EDWARDS SCORES CANNY VICTORY OVER CRONIN
An emotional Matt Edwards (Ford Fiesta Rally2) fought back the tears after he took victory on the Circuit of Ireland Rally following an absorbing battle with Irish Tarmac Championship leader Keith Cronin, also in a Ford Fiesta Rally2.
They were a class apart during the eight-stage event over technical and demanding terrain around Dungannon.
Through the opening four stages they were virtually inseparable. Edwards was fastest on SS1 by 0.4s while Cronin, the pacesetter through SS2 and SS3, led by 1s as Edwards closed to within 0.2s at the halfway mark.
By then, Callum Devine
(VW Polo GTi R5), who was 8.2s off leader Cronin on SS2, slid wide and clouted a bank on SS3 that damaged a track control arm and forced his retirement. Josh Moffett (Citroen C3 Rally), who ushered some cows on
SS4 but had his time amended, was 39.7s off top spot followed by fellow Citroen aces Jonny Greer and Desi Henry.
Under blue skies Cronin extended his lead to 4.7s on
SS5 but a dramatic hail shower before the start of SS6 had consequences. An inspired tyre choice was the defining moment when Edwards tackled the stage with a mixture of tyres, running wets on the right-front and rearleft. He reaped the rewards and a lead of 5.9s and went on to take a very special win, his first in a round of the Irish Tarmac
Rally Championship since the Ulster Rally in 2021.
Cronin opted not to take any risks and conserved second place for his championship bid while Moffett took the final podium spot.
Both Greer (SS6) and Henry (SS8) crashed out promoting Cathan McCourt (Ford Fiesta Rally2), on his first rally in four months, to fourth. Garry Jennings (Ford Fiesta Rally2), who lost time with a puncture, netted fifth followed by Jason Black (Toyota
Starlet) who, despite a final-stage puncture, held on to win the two-wheel-drive category,
3.1s ahead of Mark Alcorn
(Ford Escort), who was penalised 10.4s for a jump start on SS5.
In the Historics, Welsh driver Tomas Davies (Ford Escort) was fastest on every stage to record an emphatic victory by three and a half minutes. Cian Caldwell (Peugeot 208 Rally4), who won the Rally4 category, inherited top spot on SS3 when early pacesetter Se Og Martin retired his similar car with mechanical issues. A puncture on SS2 cost Ryan McHugh three minutes but four stage wins meant he was able to salvage second place.
Results
Organiser: Ulster Automobile Club When: March 30 Where: Dungannon, County Tyrone Championships: Irish Tarmac
Rally Championship Starters: 91.
1 Matt Edwards/David Moynihan (Ford Fiesta Rally2) 1h11m46.3s; 2 Keith Cronin/ Mikie Galvin (Ford Fiesta Rally2) +14.4s; 3 Josh Moffett/Andy Hayes (Citroen C3 Rally2); 4 Cathan McCourt/Brian Hoy
(Ford Fiesta Rally2); 5 Garry Jennings/Rory Kennedy (Ford Fiesta Rally2); 6 Jason Black/ Karl Egan (Toyota Starlet); 7 Mark Alcorn/ Darren Curran (Ford Escort); 8 Damian
Toner/Aodhan Gallagher (Ford Escort); 9 Joe McGonigle/Ciaran Geaney (Citroen C3 Rally2); 10 Conor Murphy/Sean Collins (Ford Escort). Class winners: Tomas Davies/Shane Buckley (Ford Escort); Cian Caldwell/Liam Egan (Peugeot 208 Rally4); Adam Doherty/Michael Ward (Nissan Micra); Sarah Hunter/James Braithwaite (Ford Fiesta R2T); Ryan McArdle/Domhnall Lennon (Ford Escort); Oliver Benton/Kyle Diffin (Ford Escort); Black/Egan; Richard O’Lone/James Turkington (Ford Fiesta Rally3); McCourt/Hoy; Conor McCrossan/ David Burns (Ford Fiesta Rally2).