IRELAND’S BIGGEST RALLY MARRED BY TRAGEDY AS MOFFETT WINS
Tragedy struck on the first of Sunday’s six stages when three-time Donegal Rally winner Manus Kelly sustained fatal injuries in an accident on Fanad Head.
The event was immediately cancelled and as word filtered its way back to service the sense of loss was palpable. It had been the worst possible conclusion to what had been the best Donegal International Rally in recent memory.
“The relevant authorities have begun a full investigation into the incident and will be assisted by Motorsport Ireland and Donegal Motor Club,” read a statement from Motorsport Ireland.
Ironically, much of the pre-event hype had surrounded Kelly, as the defending champion chose to stick with R5 power in a bid to retain his crown as others headed down the World Rally Car route.
The main event was full of subplots, with the first coming en route to stage one. As Donagh Kelly set about warming up the tyres on his Ford Focus WRC08, the forces broke a prop shaft. Game over for the Donegal businessman, whose wait for a first victory on home soil continues.
Crowds reminiscent of the Donegal heydays lined the Mouldy Hill test to see Callum Devine (Ford Fiesta R5) go fastest. The picture remained unchanged after SS2, but Craig Breen trimmed the deficit in half despite being hampered by an imbalance with the brakes on his Melvyn
Evans Motorsport Fiesta RS WRC.
The power advantage World Rally
Cars hold over their R5 counterparts came to pass on stage three when, on spent tyres, Declan Boyle (Fiesta RS WRC) negotiated his way back to the top of the leaderboard.
Boyle held station on the second blast over Mouldy Hill before Breen momentarily displaced him on SS5. But the 2014 winner returned serve on SS6 to lead overnight by less than a second.
A replacement coil pack and new spark plugs cured an earlier misfire on Sam Moffett’s Fiesta RS WRC as he leapfrogged Devine to make it a World
Rally Car top three. Garry Jennings was still in the hunt in fifth despite picking up a rear puncture over the day’s closing miles on his Subaru Impreza S12B WRC. Switching to a Hyundai i20 R5, Josh Moffett was adapting well to the new machine and, but for fuel pressure problems, would have been higher than sixth. Reigning champion Kelly was seventh overall and third in the R5 race. Desi Henry would take no further part, however, after he damaged his Fiesta RS WRC’S steering on SS3.
Saturday should have begun with Gartan but it had to be shelved for safety reasons. When the action resumed proper on Glen, Sam Moffett emerged as the leader. His cause was advanced by Boyle puncturing and a frustrated Breen was still unable to find the sweet spot with his Fiesta.
It went from bad to worse on SS9 for Boyle as he crashed heavily as he slowed for a tricky kink meaning notional times were awarded to all of the leading crews. There were no such problems for Sam Moffett as he went fastest on the second pass over Glen to extend his lead to 2.8 seconds over Breen.
His purple patch continued into Knockalla, even though he had a “big moment” on cold tyres, and was second best to Breen on Gartan which meant just 6.3 seconds separated the pair.
Behind them, Donegal debutant
Meirion Evans limped through SS12, the result of cutting the front tyre on his i20, while Josh Moffett’s car escaped damage when it bulldozed a chicane.
The pace of seventh-placed Alastair Fisher was thwarted by brake and transmission gremlins and effectively dashed any chance he had of scoring a maiden R5 victory of the 2019 campaign.
Back at the front and the main men had different fortunes over the last loop: Sam Moffett was quickest on both as Breen surrendered ground to an overshoot and a spin on Knockalla 2. Also spinning on the stage was Devine. That, coupled to a resurgent Jennings, meant the race for the final podium spot was back on.
In the Showroom Class, Aidan Wray comfortably led the way.
Rested and replenished, crews and fans prepared for what was being billed as ‘Super Sunday’ as three true classics – Fanad Head, Atlantic Drive and Port Lake – all had to be negotiated. However, only the first five crews completed Fanad Head before proceedings were brought to a premature halt as news of a serious incident involving Kelly and co-driver Donall Barrett quickly surfaced.
For the record, Moffett etched his name on the Jim Kennedy Memorial Trophy for a second time but, given the circumstances, and the sense of loss felt in the sport, it pales into insignificance.