Rally win and Modified title goes to Toner
A measured victory in the National category gave Damian Toner (Ford Escort Mk2) the laurels in both the event and the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship Modified category.
After chief rival David Condell (Escort Mk2) departed the scene on SS11, Toner and co-driver Michael Coady went on to finish 32 seconds ahead of young gun Colin O’donoghue (Escort) with the similar car of title sponsor Colin Byrne taking third.
O’donoghue set the pace on the opening stage – three seconds ahead of the Toyota Starlet of Richard Moffett with Condell third and concentrating on the ITRC Modified category tussle with Toner.
After SS2 Sacha Kakad (Ford Fiesta R5) topped the leaderboard only for Condell to exert authority on SS3 and O’donoghue to regain top spot by the end of SS4. By that time Moffett was in Rally 2 after he tore the exhaust off his Starlet. Although Condell ended the day in control, he reckoned he had never rallied in such rain. Toner, 13.4 seconds behind, was content and 5.7s clear of an untroubled Kakad.
O’donoghue lost time when he clipped a concrete post and had to stop to allow a marshal to tie down a bonnet pin.
On a much brighter second day, Toner seemed to have the measure of Condell and opened up a lead of 29.6s after the morning loop. Both drivers received a notional time after Callum Devine’s exit from the International event on SS6 but O’donoghue, running further down the order, lost ground as his actual time stood. Although Condell gained a few seconds back on SS9 his rally ended on SS10 with gearbox troubles.
Toner admitted it was more difficult to find a pace in the absence of his main rival but O’donoghue in second was followed by Byrne as both benefited when Kakad put his Fiesta off the road on SS7.
The top three remained unchanged with Jason Dickson (Fiesta) securing fourth ahead of four-time rally winner Daragh O’riordan in the ex-barry Meade Escort. John Lynch, on his first outing in a Skoda Fabia, was sixth followed by the MG Metro
6R4 of Ray Breen, father of World
Rally Championship driver Craig.
Despite having to weld part of the axle, Owen Murphy (Sunbeam Lotus) took a victory in the Historic category where Robert Barrable was second and Luke Mccarthy third, both in Escorts.
Results
1 Damian Toner/ Michael Coady (Ford Escort) 2h04m23s; 2 Colin O’donoghue/sean Collins (Escort) +32s; 3 Colin Byrne/stephen
Quin (Escort); 4 Jason Dickson/ Martin Brady (Ford Fiesta);
5 Daragh O’riordan/ Mikey Walsh (Escort); 6 John Lynch/ Brian Quinlan (Skoda Fabia); 7 Ray Breen/sean Hassett (MG Metro
6R4); 8 Michael Mcdaid/ Declan Casey (Escort Mk2); 9 Allen
Treacy/ Bob Fitzgerald (Toyota Corrolla); 10 Scott Williams/
Ivan Griffiths (Escort Mk2).
Class winners: Adrian Kermode/ Paula Swinscoe (Porsche 911); Victor Beamish/susan Beamish (Vauxhall Nova); Dickson/brady; Treacy/fitzgerald; Mcdaid/casey; David Randles/andrew Cronin (Nissan Almera); Gerard Mcquaid/ Gary Quinlan (Ford Escort); O’riordan/walsh; Breen/hassett; Aaron Mcevoy/killian O’brien (Honda Civic); Aaron Browne/ Daniel Hanratty (Civic); Lynch/ Quinlan; Gavin Walsh/mark O’regan (Renault Clio); Eugene Meegan/sarah Whelan (Citroen DS 3 R5); Emma Nott/denny Greaney (Escort
Mk2); Phillip Mckibbin/tommy Commane (Escort); John O’reilly/ Nick Sparks (Escort Mk1); Alan Watkins/eoghan Mccarthy
(Escort); George Cullen/ Pat Cashman (Escort).