Edwards holds narrow lead on Killarney’s Rally of the Lakes
Matt Edwards and David Moynihan bounced back from recent retirements in West Cork and the Circuit of Ireland to grab a 4.8-second lead after Killarney Rally of the Lakes’ opening day of action.
The Hyundai i20 Rally2 crew had been fourth after Killarney’s first three stages as they built up their confidence. Instead, it was Irish Tarmac Rally Championship leaders Keith Cronin and Mikie Galvin who seized the initiative with a hat-trick of fastest times, giving them a 13.7-second lead.
The duo have been regular pacesetters so far this year and looked to be a step ahead of the rest heading into stage four. The early race for Rally of the Lakes’ honours was turned on its head on Headford, though, when Cronin’s Citroen C3 Rally2 rolled into a telegraph pole after clipping a bank on a fast left-hander.
With Cronin’s bid for a maiden Rally of the Lakes victory ending on stage four, visiting Welshman Meirion Evans was now at the top of the leaderboard. Defending Killarney winners Callum Devine and Noel O’Sullivan were 5.1 seconds back, despite trying their best to turn the tide on their “slow starters” trend.
In fact, a mere 7.9 seconds covered the top four after stage four. David Kelly had been a tenth of a second behind Edwards before sliding off on stage four, while Eddie Doherty had been second after stage two but dropped four places on the subsequent Red Bog test.
A set-up change in service aided Edwards’ attack through Lisbabe, setting his first fastest time of the day to move up into second. Rally leader Evans responded to a costly stall on stage five by setting the benchmark on stage six and held a 2.5-second lead with one loop to go on Saturday.
Evans, who had Ger Conway alongside, was only able to set a fourth-fastest time on Killarney’s final run over Headford and conceded his lead to Edwards by one-tenth of a second.
Rejuvenated in service, Devine went fastest through Headford by 4.8 seconds to move within 1.7 seconds of the lead. A pair of runner-up times to Edwards enabled the Skoda Fabia Rally2 driver to strengthen his podium position, ending the day half a second behind Evans and Conway’s Toyota Yaris Rally2.
Edwards’ strong finish gives him a 4.8-second lead heading into Sunday’s final six stages, although the three-time British Rally Champion will know he will have to be at his best to keep Evans and Devine behind on the Moll’s Gap, Ballaghbeama, and Shanara stages.
Eddie Doherty and Michael Boyle round out the top five positions on Saturday evening.
Leading Killarney’s Modified rally, Rob Duggan is showing his speed and skill in eighth overall aboard his Ford Escort Mk2.
Duggan went fastest on all but two of the nine Saturday stages to build a one-minute, 21.7-second lead over Kerry rival Colin O’Donoghue.
Denis Hickey holds third in Class 14, eight seconds ahead of Modified ITRC leader Damian Toner, while drift sensation Conor Shanahan has adapted perfectly to Declan Gallagher’s Toyota Starlet in fifth position.
The Ford Escort RS1800 crew of Meirion Evans and Anthony O’Sullivan is keeping a trio of BMW M3s at bay at the top of the Rally of the Lakes’ Historic standings.
The recent Circuit of Ireland Historic Rally winners had been third after Killarney’s opening loop but jumped into a 4.4-second lead on stage five. Evans held onto that lead until Saturday’s overnight halt with a 21.9-second advantage over Alan Ring.
Early pacesetter John O’Donnell had led up to stage three despite his M3 dropping a cylinder over the morning loop. The Donegal driver is third overnight, 32 seconds behind Ring.
Photos by D Harrigan Images
