner and Aodhan Gallagher.
Young Rally4 driver Ben McFall sealed a tremendous podium finish in two-wheel-drive after a brilliant drive alongside Damian McAuley.
David Moffett had been second in his Toyota Starlet until a puncture on The Hollow dropped him down the order, eventually finishing fourth.
After a frustrating Friday suffering from intercom issues, Meirion Evans and Anthony O’Sullivan survived Saturday’s chaos to seal a one-minute, 16.5-second Historic victory over Andy Johnston and Jim McSherry.
John O’Donnell and Paddy Robinson looked hard to beat in their BMW M3 after three early stage wins had given them a 42.5-second lead. Fuel pump issues ground them to a halt but they returned under super-rally regulations to entertain the crowds on Saturday afternoon.
O’Donnell’s trouble handed the Historic lead to Hugh McQuaid and Declan Casey until they were forced to retire on stage seven after clipping a wall and bending their Ford Escort RS1800’s rear axle on the notorious The Hollow test.
Wales’ Evans picked up the lead which he managed over Johnson until the end. Four seconds covered third- and fourth-placed Josh Douglas and Trevor Wilson.
Andrew Bushe and Geraldine McBride sealed a 29.4-second victory in the Circuit of Ireland Junior Rally. Ben Fallis and Louise were their nearest challengers in a similar Nissan Micra Kit Car with the Junior ITRC crew of Ronan Dorrian and Mickey Joe Browne completing the top three.
Photos by D Harrigan Images
