Motorsport Ireland Weekend Roundup – Donegal Rally & Karting
For the second year in succession, local crew Manus Kelly and Donall Barrett in a Subaru Impreza snatched a last minute victory in the Joule Donegal International Rally. Starting the final day of the three day event, they were seven seconds behind longtime leaders, Donegal’s Donagh Kelly and his Monaghan co-driver Conor Foley, with six stages to come.
On the first of two runs over Atlantic Drive, Manus went ahead for the first time all weekend, but namesake Donagh regained top place on the following stage, High Glen, leaving himself a 4.7 second lead as they set out to repeat the same three stages.
Struggling with his tyre choice on Fanad 2, Donagh lost a disastrous 17 seconds, leaving him five seconds behind with two stages left, and in a final all out effort to take victory on a rally which he has never won, his Focus hit a bank just two corners from the stage finish, and the damage was too much to continue.
Manus, now with a large lead, was able to cruise through the last stage and still come home with a margin of almost two minutes over runners up Alastair Fisher and Gordon Noble, who only got ahead of Garry Jennings and Gordon Noble on the action packed final stage, claiming maximum points in the Clonakilty Blackpudding Irish Tarmac Championship for R5 cars. The Moffett brothers from Monaghan, Sam and Josh, finished fourth and fifth in their Fiestas. Pic: R Nash
Results for 16/17/18 June 2017
JOULE DONEGAL INTERNATIONAL RALLY AT LETTERKENNY (ROUND 3 OF FIA CELTIC RALLY TROPHY AND ROUND 4 OF CLONAKILTY BLACKPUDDING IRISH TARMAC
CHAMPIONSHIP):
1 Manus Kelly/Donall Barrett (Subaru Impreza WRC) 2h 29m 05s,
2 Alastair Fisher/Gordon Noble (Ford Fiesta R5) 2h 30m 59s,
3 Garry Jennings/Rory Kennedy (Subaru Impreza WRC) 2h 31m 06s,
4 Sam Moffett/Karl Atkinson (Ford Fiesta R5) 2h 31m 40s,
5 Josh Moffett/James Fulton (Ford Fiesta R5) 2h 32m 55s,
6 Pauric Duffy/Kevin Glynn (Ford Fiesta R5) 2h 40m 49s,
7 Callum Devine/Brian Hoy (Opel Adam) 2h 44m 09s,
8 Stuart Biggerstaff/Anthony Nestor (Subaru Impreza WRC) 2h 44m 47s,
9 Marty Gallagher/Dean O’Sullivan (Peugeot 208 R2) 2h 44m 57s,
10 Cathan McCourt/Stephen O’Hanlon (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 Gp N) 2h 46m 34s.
Class winners: Callum Devine/Brian Hoy, Christopher Boyce/Pascal Dillon
(Honda Civic), Cathan McCourt/Stephen O’Hanlon, Sam Moffett/Karl Atkinson,
Stuart Biggerstaff/Anthony Nestor.
NATIONAL RALLY:
1 Damien Gallagher/Mac Walsh (Ford Escort) 2h 36m 29s,
2 Declan Gallagher/John McCarthy (Toyota Starlet) 2h 37m 12s,
3 Ryan Loughran/Gareth Doherty (Ford Escort) 2h 37m 56s,
4 Jonathan Pringle/Paul Sheridan (Ford Escort) 2h 38m 24s,
5 Vivian Hamill/Andrew Grennan (Ford Escort) 2h 38m 36s,
6 Adrian Hetherington/Ronan O’Neill (Ford Escort) 2h 38m 48s.
HISTORIC RALLY:
1 Ernie Graham/Tim Sayer (Ford Escort) 2h 13m 31s,
2 Keith McIvor/David Burns (Ford Escort) 2h 15m 46s,
3 Francis Barrett/Paul McGee (Ford Escort) 2h 24m 54s.
Class winners: Barry Jones/Iwan Griffiths (Ford Escort), Shawn Rayner/Declan
Dear (Ford Escort), John O’Reilly/Mark Convey (Ford Escort), Iarla Carty/Joe
White (Mini Cooper), Richard Hall/Declan Campbell (Porsche 911), Dave
Pritchard/Emyr Hall (Ford Escort), Harry Browne/Martin McGrath (Hillman
Avenger).
JUNIOR RALLY:
1 Stephen Peoples/Kieran Burke (Ford Escort) 58m 57s,
2 Niall Curran/Darren Curran (Honda Civic) 59m 06s,
3 Jenna McCann/Conor Duffy (Ford Fiesta R2) 1h 00m 30s.
MOTORSPORT IRELAND KART RACE MEETING AT PALLAS KARTING, TYNAGH, CO GALWAY
(ROUND 4 OF MOTORSPORT IRELAND NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP):
Bambinos Final: 1 Tadgh Buckley, 2 Scott Reilly, 3 Jake Jackson.
Cadets Final: 1 Sean Hogan, 2 Peadar O’Boyle, 3 J P Sleator.
Cadet Novice Final: 1 Andrei Dabija, 2 Calem McSweeney, 3 Brandon Boland.
Iame X30 Junior/Mini Final: 1 T J McDonnell, 2 Sean McCormack, 3 Karl
O’Brien.
Rotax Junior Max Final: 1 Rian O’Boyle, 2 Cian Broderick, 3 Casey Jay
Coleman.
Formula 125 Open Final: 1 Brian McCarthy, 2 Jack Moran, 3 Gabriel Lodge.
Iame X30 Senior and Masters Final: 1 Gary Turkington, 2 Gary Edwards, 3
Callum Bradshaw.
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