MOFFETT TAKES IRISH TAR MAC LEAD
Rivals falter as m off et t makes the most of a poor itrc entry to take series lead. by Adam hall
Josh Moffett cruised to a 16-point Irish Tarmac Championship lead and is on the cusp of a maiden ITRC title after both R5 rivals crashed out on the Ulster Rally’s third stage.
He was aided further in his trophyhunting as his brother Sam, the reigning champion and pre-event favourite, pulled his entry the week before citing business commitments. Robert Barrable, erstwhile third-place man, was also out with a broken leg from Donegal.
Driving his brother’s Ford Fiesta R5 with Josh’s car being in gravel trim, Moffett quickly asserted himself at the top of the leaderboard ahead of Desi Henry and Jonathan Greer.
Stage three, Cairncastle, proved to be destructive and decisive. It only took three cars for the treacherous conditions to catch somebody out. Understeering through a right-hander Henry’s Skoda Fabia R5 collided head-on with a telegraph pole at the outside of the corner. The severity of the wet conditions and fluid on the road was illustrated by the resulting pirouettes performed by the Fabia.
Greer was the next car on the road and was caught out at the same section, his rally coming to an end close to Henry’s accident. The stage was cancelled with the telegraph pole dangling over the road but Moffett’s times were unaffected as he ran in front of both cars on the road.
Another Irish R5 not to make it to the end was Philip Allen, who replaced Eugene Donnelly in his Hyundai i20 R5. His first international rally ended in a ditch on SS7.
That left Moffett as the sole R5 driver in the rally’s ITRC runners. He was in a dilemma to go for the overall rally win but looked even more relaxed than usual during his appearances to service.
“We’ll try to keep a happy medium,” said Moffett after his rivals went off. “Obviously keep it safe enough for the championship but we’ll go for it [overall win] as long as the pace isn’t mad.”
R2 driver Jordan Hone put in a storming drive to beat all the registered Junior British Rally Championship crews. Hone finished second overall in the ITRC field – despite his limited asphalt experience and a crash in this event last year – ahead of the Mitsubishi Lancer E9 of Willie Mavitty, who strengthened his grasp on the ITRC 3 title. Results 1 Josh Moffett/andy Hayes (Ford Fiesta R5) 1h33m13.7s; 2 Jordan Hone/ Paul Hone (Opel Adam R2) +8m09.7s; 3 William Creighton/ Liam Regan (Peugeot 208 R2); 4 Willie Mavitty/ Martin Connolly (Mitsubishi Lancer E9); 5 Nick Barnett/ Martin Brady (Lancer); no other finishers. Class winners: Moffett/ Hayes; Creighton/ Regan.