BY MARTIN WALSH
BALLYLICKEY’S Daniel Cronin (VW Polo GTi R5) and his Dunmanway co-driver Donnchadh Burke remain in contention for the Triton Showers National Rally Championship following a successful haul of 17 championship points from Sunday’s Limerick-based Circuit of Munster Rally.
They finished fourth overall and set the best time on the ‘Power Stage’ to secure an additional bonus point. With event winners Derry’s Callum Devine (VW Polo GTi R5) and his Antrim co-driver John Rowan not registered for the series, Cronin/Burke netted third-place championship points (16).
Devine/Rowan, who led all through the event, finished 21.9 seconds ahead of Kilkenny’s Eddie Doherty and his Limerick co-driver Tom Murphy (Skoda Fabia R5) with Donegal’s Michael Boyle/Dermot McCafferty (VW Polo GTi R5) a further 11.2 seconds behind in third. Cronin/Burke were another 2.2 seconds behind and a mere 0.3 of a second ahead of reigning national champions Josh Moffett/Keith Moriarty (Citroen C3 Rally2).
Prior to the event, round five of the series, Cronin/Burke held second overall, three points behind series leaders Sam Moffett/James O’Reilly and two ahead of Doherty/Murphy. Moffett withdrew from the rally due to business commitments. Doherty/Murphy are the new leaders of the series, one point ahead of Cronin/Burke with Moffett/O’Reilly along with Cavan’s Gary Kiernan/John McCabe sharing third spot, a further 15 points behind.
At the finish of the final stage Cronin remarked, ‘Everything seemed to click on that last stage, I tried to be more precise and carried a bit more speed in places, it was good to win the Power Stage. Look, Eddie (Doherty), Josh (Moffett) and Michael (Boyle) are all flying it, the pace is good. The middle loop was a bit frustrating, but we will take the positives from that last loop.’
The next round of the series (round six) is the Clonmel-based Tipperary Stonethrowers Rally on July 14th.
It was a mixed event for the other West Cork Rally2/R5 drivers. Dunmanway’s David Guest (Ford Fiesta Rally2) reunited with former co-driver Paddy Robinson from Donegal and were 15th overall. Guest was pleased with his time on SS2 but concerned that the car seemed unsettled due to a soft spring set-up. Tyre selection for the second loop made the car somewhat wayward and he dropped three places on the leaderboard. The final loop brought a much improved and more satisfying performance.
Also, Kilnamartyra co-driver JJ Cremin partnered Donegal’s Stuart Darcy (VW Polo GTi R5) to ninth overall. Dunmanway’s Jason McSweeney (Skoda Fabia R5), who had multi-winning co-driver Dromtarriffe’s James O’Brien deputising for Blackpool’s Liam Brennan, were a place further behind and followed by the Clonakilty/Rosscarbery combination of Cal McCarthy/Eric Calnan (Citroen C3 Rally2). McCarthy said: ‘We struggled on the first loop and the confidence was down, so much so, I considered going home. We slid into the first chicane of the rally. The only good thing, it was made of tyres, which seemed to be a better option. There was no major damage, but it still knocks you back.’
Although Clonakilty’s Aidan Hennessy/Pakie McCarthy (Ford Fiesta Rally4) were shown in the results as winners of Class 2A, they should have been placed in Class 2.
‘On the original entry form we were to compete in Class 2A but a few days prior to the rally, I couldn’t get that car and instead we hired a Rally4 car from C-Sport and that we amended our entry (to Class 2) on the system but this wasn’t shown officially,’ said Hennessy. Their overall time should place them sixth in the ultra-competitive Class 2 leaving Ballylickey’s Cyril Casey (Ford Fiesta R2) and his Galway co-driver Brian Martyn as the top finishers in Class 2A.
Barryroe co-driver Dylan Doonan and Limerick’s Ed O’Callaghan (Ford Escort) led Class 14 after the opening stage and held a top-three spot in the class until they crashed out on the penultimate stage.
Results: 1. C. Devine/J. Rowan (VW Polo GTi R5) 46m. 39.7s; 2. E. Doherty/T. Murphy (Skoda Fabia Rally2)+21.9s; 3. M. Boyle/D. McCafferty (VW Polo GTi R5)+33.1s; 4. D. Cronin/D. Burke (VW Polo GTi R5)+35.3s; 5. J. Moffett/K. Moriarty (Citroen C3 Rally2)+35.6s; 7. D. Kelly/D. O'Sullivan (VW Polo GTi R5)+52.8s; 7. G. Kiernan/J. McCabe (Ford Fiesta Rally2)+1m. 00.2s; 8. D. Boyle/D. Mullen (Citroen C3 Rally2)+1m. 01.1s; 9. S. Darcy/JJ Cremin (VW Polo GTi R5)+1m. 20.8s; 10. J. Mitchell/P. McCrudden (VW Polo GTi R5)+1m. 46.3s.
Provisional Championship Positions (After Round 5): 1. E. Doherty 71pts; 2. D. Cronin 71pts; =3. S. Moffett/G. Kiernan 57pts; 5. J. Moffett 56pts; 6. M. Boyle 54pts.
