THE opening stage of this weekend's Donegal International Rally is 14.3 kilometres long – it’s a pretty modest distance in comparison to the 540km trip up along the west coast that Dunmanway's Jason McSweeney will have travelled to get to the opening stage at Malin Head, and that's just for starters.
McSweeney is the top seeded local driver participating in the three-day, 20-stage rally totalling 271.12 kilometres, for what is the fourth round of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship.
McSweeney knows the journey is now much less intimidating following road improvements since he first competed in the Letterkenny-based rally in 2016, finishing fourth in Class 11 in a Honda Civic and co-driven by Rosscarbery's Denis O'Mahony.
This weekend, Blackpool's Liam Brennan, his regular co-driver since late 2021, will be calling the pacenotes for the stages that includes some well-known classics like Malin Head, High Glen, Knockalla, Atlantic Drive and Fanad Head. It's the first time that they will compete in Donegal in the Skoda Fabia R5.
'That will be a big change and I am looking forward to it,’ McSweeney said.
‘Three days are always good, especially if you can get to the end of it and hopefully, we will. I like Fanad Head (Sunday's final stage), it's fast and flowing. The plan is to finish, it's a very different rally up there, competition is huge, a finish would be a big thing there. It would be nice to get a good class finish.
Elsewhere, Barryroe co-driver Dylan Doonan teams up with Tyrone's Barry Morris (Darian T90 GTR). Fresh from the recent Cavan Rally, where they finished second in Class 14, the opposition in Donegal is tough to say the least given that the top three (in Class 14) are Donegal's Kevin Gallagher (Darrian T90 GTR), Scotland's David Bogie and Donegal's Mark Alcorn both in Ford Escorts.
In Class 13, Lisavaird's Michael White co-drives for Donegal's Corey Eves (Toyota Corolla). Other West Cork crews competing in Donegal are Clonakilty husband and wife pairing of Eamonn and Lisa McCarthy (Honda Civic) and The Pike's Peter Keohane and Rosscarbery's Brian Keohane (Peugeot 208 GT1), who are seeded at 143 and 154 respectively.
There's no doubt that the separate decisions of both Ballylickey's Keith Cronin and Welsh driver Matt Edwards to pause their competitive rallying is a major blow to the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship. It leaves current leader and former champion Derry's Callum Devine (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) as the clear favourite to regain his crown.
‘It's disappointing from a championship perspective to note that Keith Cronin, Matt Edwards and Eddie Doherty will not be competing in this event and this opens the door for other competitors to progress well in the championship,’ ITRC manager Enniskeane's Sean Hayde said.
‘With three rounds still to be contested, there are 61 points up for the taking. Currently, the TROA (Tarmac Rally Organisers Association) are unaware of the current status in relation to Galway International Rally as to whether it will receive a new date for 2025 and this places things somewhat up in the air.'
In the Historic section, Ardfield co-driver Anthony O'Sullivan will be aiming to solidify his lead in this category where his Welsh driver, Meirion Evans (Ford Escort RS1800), only began his title challenge on the Circuit of Ireland. However, with victory in that event and a maximum score on the Rally of the Lakes, Evans is third in the standings, 11 points behind Donegal's John O'Donnell (BMW M3) and nine behind Killarney's Fergus O'Meara (BMW M3).
Aside from competing with Evans in the last two rounds, O'Sullivan also competed in the West Cork.
‘I took a maximum score on the West Cork Rally with Killarney's Fergus O'Meara (BMW M3), we finished fourth overall but the top three were not registered for the championship,’ O'Sullivan said.
‘It will be tight and at the moment, nobody seems to know if the Galway International Rally will be rescheduled. I think John O'Donnell/Paddy Robinson (BMW M3) is our main opposition, especially in terms of the championship. Fergus O'Meara isn't competing in Donegal but will probably compete in the Cork '20' Rally.’
The Historic event begins on Saturday with all the day's eight stages and a further six stages on Sunday. Meanwhile, Kilnamartyra's JJ Cremin calls the notes for Donegal's Stuart Darcy (BMW M3) while Clondrohid's Eoghan McCarthy partners English driver Alan Watkins (Ford Escort RS2000).
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Ardfield's Gary Lombard and East Cork driver Darragh Walsh (Honda Civic) head to the event as leaders of the ITRC Junior series. With maximum points from the Clonakilty Park Hotel West Cork Rally and the Rally of the Lakes, they have a four-point lead over the Donegal crew of Ronan Dorian/Mickey Joe Browne, both in Honda Civics.
