MOFFETT TAKES HIS STARLET TO KERRY VICTORY ON A TREACHEROUS TEST
Richard Moffett, co-driven by Ger Conway, steered his nimble Toyota Starlet through the slippery roads of north Kerry to win the Kerry Winter Rally by a margin of 24.8 seconds.
Ryan Loughran (Ford Escort) with co-driver Tony Healy finished second as Stuart Darcy (Proton Satria) with Darragh Mullen snatched a late third place.
Chris O’Callaghan crashed his Escort on the opening stage with several crews being awarded Richard Moffett’s stage time. Jack Newman (Escort) had stretched his narrow lead to 3.5s by SS3 but on the next stage an altercation with a chicane bale prised the bonnet up, which flapped and masked his vision and the time lost hastened his decision to retire at service.
By then, Moffett led Loughran by
10.4s with tyre selection the latter’s only quandary. Despite clipping a chicane bale that ripped part of the rear-right-wheel arch, Moffett powered his way to victory with Loughran offering no excuses. Darcy’s constant improvement yielded third. Padraig Egan (Escort) was another to fall foul of a chicane bale, but he took maximum points in the Top Part series, a feat that Michael Carbin needed in order to win the drivers’series. David Moffett (Escort) was untroubled in sixth followed by the similar car of Barry Meade with top seed Sam Moffett (Toyota Starlet) left to ponder his opening stage time where he lost 22s to the winner. Ed O’Callaghan’s outing in a Darrian ended when it overheated after the first stage; Daniel Cronin (Mitsubishi), Conor Murphy (Escort), Declan Boyle (Escort) and Daragh O’Riordan (Fiesta S2000) all failed to finish.
Results
Organiser: Kerry Motor Club. When: October 30. Where: Banna, Co. Kerry.
Championships: West Coast Championship; Southern 4 Rally Championship; Kingdom of Kerry Rally Championship.
Starters: 133.
1 Richard Moffett/Ger Conway (Toyota Starlet) 47m12.4s; 2 Ryan Loughran/Tony Healy (Ford Escort) +24.8s; 3 Stuart Darcy/Darragh Mullen (Proton Satria); 4 Padraig Egan/ Tomas Ryan (Ford Escort); 5 Michael Carbin/Dean O’Sullivan (Mitsubishi Lancer E8); 6 David Moffett/Martin Connolly (Ford Escort); 7 Barry Meade/Colin Fitzgerald (Ford Escort); 8 Sam Moffett/Keith Moriarty (Toyota Starlet); 9 Eddie Doherty/Cathal Nolan (Ford Escort); 10 Ian Roche/JJ Cremin (Subaru Impreza WRC). Class winners: Colin Mullins/Cathal Mullins (Honda Civic); Derek Flynn/Gavin Carr (Honda Civic);
Keith Costello/Sara McFadden (Ford Fiesta); Eamonn Barrett/ Adrian O’Gorman (Ford Escort); PJ O’Dowd/Padraig Brick (Talbot Sunbeam); Liam McMullan/Christy McLaughlin (Honda Civic); Bob Moran/Eoin Collins (Ford Escort); Sean Enright/ Kevin Doherty (Ford Escort); Meade/Fitzgerald; Egan/Ryan; Roche/Cremin; Jason Farrell/Donagh Crowley (Honda Civic); Sebastian Ling/Aled Rees (Ford Escort); Mark Falvey/ Diarmuid Lynch (Ford Escort); Carbin/O’Sullivan.