BREEN WINS IN CORK AS O’BRIEN CHASES HONE
Jordan Hone continues to lead the Motorsport Ireland National Forest Rally Championship but, for the third event in a row, Patrick O’Brien (Skoda Fabia R5) bagged top points on the recent Jim Walsh Memorial Cork Forest Rally.
O’Brien claimed maximum points on the event that was won by M-Sport driver Craig Breen on a free weekend from his WRC schedule, taking the ex-Marcus Gronholm Ford Focus WRC (belonging to his father Ray) to a 22.6-second victory. Breen was a late entry for the rally and took his friend John Boden as co-driver for a trip through the Cork forests for what he described as a therapeutic outing.
O’Brien made his intention of going for championship points clear from the start and didn’t engage in a battle with the non-registered Breen, who ran as first of the four-wheel-drive contenders.
Dusty conditions brought time gaps of two minutes to allow the dust to dissipate into the blue skies. Series leader Hone (Ford Fiesta R5) was troubled with a leaking turbo pipe, which was replaced before he went on to finish third overall and claim secondplaced championship points. Cathan McCourt (Hyundai i20 R5), who lost time with a fuel pump issue, wasn’t registered for points either with the next batch going to his brother Conor.
The series, based on the best five scores from seven events, concludes with the Bushwhacker
Rally (September 17) and the Tour of Sperrins (October 22) with the consistent Hone still heading the standings by 10 points from O’Brien.