Kelly takes popular victory, eve sand murphy secure titles
With the 2018 Modified title up for grabs, Kevin Eves was on a mission from the word go and launched into a commanding lead.
It looked as if there was no stopping the Pettigo driver from clinching the crown, but drama befell the former Billy Coleman Award nominee as mechanical trouble stopped his Toyota Corolla in its tracks. With John Bonner still going and now in line for the championship, it looked like all hope was lost. However, rallying can be a fickle game.
Declan Gallagher initially held second behind Eves but had to park up on SS5 with a broken throttle cable. Frank Kelly led for most of the rest of the event and came through to win, with JR Mcdaid snatching first early on Sunday morning, only to drop back to fourth by the end after hitting a chicane. Event sponsor Colin Byrne was going nicely and was looking good for a podium finish in his Millington-engined Ford Escort, but got caught out on SS13 and didn’t make the finish.
That 13th stage was also unlucky for Bonner, his championship going up in smoke like his Escort’s engine.
Eves was crowned championship victor even after he himself had retired. He has put in some great drives this year despite his campaign being blighted by some bad luck, so to get the title is a good boost.
The Historic rally brought about some heart-wrenching moments for title shoo-in Owen Murphy, as the fuel tank on his Talbot Sunbeam Lotus split on the first day. After a superb effort by his service crew, the car was back going for Sunday, and Murphy drove the wheels of the Sunbeam to claw back to third position and grab the points needed for the championship win.
Junior champion Gary Mcnamee consolidated his dominant season with another category win, but seemed to meet his match over the first few stages as Aaron Browne put in some very strong times. Browne’s turn of pace surprised many, but it was Colin O’donoghue and Gary Carty who grabbed the remaining podium slots after Browne’s retirement. With the Junior category rules changing next year, many of the highly-developed and expensive Honda Civics will be forced into Class 11F, which should bring about a more level playing field for young and upcoming talent.
The option of a Sunday-only event appealed to several crews, and Sean Moran took the win in his Escort with Pat O’sullivan and co-driver Eamonn Creedon a strong second in their Honda Civic. William Lynch made the swap to the driver’s seat in a rented Class 1 Civic, and took third place ahead of the identical car of Simon Duggan.