Kelly seals Tarmac Title after last gasp Ulster win
Donagh Kelly took a last gasp victory on the Todds Leap Ulster Rally which also clinched the Donegal driver the Clonakilty Blackpudding Irish Tarmac Rally Championship for 2015. At the end of the 12 stage event based in Enniskillen, Kelly and co-driver Kevin Flanagan’s Focus WRC had almost two minutes to spare over the Skoda Fabia S2000 of Desi Henry and Liam Moynihan.
The real drama happened on the final stage as Garry Jennings and Rory Kennedy who led, and were poised to win an unprecedented three in a row on the event, were forced out with an engine fire. It was cruel luck on the Fermanagh driver who lost over a minute with turbo problems on the very first stage in his Impreza WRC, but produced a stirring comeback which saw him open up a lead of almost over a minute heading into the final test. Brendan Cumiskey took maximum championship points in Group N while the modified championship is now being led by Scotlands Ross Hunter in his Peugeot 205 after Frank Kelly was forced out with mechanical problems early on the second day.
The historic championship is still very close with Ernie Graham closing the gap to leader Gareth Lloyd to just two points. John O’Sullivan took maximum points in the Junior Category in his newly acquired Ford Fiesta as his closest rival Rob Duggan chose to compete on the main event, finishing an excellent seventh overall.
