LAST Sunday's Skibbereen and District Car Club's first-ever Endurance Trial was won by the County Meath crew of Gerard and Luke O'Reilly (Nissan Micra), who finished just two seconds ahead of the Toyota Starlet of the Dublin/Monaghan pairing of Karl O'Donoghue/Evin Hughes.
The Ovens/Donoughmore paring of Owen Murphy/Patrick O'Sullivan (Toyota Yaris) upheld local honour, finishing third overall, 43 seconds further behind.
There were class wins for the Bantry/Ballingeary crew of Seamus McHugh/Shane Casey (Suzuki Ignis) and Clonakilty's Jonathan Carroll/Jack Murphy (Toyota Corolla).
Other locals to feature in class awards were the Clonakilty crews of Luke McCarthy/Grace Santry (Toyota Starlet), third in Class A2B, and James Kingston/William Kingston (Toyota Auris), second in Class B.
This spectrum of the sport is somewhat complicated with the overall award based on crews within Classes A1, A2M, A2B and A2E. It’s best illustrated by the fact that the Nenagh/Donoughmore crew of Davy Forde/Patrick O'Leary (Toyota Starlet), who were the quickest crew over the 20 selectives and finished 22 seconds ahead of the O'Reilly duo, but were only eligible for a class award.
The O'Reilly's led throughout and it wasn't until the afternoon section in Bohonagh (Rosscarbery) that Murphy/O'Sullivan moved into the top three with the O'Reilly's 15 seconds ahead of O'Donoghue/Hughes and Murphy/O'Sullivan a minute and two seconds further behind.
By the penultimate selective (French's Yard, Leap) the margin between the leading crews was down to 11 seconds. Although O'Donoghue/Hughes cut the deficit to just two seconds on the final selective, the O'Reilly's managed to take the spoils as Murphy/O'Sullivan, who posted the quickest time, secured third.
Results: 1. G. O'Reilly/L. O'Reilly (Nissan Micra) 12m. 12s; 2. K. O'Donoghue/E. Hughes (Toyota Starlet) 12m. 14s; 3. O. Murphy/P. O'Sullivan (Toyota Yaris) 12m. 57s; S. McHugh/S. Casey (Suzuki Ignis) 13m. 03s.
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In last weekend's Mayo Forest Rally, round four of the Sligo Pallets Irish Forest Rally Championship, Tyrone's Jason Mitchell (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) took his third victory in as many outings as he finished 20.6 seconds ahead of the Ford Fiesta Rally2 of Waterford's Andrew Purcell and his Blackpool co-driver Liam Brennan. Monaghan's Derek Mackarel and his Inchigeelagh co-driver Eamonn Creedon (Ford Fiesta R5) finished fifth. The next round of the series is the Jim Walsh Cork Forest Rally (August 10th).
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The entry list for the Donegal International Rally (June 20th to 22nd), round four of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship, was announced on Friday. Due to the withdrawal of Kris Meeke (who was seeded at No. 2) on Thursday, the top ten is: 1. Callum Devine/Noel O'Sullivan (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2); 3. Jon Armstrong/Shane Byrne (Ford Fiesta Rally2); 4. William Creighton/Liam Regan (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2); 5. Matt Edwards/David Moynihan (Hyundai i20 Rally2); 6. Josh Moffett/Andy Hayes (Citroen C3 Rally2); 7. Eddie Doherty/Tom Murphy (Skoda Fabia R5); 8. Meirion Evans/Ger Conway (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2), 9. Sam Moffett/Shane Buckley (Hyundai i20 Rally2); 10. Declan Boyle/Patrick Walsh (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2). Seeded at No. 30, Dunmanway's Jason McSweeney (co-driven by Blackpool's Liam Brennan) in his Skoda Fabia R5 is the top local driver.
Other West Cork entries are Clonakilty's Eamonn and Lisa McCarthy (Honda Civic) and The Pike's Peter Keohane (Peugeot 106 GTi). Barryroe co-driver Dylan Doonan competes with Tyrone's Barry Morris (Darrian T90 GTR). The reserves list includes Clonakilty's Mark Donovan and Inchinattin native Ian Stanley (Ford Escort) and Dunmanway's Gerard O'Connell (Ford Escort). Ardfield co-driver Anthony O'Sullivan calls the notes for Welsh ace Meirion Evans (Ford Escort RS1800) and are the top seeds in the Historic category.
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Kilnamartyra co-driver JJ Cremin will contest Sunday's Laois Heartland's Rally in Portlaoise with Donegal driver Stuart Darcy (BWM M3). Killarney's Colin O'Donoghue (Ford Escort) is the top seed. Kilcrohane's Micheál O'Donovan (Ford Fiesta) is seeded at No. 134 while Ardfield co-driver Gary Lombard competes with Kerry's Ian Horgan (Toyota Corolla).
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Motorsport Ireland are hosting a Rally Forum on Wednesday next at the Midlands Park Hotel, Portlaoise at 7.30pm. Although they have issued an open invitation (all welcome) the invitation stipulates ‘Competitors and any interested party are reminded of their ability to register ahead of the night by using our application.’ It will be interesting to see what the uptake will be, especially as it's in the middle of a working week. In addition, for example, travel from West Cork is a five-hour round trip.
