DUNMANWAY’S Jason McSweeney (Skoda Fabia R5) began and finished the Donegal International Rally as the top West Cork competitor.
Co-driven by Blackpool's Liam Brennan, they finished 30th overall and second in Class 24 of the three-day event, the fourth round of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship.
The Pike's Peter Keohane and his Rosscarbery co-driver Brian Keohane (Peugeot 208 GTi) won Class 22. In the Historic category, Ardfield's Anthony O'Sullivan guided Welsh ace Meirion Evans (Ford Escort) to second overall and victory in Class 18. Meanwhile, Lisavaird's Michael White and his Donegal driver Corey Eves (Toyota Corolla) were third in Class 13.
Clonakilty's Eamonn and Lisa McCarthy (Honda Civic) were seventh in Class 11F, while Clondrohid co-driver Eoghan McCarthy and his British driver Alan Watkins (Ford Escort) were ninth in Class 18.
In the Junior category, where the crews competed on Sunday's six stages, Ardfield's Gary Lombard and his East Cork driver Darragh Walsh (Toyota Corolla) finished ninth after they failed to start the opening loop of three stages (due to a wiring issue) and competed under Super Rally.
Jason McSweeney's first Donegal outing in his Skoda Fabia R5 went reasonably well on Friday's opening leg with the Dunmanway driver and Blackpool's Liam Brennan holding 29th overall and third in class.
They finished Saturday's opening stage (High Glen) three seconds behind the VW Polo GTi R5 of class leader Tyrone's Niall Devine. On SS8 (Lough Keel) they beached their Skoda Fabia R5 on a square left soon after the stage start. After about two minutes and the passage of four cars, they managed to get going again. Then, the tracker in their Skoda went off so they backed off as per the rules as another competitor (Niall Devine) had gone off the road. For whatever reason and unlike the other competitors that were caught up in the Devine accident, they didn't receive a nominal time for the stage. It transpired that the stage time they were given included the addition of a three-minute penalty added to the nominal time. Later in the day they lost further time with a puncture on SS12 (Garrygort) and eventually ended the day second in class and 42nd overall.
Unlike the intense heat and sunshine of the previous days, rain early on Sunday morning made for a difficult tyre choice. On full wets (tyres) they were fastest of their class on SS15 (Carnhill) and the first run over Fanad Head where conditions were bone dry. They went on to finish second in class and 30th overall.
‘We enjoyed the experience, this is a very different rally compared to all the others. Experience is a key factor here and you need to have a great knowledge of the stages. There are competitors that compete here year-in, year-out and build up a great knowledge of the stages. There are others like ourselves and it's a learning curve,’ McSweeney said.
Despite an intermittent misfire, the Clonakilty husband and wife crew of Eamonn and Lisa McCarthy (Honda Civic) persevered to finish seventh in Class 11F. The seven points gained from the event mean that they are third overall in the Modified category of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship and joint leaders of the M1 class.
‘We were about two corners into the first stage (High Glen) on Saturday morning when the problem started. The wiring loom to the coil pack started to give trouble. It affected us for four full stages and intermittently on the others. It cost us about seven or eight minutes. Then we got a puncture on Atlantic Drive (penultimate stage) and we also burst a shock, so I suppose we were lucky to get to the finish,’ Eamonn explained.
Meanwhile, Lisavaird's Michael White (co-driver with Pettigoe's Corey Eves (Toyota Corolla) is fourth in the co-driver's standings in the Modified section of the ITRC and leads the M2 co-driver's standings after finishing third in class and were untroubled throughout.
The long trip to the north-west proved fruitful for The Pike's Peter Keohane and his Rosscarbery co-driver Brian Keohane (Peugeot 106 GTi), who took a start-to-finish victory and a first-ever win in Class 22. ‘We had a trouble-free run,’ said Keohane. After four rounds, they are third in the M1 category.
In the Historics, Ardfield's Anthony O'Sullivan (co-driver with Welshman Meirion Evans) continues to lead the Historic ITRC series following his haul of second-placed points in Donegal where, as expected, the local crew of John O'Donnell/Paddy Robinson (BMW M3) took the category win. For Clonakilty's Mark O'Donovan (Ford Escort) and his Inchinattin born co-driver Ian Stanley it was a relatively short-lived event in what was their maiden outing in Donegal. Engine related issues arose on the fourth stage and they retired on the road section after the fifth stage.
The event was won by Derry's Callum Devine (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2), who took his third straight win in the rally. He finished 20.5 seconds ahead of the Toyota GR Yaris of Welsh driver Meirion Evans with Donegal's David Kelly (VW Polo GTi R5) finishing third, replicating the same result as last year.
