‘Kelly adds to Focus WRC win count’
Organiser: Monaghan MC When: April 22 Where: Monaghan Town, County Monaghan Championship: Border Rally Championship Stages: 9 Starters: 125.
Donagh Kelly snatched victory at the death in Monaghan, following a frenetic battle with Sam Moffett.
It seems that Kelly is the man of the moment in Irish rallying, the Donegal man completing a hat-trick of victories from three starts in recent weeks following wins in Wesk Cork and Kerry. It looks to be going to plan for the big assault on his home international in June, and one wonders whether anything can stop him from achieving that hitherto elusive Donegal win.
Despite not being a counting round of the Irish National Rally Championship for 2018, Monaghan Motor Club’s event still attracted a packed entry. Damp conditions early on, coupled with mud on the roads made the early tests incredibly treacherous. It was Sam Moffett who shot into an early lead despite handbrake issues, taking almost 10 seconds out of everyone in his Ford Fiesta R5, ahead of the Wrc-spec Fiesta of brother Josh and Desi Henry’s Skoda Fabia R5. Josh was suffering from transmission issues that left the Fiesta with front-wheel drive only, and wouldn’t make it past the first loop, with Declan Boyle also out on the first stage after an off.
Things settled down slightly for the remainder of the morning after the early dramas, as Kelly started to get into the groove following a small scare on the first stage. Sam still managed to take fastest time on all the first three stages, a commendable performance considering the R5 car’s power deficit to Kelly’s Ford Focus WRC. Henry was holding on to the final podium slot ahead of local man Niall Maguire’s Subaru Impreza S12B WRC, with Stephen Wright in fifth and Modified leader Adrian Hetherington sixth.
As the roads dried up for the second loop, Kelly started to eat into Sam’s advantage. Due to an incident with a course car, the fifth test was cancelled, and Sam still lead by 10 seconds heading into the last three stages. Henry dropped back with a puncture on the fourth stage, as Maguire and Wright consolidated their positions behind the top two.
The rate at which Kelly was catching Sam should have seen him emerge victorious, and so it came to be, despite the fact that the last stage started outside Sam’s house. Nonetheless, it was an excellent drive by the elder Moffett brother to stay ahead of the quicker car for so long, the gap in the end just 1.8 seconds. Maguire took third, with Wright behind and Henry climbing back up to fifth.
In the Modified battle, Hetherington just edged out David Moffett’s Class 13 Toyota Starlet, David putting in some incredible times on his home event to keep the smaller-engined car in the mix. Barry Meade clinched third on his first real taste of the Monaghan stages (he retired almost immediately on his previous visit), with Chris Armstrong not far behind. Stuart Darcy had a torrid time on the early stages in his Darrian, complaining of sixth-gear wheelspin in the slippery conditions, while Gary Mcphilips’ much-anticipated return didn’t go as planned despite promising early pace.
Shane Maguire took Group N in his Mitsubishi Lancer E9, while Jason Black dominated the Junior category in another Starlet, his times good enough to put him inside the top 20 overall. 1 Donagh Kelly/ Conor Foley (Ford Focus WRC) 52m02.9; 2 Sam Moffett/ Karl Atkinson (Ford Fiesta R5) +1.8s; 3 Niall Maguire/ Enda Sherry (Subaru Impreza WRC); 4 Stephen Wright/arthur Kierans (Ford Fiesta R5); 5 Desi Henry/ Liam Moynihan (Skoda Fabia R5); 6 Adrian Hetherington/ Ronan O’neill (Ford Escort Mk2); 7 David Moffett/johnny Baird (Toyota Starlet); 8 Barry Meade / Colin Fitzgerald (Ford Escort Mk2); 9 Chris Armstrong/ Chris Melly (Ford Escort Mk2); 10 Stuart Darcy/ Patrick Brides (Darrian T90 GTR)
Class winners: Stephen Reynolds/ Derek Mccarmy (Honda Civic); Michael Mcgarrity/ Damien Garvey (Citroen DS 3 R3); Shane Maguire/ Darragh Kelly (Lancer); S Moffett/atkinson; Kelly/ Foley; Colm Kearns/ Mark Deery (Escort); Mickey Brennan/ Ryan Brennan (Vauxhall Nova); Lee Mclaughlin/ Cristy Mclaughlin (Civic); Seamus Connolly/ Gary Mccrudden (Toyota Corolla); Brian Armstrong/aodhan Gallagher (Escort); D. Moffett/ Baird; Hetherington/ O’neill; Martin Tynan/ Declan Tynan (Lancer); Black/ Jack Mckenna (Startlet); David Leonard/ Niall Burns (Lancer).