logo
Devine wins third Donegal International Rally in a row

Devine wins third Donegal International Rally in a row

BBC News22-06-2025
Callum Devine came through a demanding Donegal International Rally to win the event for a third year in a row. The 2023 Irish Tarmac Rally champion won the three-day event - one of the most famous rallies in Europe - alongside co-driver Noel O'Sullivan by 20.5 seconds ahead of Wales' Meirion Evans, while local driver David Kelly was third. Skoda driver Devine, 31, led after Friday's six stages but a gruelling Saturday saw a number of big names drop out of contention. European Rally Championship driver Jon Armstrong posted a number of fastest stage times and was challenging Devine on Saturday's first loop but a differential problem on his Ford Fiesta dropped him out of contention, and a second mechanical issue halted his recovery later in the day. Two time ERC champion Hayden Paddon, a late entry for the rally from New Zealand, was in the mix for victory but rolled out on Saturday's penultimate stage. The final stage on Saturday claimed British Rally Championship title challenger William Creighton, who slid off the road with a slow puncture and decided to retire his Toyota Yaris. The various issues for front runners took away from what could have been a titanic battle for the win in the Donegal hills as just 20 seconds separated Devine, Creighton, Evans and Paddon after 12 stages.However, as his rivals faltered, Devine, who himself battled handbrake issues, kept his cool to win the rally for the third consecutive year.Evans and co-driver Ger Conway were a comfortable second and, despite his issues, Armstrong and co-driver Shane Byrne had moved back into podium contention but the Fermanagh driver retired after an off on the final stage.That promoted Kelly and navigator Arthur Kierans onto the final step of the podium for the second year in a row.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

How Manchester City and Pep Guardiola got the 'fire in the belly' back: Erling Haaland's targets, the stars with most to prove, Hugo Viana's immediate impact and the truth about Gianluigi Donnarumma and Rodrygo
How Manchester City and Pep Guardiola got the 'fire in the belly' back: Erling Haaland's targets, the stars with most to prove, Hugo Viana's immediate impact and the truth about Gianluigi Donnarumma and Rodrygo

Daily Mail​

timean hour ago

  • Daily Mail​

How Manchester City and Pep Guardiola got the 'fire in the belly' back: Erling Haaland's targets, the stars with most to prove, Hugo Viana's immediate impact and the truth about Gianluigi Donnarumma and Rodrygo

Pep Guardiola burst through one wing of an aristocratic villa that was in danger of becoming a little claustrophobic. A hoodie on, the guy sweltered in Sicilian heat at gone 9pm. A seemingly never-ending day still had some embers left. He looked frazzled and the season, a season that could define the final acts of Guardiola's time in England, hadn't even started yet.

How Luton Town stopped the slump: Matt Bloomfield reveals the turning point for the Hatters, the one thing they refuse to discuss and what's new this summer as they target rapid return to Championship
How Luton Town stopped the slump: Matt Bloomfield reveals the turning point for the Hatters, the one thing they refuse to discuss and what's new this summer as they target rapid return to Championship

Daily Mail​

timean hour ago

  • Daily Mail​

How Luton Town stopped the slump: Matt Bloomfield reveals the turning point for the Hatters, the one thing they refuse to discuss and what's new this summer as they target rapid return to Championship

After back-to-back relegations and sinking from the Premier League to League One in little over a year, you could forgive the Luton Town powerbrokers if they spent their summer sitting around feeling sorry for themselves. But two days after the drop was confirmed, boss Matt Bloomfield walked into a room with chairman Gary Sweet, assistant manager Richard Thomas and operations chief James Mooney – and told them there was no point in looking back. From here, the only way is up.

Gordon Murray's new Le Mans GTR is a love letter to longtails
Gordon Murray's new Le Mans GTR is a love letter to longtails

Top Gear

time2 hours ago

  • Top Gear

Gordon Murray's new Le Mans GTR is a love letter to longtails

First Look First model from GM Special Vehicles is a T.50/T.50S-based homage to iconic longtail racers from the past Skip 8 photos in the image carousel and continue reading What if Gordon Murray took his incredible T.50 and T.50S platform as a starting point and then built his ultimate (road-legal) homage to longtail racecars around it? Well wonder no more, because the new GMSV Le Mans GTR has been revealed… and we're suddenly a little short of breath. It's the first of two, simultaneously-revealed, projects from the newly formed Gordon Murray Special Vehicles – the other being the S1 LM you can read about here. But this is the first under the 'SV Design' pillar, which focuses on ultra-low volume runs based on GMA production cars. There will only be 24 of these built, one for every hour of some race in France, and they're all sold out. Sorry about that. Advertisement - Page continues below The fundamentals are a blend of T.50 and T.50S, so it's a three-seater, six-speed manual and the engine is the T.50's 654bhp, 4.0-litre, 12,100rpm V12, which let's face it, is a handy place to begin. Beyond that it's all new. The bodywork is inspired not just by Gordon's own F1 GTR longtail racecar – built for the 1997 season when it won its class but came second overall at Le Mans – but longtail legends like the Porsche 917 and Alfa Tipo 33/3. 'Longtail racing cars perfectly combine aerodynamic benefit and aesthetic balance, I've always loved their mix of considered engineering and flowing design,' said Gordon, and who are we to argue. You might like The exterior lines have an organic flow to them, much like T.50 and T.33, but are sharpened up with more obvious aero appendages. If we had to position this in terms of road vs track focus, it sits somewhere between T.50 and T.50S. The vertical stacked lights give mild McLaren Senna vibes, the roof scoop is present and correct and the deep, full-width carbon rear wing is a thing of beauty. You'll note there's no fan at the rear – not needed here apparently as the elongated tail allows the top surface to taper down toward the rising underside, which offers all the aero efficiency and stability required. The model we saw was without an interior, but renderings show the target is a more minimalist and focused feel than T.50… if that's possible, with all-new dials and switchgear. Price? Not disclosed, but many millions, as is the norm now for these low-volume unicorns. Those lucky 24 owners can pick a spec to match their favourite longtail racer, or simply go wild with colour and trim. We'll take ours in any colour we can get it. Advertisement - Page continues below Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Look out for your regular round-up of news, reviews and offers in your inbox. Get all the latest news, reviews and exclusives, direct to your inbox.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store