Rally & Circuit event results
Ulster pair Marty McCormack and Barney Mitchell scored their first International victory yesterday when they brought their VW Polo R5 home 19 seconds ahead of runners up Meirion Evans and Jonathan Jackson in a Skoda Fabia after two days of stages based on Macroom.
Saturday’s five stages were dominated by Callum Devine and Brian Hoy, who opened out a lead of 27 seconds over the four opening stages. However, their Ford Fiesta broke a driveshaft on the last stage of the day, costing them two minutes as they limped to the end and dropping the Derry-Fermanagh pair to fifth place overnight as West Cork’s Daniel Cronin took over top position in front of McCormack.
This left Devine with a 68 second deficit as the rally headed into day two’s eight stages, but he slid off the road on the first of these, getting stuck in a drain and losing too much time to continue. On the very next stage, leader Cronin also went off, leaving McCormack to take charge for the remaining six stages.
Jonny Greer and Kirsty Riddick finished third despite transmission problems on their Fiesta for much of the rally, ahead of veteran Eugene Donnelly’s Proton.
Damien Toner won the National Rally to clinch that section of the Irish Tarmac Championship, with newly married Owen Murphy winning the Historic Rally and Kieran Reen taking the Junior honours.
Dubliner Anthony Cross took the Serco.ie Formula Vee title for the second year in succession by winning the final round of the series at Kirkistown. He completed a successful day by also taking top place in the Emerson Fittipaldi Trophy Race.
