Moffett never headed to win Tipperary Stonethrowers Rally
Josh Moffett and Keith Moriarty became the first crew to win two rounds of this year’s Triton Showers National Rally Championship yesterday when their Ford Fiesta WRC finished the Fanning Motor Factors Tipperary Stonethrowers Rally at Clonmel eight seconds clear of former double champion Declan Boyle and his co-driver James O’Reilly.
The Monaghan-Limerick pairing were fastest on the morning’s opening stage and were never headed all day, despite a scare on the penultimate stage at Knockgraffon when the leading car lost power when it dropped on to three cylinders. This allowed Boyle to close the gap from 19 seconds to just three, setting the scene for a dramatic duel over the final section.
However, Moffett’s car was back to full health for that decisive last stage, and he was able to enlarge his lead again, closing the gap in the championship points table which Boyle heads in his bid for that elusive third title. Roy White and James O’Brien, the National championship winners two years ago, finished third to complete a clean sweep of the top positions for Fiestas.
Richard Meeke was the clear winner of TDC’s Clubman Autotest at Rathcoole, completing the 12 tests more than 20 seconds ahead of a duel between Rod McGovern and John Farrelly, who shared the same Westfield, finishing less than a second apart.
