DONEGAL WINS
Only Cahal Curley and Billy Coleman – names enshrined in the unofficial Irish rallying hall of fame – have won the Donegal International Rally three times in a row alongside Manus Kelly, underlining his incredible feat.
Kelly’s wins were arguably even more impressive given how little seat time he got in his Melvyn Evansprepared Subaru Impreza S12B WRC prior to Ireland’s most famous rallying event. Here’s the story of his hat-trick of wins.
2016
Perhaps the most thrilling win of all, in just his second event in the car Kelly snatched the win by just 0.5 seconds on the last stage. Amid the controversial move to allow only R5 cars to compete for the Irish Tarmac crown, Keith Cronin’s Citroen DS 3 example pushed Kelly all the way. Kelly – who also became the first person to win the National and International rally in consecutive years – was just behind the main battle for much of the rally between Donagh Kelly and Declan Boyle. But on Saturday, Donagh Kelly suffered engine trouble and Boyle gearbox problems, leaving Manus Kelly and Cronin to fight for victory. Cronin was faster by one second on the penultimate stage, but Kelly went almost 10s quicker on the decider and he and Donall Barrett sealed their first Donegal victory.
2017
Now among the favourites as opposed to an outsider, Kelly spent the whole event duelling with Donagh Kelly. The result wasn’t decided until the last stage when the latter rolled his Ford Focus WRC in search of a first home victory. Rain had complicated Saturday’s action and allowed Manus to jump Donagh, the latter of which had topped every stage on the Friday. A softer tyre choice by Manus was the key on Sunday, as Donagh looked demoralised before crashing while trying to erase the 12s deficit. A winning margin of just under two minutes was the reward, the rest of the competition left trailing.
2018
Again Kelly showed his prowess in the wet as the hotly-anticipated 2018 event began with one of the best entries in the rally’s history.
This time Kelly – showing a wicked balance of pace and longevity in the previous two seasons – was the unprecedented favourite. He was out of the blocks quickly on Friday and, despite a spin on the second stage, led as Donagh Kelly retired three stages in after an off. Garry Jennings tried to eat into Kelly’s lead with rapid times on Saturday before putting his S12B on its roof, handing Kelly victory. The now famous emotion, smile, and standing atop the Subaru was seen for the last time.