National Rally Championship title to be decided at the Westlodge Hotel Fastnet Rally

THIS year’s Triton Showers National Rally Championship title will be decided at the Westlodge Hotel Fastnet Rally on the final Sunday of October.

It’s the first time in 14 years that the Skibbereen and District Car Club will host the title decider and follows the sequence of results at the Clare Rally, the penultimate round of the eight-leg championship.

Monaghan’s Josh Moffett leads Callum Devine of Derry by a single point and, with the best six scores from the eight events to count, it’s a winner-take-all scenario at the Fastnet finale.

Devine and Killarney co-driver Noel O’Sullivan won the Clare event, which was curtailed due to the tragedy that claimed the life of Kilcummin co-driver Damien Fleming. Results were declared final after SS6 with Devine taking a 1.5s victory over Moffett, who was co-driven by Limerick’s Keith Moriarty.

Ballylickey’s Daniel Cronin and his Dunmanway co-driver Donnchadh Burke (VW Polo GTi R5) finished a further 36.5s behind in third to boost their chances of finishing third overall in the series.

In terms of the Triton series, Devine needed a strong result – at minimum, a second-placed points finish was a prerequisite provided Moffett went on to claim top points and the point for the Power Stage.

The Derry driver made a good start on the first stage in the Burren terrain. Even though his VW Polo GTi R5 had some understeer, he set the fastest stage time, 0.2s up on Moffett, who reverted to the Hyundai i20 R5 he campaigned in the earlier half of the season. Donegal’s Michael Boyle (VW Polo GTi R5) was 7s further behind and 2s ahead of Cronin with Declan Boyle’s Citroen C3 Rally2 just a tenth of a second behind the Ballylickey driver – all three in contention for third place in the championship. Although initially shown as third overall, Clonakilty’s Cal McCarthy (Citroen C3 Rally2) and his Rosscarbery co-driver Eric Calnan were later classified as 17th on the stage. Derry’s Desi Henry was the first major retirement when his Citroen C3 Rally2 hit a bale.

The second stage brought the demise of Michael Boyle, who crashed his VW Polo GTi R5; a small fire was quickly extinguished. Only four cars actually completed the stage with the time set by Gareth MacHale (VW Polo GTi R5), who was the last car to successfully complete the stage, awarded to those that started or were due to start behind Michael Boyle. MacHale was concerned after smoke entered the cockpit of his car.

On SS2, Devine, despite slightly overcooking at a hairpin, increased his lead to 2.3s over Moffett, who was slowed by a misted windscreen. Cronin occupied third, 16s further adrift. The third stage was cancelled due to set-up issues.

Rain made conditions difficult for the second loop of three stages. On the first, Devine powered into a 7.1s lead over Moffett, with drivers commenting on the copious amounts of standing water. On SS5, Moffett was fastest by 1s from Devine with Cronin the only other driver to break the 7m 50s barrier. He remained in third, 32s further behind. The leading duo were the only crews to traverse the sixth stage as news unfolded of the tragedy. By the stage finish, Moffett had cut Devine’s advantage to 1.5s. The results were finalised later in the evening with Devine, Moffett and Cronin filling the top three places, Moffett took the Power Stage point.

Declan Boyle finished fourth to retain third overall in the series with Cronin, who annexed 17 championship points, moving into fourth. Currently, Boyle has 87 points as against 80 for Cronin but both are likely to improve their current tally, Boyle can drop his lowest score if he nets more than 12 points on the Fastnet while Cronin has an eight-point score he can drop in exchange for what he garners in Bantry. In essence, Boyle’s advantage is three points, leaving Cronin needing to finish three places ahead of his Donegal rival in Bantry to claim third. On Monday, Declan Boyle told The Southern Star that he and his son Michael will both compete in the Westlodge Hotel-based event.

Cal McCarthy finished twelfth, explaining that he wasn’t prepared to take any risks when the weather deteriorated and slackened his pace to ensure he didn’t damage his Citroen C3 Rally2 in advance of the Fastnet Rally. He was seventh in Class 5.

Elsewhere, Dunmanway’s Conor McCarthy (Mitsubishi Lancer E10) and his Dripsey co-driver Gavin Sheehan finished third in Class 20 to retain second in class within the Triton series. Barryroe co-driver Dylan Doonan and his Tyrone driver Barry Morris (Darrian T90 GTR) were third in Class 14; Dunmanway’s Gerard O’Connell (Ford Escort) and Rosscarbery’s Alistair Wyllie were twelfth in Class 12.

Results: 1.Callum Devine/Noel O'Sullivan (VW Polo GTi R5) 33m. 20.8s; 2. Josh Moffett/Keith Moriarty (Hyundai i20 R5)+1.5s; 3. Daniel Cronin/Donnchadh Burke (VW Polo GTi R5)+38.0s; 4. Declan Boyle/Patrick Walsh (Citroen C3 Rally2)+56.7s; 5. Gareth MacHale/Brian Murphy (VW Polo GTi R5)+1m. 09.2s; 6. Joseph McGonigle/Ciaran Geaney (Citroen C3 Rally2)+1m. 25.8s.