Local co-drivers in top 10 at Rally of the Lakes

IF last weekend’s Cartell.ie Rally of the Lakes is a benchmark then rally fans and competitors can look forward to an epic 40th anniversary event next year.

Killarney and District Motor Club, under the leadership of Dermot Healy and his team of nearly 300 volunteers, can be justifiably proud of delivering a great rally last weekend that was enjoyed by an estimated crowd of 60,000 people.

The record books will show that Donegal man Manus Kelly as the winner, driving a Subaru Impreza World Rally Car, he had to come from behind to take his first Killarney win.

Over Saturday’s loop of stages on the Beara Peninsula, Dubliner Robert Barrable held the advantage, leading from the opening test, Moll’s Gap to lead by nearly

20 seconds at the overnight halt.

However, all was not well in his Fiesta, Barrable was complaining of a damaged clutch and was losing time to a hard-charging Kelly. He was unable to replace the broken part on Sunday morning and Kelly continued to take time out of him. With just three stages left to run a scant one tenth of a second separated the pair but Barrable was dealt another unlucky card, overheating brakes on stage 14 near Kilcummin, meant he lost 17 second and the rally lead.

Third placed Desi Henry gave a good account of himself on his first visit to the Rally of the Lakes. Co-driven by Millstreet’s Liam Moynihan the got consistently quicker as rally went and were rewarded with the final podium place in their Skoda.

Top local man to cross the finish line was Noel O’Sullivan from Killarney, co-driving for Sam Moffatt, the 2017 event winner,

they finished third in their Fiesta.

Tralee man Sean Hegarty was another co-driver to finish in the top ten alongside Keith Lyons on another Fiesta.

Daniel Cronin and Shane Buckley, former winners of the Kerry Winter Rally, retired their Fiesta on Saturday afternoon following an electrical problem.

NATIONAL RALLY

Brother and sister crew Rob and Tara Duggan were the heroes of the national rally, leading form start to finish. The set an incredible time over Moll’s Gap on Saturday morning, good enough for third overall in the combined rallies, in their Ford Escort.

A gearbox change and resultant delays over the second Healy Pass stage meant they dropped to second briefly but we back in the rally lead by end of play on day. They were by far the most spectacular crew on the rally, video footage of a near miss on the Ardgroom stage reached over 100,000 YouTube viewers in the first 24 hours of going on-line.

Former Kerry Winter Rally winners Gary Kiernan and Keith Moriarty were second while Killarney club member Barry Meade was third in this category.

Father and son team Charlie and Johnny Hickey got the upper-hand on Tadgh O’Sullivan and Eoin O’Leary after an epic two day battle – just five seconds separated the two local Escorts at the end.

Darren Young and Pa Lawlor won calls 11F and, unofficially, lead the Moriarty’s Centra Kingdom of Kerry Rally Championship after three rounds. Their Honda Civic did suffer an overheating engine on Sunday.

Kilcummin co-driver Damian Fleming won class 13 alongside Monaghan driver Michael Conlon in a Toyota Corolla.

Elaine NI She finished 12 in the national section alongside Stephen Bawn in an Escort.

John Hickey recovered a rare finish in his Subaru-engined Escort to claim second in class 20. Seanie Hickey and Noel Fleming were second in class 12 in a Toyota Starlet. Dingle restaurant owner Gavin O’Grady was another local man to make the finish.

Paudie O’Callaghan and Dan Murphy won an event long class nine battle against Noel Sullivan and Nicky Burke. They were separated by the Corsa of Denis O’Brien and Michael O’Riordan who won class ten.

Kevin O’Sullivan and Martin Riordan won class 11R in their Escort, while Kevin O’Donoghue and John Falvey had to use super-rally rules to get their BMW M3 to the finish after hitting a sheep on Saturday. Denis Hickey and Sean Nolan were another crew running under super rally rules to get their new Escort to the finish. Denny Greaney finished second in class ten alongside Shane Dineen in an Talbot Sunbeam

HISTORIC RALLY

Ray Hilliard made a last minute deciosn to enter the rally and had to wait until the very last minute to secure a co-driver. Meegan Costello stepped in on Wednesday and they finished third overall in this historic section of the rally in their Ford Escort MK1.

JUNIOR RALLY

Colin O’Donoghue and Eddie Doherty won the junior rally in a hired Ford Escort in just his second rally as a driver. John McCarthy and Dylan O’Donoghue was second while Conor Murphy and David Gleeson made it an all Kerry top-three in the category.

Robert and Tara Duggan, Killarney, overall winners in the modified section, at the finish ramp with Michelle Hickey, Jeff Aherne, cartell.ie, Noreen Marshall, Dermot Healy, Clerk of the Course, Marian O’Reilly, Lisa Foley, Con Duggan, Emma O’Connor and...

Killarney crew Kevin O’Sullivan and Martin O’Riordan (first in class 11R) with Cormac Casey, Lisa Foley and Diarmuid Cronin, Killarney and District Motor Club Chairman, at the cartell.ie International Rally of the Lakes prize giving function at the...

LEFT: Mike Marshall and Patrick O’Donoghue with Shane McCarthy and Shane Byrne receiving the John Sweeney Award for Best Kenmare Crew from Denis McCarthy RIGHT: Sean Moynihan and Liam Brennan (first in class 12) winners of the Sean Conlon Cup, with...

Martin Farrell (Assistant CoC), and Brian McArdle, OSI, with Leanne O’Sullivan and Colin O’Donoghue, Killarney, the Junior winner and winner of the Gerard Horgan Memorial award

John Hickey, and his daughter Michelle, from Killarney, at the ceremonial start of the cartell.ie International Rally of the Lakes on Friday night. Photo by Eamonn Keogh

Noel O’Sullivan and Nicky Burke who competed in the Cartelle.ie Rally of the Lakes in their fabulous Ford Escort MK2 .They finished second in class 9. Photo by Raymond Corkery