Reigning champions Josh Moffett and Andy Hayes claim victory at Cavan Rally
Reigning national champions Josh Moffett and his Wexford co-driver Andy Hayes took a start to finish victory in the Cavan Rally, the third round of the Triton Showers National Rally Championship. Another of the Moffett siblings, Sam (Hyundai i20 N Rally2), who was co-driven by Killarney's Shane Buckley, finished 18.2s behind after they edged out the Donegal duo of Kevin Eves/Chris Melly (Ford Fiesta Rally2) by 3.7s on the final stage.
Changeable weather conditions made it difficult as Josh Moffett coped best and with a trio of fastest times on the first loop, he led Sam by 15.7s with Eves, with one of his best performances since switching to Rally2, just two seconds further behind in third. Kilkenny's Eddie Doherty had a huge moment over a jump on the opening stage (where Sam Moffett also had a similar moment), a spin on the second stage and a time loss on SS3, saw him down in fifth - 24.3s off top spot. Michael Boyle was the first major retirement when his Skoda Fabia Rally2 slid off and crashed into a tree during the opening stage.
The stage interruption rule was implemented on SS4 when the services were called to the assistance of Kesh driver Garry Jennings and his co-driver Brian Hoy when their Ford Fiesta Rally2 crashed heavily. Meanwhile, the top three of Josh and Sam Moffett and Eves each took a stage win as Josh led the family battle by 19.1s.
Rain showers continued to make tyre choice a lottery and while Josh Moffett maintained a good lead, his brother Sam lost second place to a charging Eves, who entered the final stage just 1.4s ahead of his rival, who was determined to regain second and win the Power Stage to reduce his brother's haul of championship points, he managed to achieve both. Barrable and Doherty (who retains the lead of the series - three points ahead of Sam Moffett) completed the top five.
In the Maiden City rally in Derry, Strabane's Ryan Caldwell (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) took a 5.9s victory over the Ford Fiesta Rally2 of Kesh driver Garry Jennings with Donegal's David Kelly (VW Polo GTi), who led for two stages, finishing 9.2s further behind in third. In wet conditions, Caldwell led Jennings by 1.2s on the first stage where Kelly was 2.3s off top spot in third. With a stage win on SS2 and despite issues with the wipers on SS3, Kelly led Jennings by 3.9s as Caldwell slipped to third - 5.7s off the lead. However, Caldwell was back in the lead after SS4, the second running of Bigwood, where he excelled once more, taking 5.1s out of Jennings to lead by 3.3s as the latter made some set-up changes. Kelly (third) had an overshoot. The top three order remained unchanged to the finish as Caldwell netted his first victory on tarmac surface. Donegal's Michael Boyle, debuting the Skoda Fabia RS Rally previously campaigned by his father Declan, was fourth with top seed Desi Henry, who switched to a Ford Fiesta Rally2, took a stage win on his way to fifth.
Sadly, the Jim Clark Rally in Scotland was curtailed following a tragic accident on Saturday's second stage (SS8) that claimed the life of Welsh co-driver Dai Roberts. The organisers cancelled the remaining stages of the event (Round three of the British Rally Championship) and also the Reivers Rally that was scheduled to take place yesterday (Sunday). The 39 year old co-driver, whose brother Gareth (Jaffa) passed away in an accident at the 2012 Targa Florio Rally in Sicily, was co-driving for fellow Welshman James Williams (Hyundai i20 rally2) when they crashed on the first run of the Edrom stage. Williams was taken by ambulance to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh with serious but not life-threatening injuries.
In motor racing, Offaly's Alex Dunne crashed out of the F2 feature race in Monaco on Sunday morning. Starting in pole position Victor Martins raced into the lead as they headed into Turn 1. As Martins turned the first corner, the front of Dunne's car speared into the side of his Martins' car that resulted in both spinning into the outside barrier. Some nine other drivers were caught in the ensuing pile up and the race was red flagged. Seven drivers including Dunne and Martins were forced to retire. When the race re-started, Jak Crawford took the chequered flag. The event stewards gave Dunne a grid penalty of ten places on qualifying at next week's Spanish Grand Prix.
Meanwhile, Cork driver Robert Cronin secured his maiden victory in the Protyre Motorsport Ginetta Championship at Oulton Park on Saturday afternoon. The Ballylickey driver, who started from P2 in his Elite Motorsport run Ginetta was quickly into the lead, edging out polesitter Jack Collins just before the first corner and went on to take the chequered flag as Cronin's team mate Harry Gamble took second place with a brave move on the final lap.
Hotel Kilmore Cavan Rally (Round 3 Triton Showers National Rally Championship) Cavan: 1. J. Moffett/A. Hayes (Hyundai i20 R5) 59m.17.0s; 2. S. Moffett/S. Buckley (Hyundai i20 Rally2)+18.2s; 3. K. Eves/C. Melly (Ford Fiesta Rally2)+21.9s; 4. R. Barrable/P. Robinson (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2)+31.6s; 5. E. Doherty/T. Murphy (Skoda Fabia R5)+51.2s; 6. D. Henry/N. Burns (Ford Fiesta Rally2)+1m. 23.9s; 7. R. Loughran/D. McGettigan (Ford Fiesta Rally2)+1m. 26.5s; 8. P. Barrett/D. Kelly (Citroen C3 Rally2)+1m. 27.6s; 9. M. Boyle/G. Byrne (Ford Fiesta Rally2)+1m. 43.2s; 10. T. Doyle/L. Moynihan (Hyundaii20 Rally2)+1m. 54.9s.
Maiden City Rally (Round 3, Brown & Brown Northern Ireland Rally Championship) Derry: 1. R. Caldwell/S. O'Brien (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) 32m. 26.8s; 2. G. Jennings/D. McGettigan (Ford Fiesta Rally2)+5.9s; 3. D. Kelly/A. Kierans (VW Polo GTi R5)+15.1s; 4. M. Boyle/D. McCafferty (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2)+16.5s; 5. D. Henry/D. O'Sullivan (Citroen C3 Rally2)+22.0s; 6. N. Devine/L. McIntyre (VW Polo GTi R5)+33.4s; 7. M. Boyle/G. Byrne (Ford Fiesta Rally2)+35.8s; 8. A. Wray/C. McKenna (VW Polo GTi R5)+42.0s; 9. R. Loughran/D. McGettigan (Ford Fiesta R5)+59.4s; 10. J. McGonigle/G. O'Brien (Citroen C3 Rally2)+1m. 19.2s.
Jim Clark Rally (Round 3, Probite British Rally Championship) Duns: (Event was stopped after SS8 due to a fatality. 1. M. Evans/D. Furniss (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) 46m. 09.7s; 2. E. Thorburn/P. Beaton (VW Polo GTi R5)+4.0s; 3. C. Black/J. Morton (Ford Fiesta Rally2)+51.6s; 4. M. McRae/C. Fair (Citroën C3 Rally2)+1m. 02.3s; 5. G. Pearson/H. McKillop (Ford Fiesta Rally2)+1m. 26.6s; 6. S. Touzel/M. Freeman (Ford Fiesta Rally2)+1m. 34.6s; 7. E. Payne/P. Walsh (Ford Fiesta Rally2)+1m. 52.7s; 8. M. Hirst/D. Dear (Skoda Fabia R5)+1m. 55.3s; 9. D. Robertson/D. Beaton (Ford Fiesta Rally2)+2m. 06.0s; 10. J. Greer/N. Burns (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2)+2m. 38.3s.
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