KELLYCOMESOUTONTOPOF ANOTHERBATTLEWITHBOYLE
Organiser: Kerry Motor Club When: April 8 Where: Tralee, County Kerry Championships: West Coast Rally Championship Stages: 10 Starters: 106
The Circuit of Kerry Rally, the second round of the Irish National Rally Championship, transpired to be another battle between Donegal duo Donagh Kelly (Ford Focus WRC) and Declan Boyle (Ford Fiesta RS WRC), after the latter won the opening round the Mayo Stages Rally.
On this occasion it was Kelly that emerged victorious by a margin of 16.4 seconds, while yet another national champion Roy White (Fiesta RS WRC) rounded out the top three.
Early morning rain in west Kerry eventually made way for a more springlike day. On the opening stage that spanned between the picturesque villages of Camp and Castlegregory, Kelly led Boyle by 3.1s. However one stage later, Boyle turned the tables on his rival and went 3.5s ahead.
Kelly’s response was immediate and he was back in front albeit by seven tenths of a second after the opening loop of three stages.
Even at that point, the Donegal pair had moved 24 seconds ahead of thirdplaced White, who admitted that he needed to be far more aggressive.
Elsewhere, Daragh O’riordan (Fiesta RS WRC), on his first outing of the season, was fourth and was followed by Joe Mcgonigle (Mini John Cooper Works WRC), who lost time with an offroad excursion on the third stage. PJ Mcdermott retired his Subaru Impreza WRC at the service park due to a crack in the gearbox casing.
In the two-wheel-drive category, Chris Armstrong (Ford Escort Mk2) held sway even though he spun and stalled on the third stage.
Group N pacesetter Aidan Wray (Mitsubishi) was slowed when the brakes caught fire.
Kelly and Boyle continued to trade places with the latter leading until the sixth stage when his Ford Fiesta cut a corner and punctured the right-front wheel. He reckoned it cost him some 20 seconds and Kelly arrived at the final service leading by 14.1 seconds, he admitted to having a few moments on the same stage.
Yet, Boyle remained confident that he could snatch back time, particularly on SS8. However, it was Kelly that reigned supreme and he added a few more seconds on the next stage to lead by 16.6s. Although Boyle was quickest on SS10 he had already decided on settling for second even before the cancellation of the final stage due to timing restrictions. White, having made some suspension adjustments, took third and was followed by Mcgonigle, O’riordan and Maguire.
Stuart Darcy won the two-wheel-drive category as Armstrong, who had a steering problem on SS6, suffered two time consuming overshoots on SS8. Johno Doogan (Escort) was ninth and the legendary Kenny Mckinstry (Subaru Impreza WRC) completed the top 10. He had been slowed by brake troubles on the opening loop.
Wray retired his Mitsubishi with a mechanical problem and Trevor Bustard (Mitsubishi) took a Group N award for the first time in six years.
Paul Barrett’s Mitsubishi Lancer E10 was sidelined with a damaged oil cooler, earlier, he suffered the loss of brakes. Sean Liston (BMW), who was on the fringe of the top 10, crashed heavily on the closing stages, himself and his co-driving wife Katrina, escaped serious injury.
In the Junior category, Monaghan’s Jonny Treanor (Honda Civic), who moved into the lead on SS2, took a fine win – his time on SS3 was quicker than those of the two-wheel drive contenders in the main field. Mark Falvey (Ford Escort) won the Historic section.
1 Donagh Kelly/ Conor Foley (Ford Focus WRC) 51m1.2s; 2 Declan Boyle/james O’reilly (Fiesta RS WRC) +16.4s; 3 Roy White/james O’brien (Fiesta RS WRC); 4. Joseph Mcgonigle/ Ciaran Geaney (Mini John Cooper Works WRC); 5 Daragh O’riordan/andy Hayes (Fiesta RS WRC); 6 Niall Maguire/ Enda Sherry (Subaru Impreza WRC); 7 Stuart Darcy/ Keith Mccarthy (Darrian T90 GTR); 8 Chris Armstrong/ Chris Melly (Ford Escort Mk2); 9 Johno Doogan/ Cairan Marron (Escort); 10 Kenny Mckinstry/ Kenny Hull (Subaru Impreza WRC). Class winners: Garry Kelly/ Mark Hurley (Honda Civic); DJ Browne/ Denny Greaney (Citroen C2 R2); Michael Rodgers/aiden Connolly (Honda Civic); Trevor Bustard/ Kenny Bustard (Mitsubishi Lancer E9); Maguire/ Sherry; Shay Laheen/ Kerrill Dempsey (Escort); Shane Griffin/ Ian Madigan (Peugeot 205 GTI); Brian Lavelle/ Dave Mannion (Honda Civic); Allen Treacy/ Bob Fitzgerald (Toyota Corolla); Vincent Collins/ Fintan Kilroe (Escort); Raymond Conlon/ Darren Mccague (Corolla); Darcy/ Mccarthy; Mcgonigle/ Geaney; David Griffin/ Ray Stack (Corolla); Mark Falvey/ Damien Fleming (Escort); Jonny Treanor/ Paul Sheridan (Civic).