Callum Devine wins as Keith Cronin suffers costly puncture before finishing fourth in Rally of the Lakes

DERRY'S Callum Devine, in a VW Polo GTi R5 and co-driven by Killarney’s Noel O’Sullivan, secured a hat-trick of wins on the Assess Ireland Rally of the Lakes in Killarney, round four of the Irish Tarmac Championship.

It was their first win of the season but they had to fend off the spirited challenge of Matt Edwards and David Moynihan in their Ford Fiesta Rally2 winning by 7.9s.

For the leaders of the Irish Tarmac Championship, Ballylickey’s Keith Cronin and Killarney’s Mikie Galvin (Ford Fiesta Rally2) it was a case of what could have been. They took the lead on SS2, Tim Healy Pass and scorched their way through the stags in the Beara Peninsula to moved 30.2s ahead of Devine/O’Sullivan. On SS6, they extended that lead to 33.3s only to puncture on the repeat of Ardgroom. They lost one minute and 20 seconds, and the lead. They were quickest on Saturday’s final stage but were a minute and 42.6s off top spot.

Devine began Sunday’s final leg of six stages with a 14.4s second lead, after the first loop of three stages his lead stood at 13.9 seconds. However, by the penultimate stage the margin was down to 8.7 seconds as Edwards piled on the pressure but it proved too much in the end. Third-placed Kilkenny’s Eddie Doherty in a Skoda Fabia R5 was 59.9s further behind to secure his best ever finish in an International event.

Championship leader Keith Cronin, onboard a Ford Fiesta Rally2, was best on four of the day’s six stages came home in fourth place in a top six completed by Ulster pair, Jonny Greer in a Citroen and the VW Polo of Donegal’s David Kelly.

Dunmanway’s David Guest (Ford Fiesta Rally2) and his Mitchelstown co-driver Jonathan McGrath finished tenth.

See next week’s Southern Star for a full report of the event.