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Irish Examiner
06-07-2025
- Automotive
- Irish Examiner
Motors: Doherty and Murphy penalised six minutes for late arrival at Raven's Rock Rally
The results of the Waterford based Raven's Rock Rally remain provisional after long-time leaders Kilkenny's Eddie Doherty and his Limerick co-driver John Murphy were penalised six minutes after they arrived late for the start of the seventh stage when their Skoda Fabia R5 developed power steering problems. Doherty has intimated that he will appeal the penalty decision, it appears the stage didn't start as per the schedule. In the meantime, Monaghan's Josh Moffett and his Limerick co-driver Keith Moriarty (Hyundai i20 R5) top the classification - 14.2s ahead of the Derry/Donegal pairing of Desi Henry/Dean O'Sullivan (Ford Fiesta Rally2) with Donegal's Declan Boyle and co-driver Patrick Walsh (Skoda Fabia Rally2) another 10.5s behind in third. Doherty/Murphy are currently classified thirty-seventh. In mixed weather conditions Doherty, determined to set the pace, topped the time sheets on all three stages of the opening loop and arrived at the Waterford service park with a 20.5s advantage over the Ford Fiesta Rally2 of Derry's Desi Henry with Sam Moffett (Hyundai i20 N Rally2) third 2.5s further behind in third. Having spun on a gravely section on SS3, championship leader Josh Moffett was down in fourth spot - 26.6s behind, he also struggled with pop-off valve issues. Just seven crews finished the opening stage after Ballylickey's Daniel Cronin slid his Citroen C3 Rally2 off the road within a short distance of the stage start. Of the seven, Doherty was 1.5s ahead of Josh Moffett. Clonakilty's Cal McCarthy failed to make it to the start of SS1 when his Citroen C3 Rally2 caught fire. Monaghan's Josh Moffett and his Limerick co-driver Keith Moriarty (Hyundia i20 R5) top the classification for the Raven's Rock Rally in Waterford where the results are currenlty provisional. Pic: Martin Walsh. Out on SS2, Doherty extended his lead to 2.8s with Desi Henry third some 12.3s further adrift. On the second loop and while the pop-off issue was intermittent Josh Moffett was quickest on SS4 and SS5 and moved back into second with Doherty holding a 29.6s advantage after SS6. Henry was untroubled in third and reckoned second was still within his reach as he trailed Josh Moffett by seven seconds. The Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 cars of Declan and Michael Boyle followed, the latter admitted he picked a tyre compound that was too hard for the conditions while the former was cautious on the shiny tar on SS6 where the rain made for slippery conditions. Sam Moffett, who lost time with a spin on SS6, rounded out the top six. There was drama on the way to the final loop as Doherty's Skoda developed a power steering problem. Although he punched in the best time on SS7 where he ran out of sequence, a six minute road penalty demoted him to 36th position - five and half minutes off the lead. Josh Moffett was the new leader but Henry was only 6.3s in arrears, however, Moffett kept his Derry rival at bay on the remaining stages. - a result now depending on the outcome Doherty's appeal. Meanwhile and struggling with set-up issues and the balance of his M-Sport Ford Fiesta Rally2 through most of Rally di Roma Capitale, round five of the European Rally Championship, Kesh driver Join Armstrong finished 11th. A difficult time on Saturday's six stages, he was 14th overnight. He was forced to reverse on Sunday's second stage after his Fiesta Rally2 had a half spin at a tight hairpin but then posted the third fastest time on SS10. 'I'm a long way from where I need to be that is for sure." Armstrong and his Donegal co-driver Shane Byrne, who were third on the Power Stage, went on to finish 11th. The event was won by Giandomenico Basso who held off title contender Andrea Mabellini on the final stage to win by 3.7s. Championship leader Miko Marczyk was edged out by Mabellini on the penultimate stage and had to settle for third, 7.4s off top spot, all three in Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 cars. Elsewhere, second place on the Loughgall Stages Rally was enough for Aaron McLaughlin/ Darren Curran (VW Polo GTi R5) to seal the Brown & Brown Northern Ireland Rally Championship title while locals Marty Toner/David Wright won their home event for the first time. Toner (Proton Satria Neo) led through the days six stages as McLaughlin was down in 14th place after SS1 with fuel problems. Armagh's Jason Black (Toyota Starlet) took the final spot on the podium. Raven's Rock Rally (Round 4, Triton Showers National Rally Championship) Waterford: Provisional Results: 1. J. Moffett/K. Moriarty (Hyundai i20 R5) 57m. 56.9s; 2. D. Henry/D. O'Sullivan(Ford Fiesta Rally2)+14.2s; 3. D. Boyle/P. Walsh (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2)+24.7s; 4. S. Moffett/S. Buckley (Hyundai i20 Rally2)+34.0s; 5. M. Boyle/D. McCafferty (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2)+38.6s; 6. J. Dickson/M. Brady (Ford Fiesta Rally2)+1m.00.2s; 7. P. Barrett/D. Kelly (Citroen C3 Rally2)+1m. 08.7s; 8. M. Boyle/G. Byrne (Ford Fiesta Rally2)+1m. 30.0s; 9. J. Stafford/R. Cleary (Darrian T90 GTR)+2m. 09.7s; 10. T. Holton/S. Joyce (Ford Fiesta)+2m. 33.9s. Loughgall Stages Rally, Loughgall: 1 M. Toner/D. Wright (Proton Satria Neo) 25m. 11.6s; 2. A. McLaughlin/D. Curran (Volkswagen Polo R5)+1.9s; 3. J. Black/K. Egan (Toyota Starlet)+31.6s; 4. C. Wilson/K. McDaid (Hyundai i20)+37.6s; 5. S. Murray/G. Hade (Ford Fiesta)+1m.15.1s; 6. J. Kennedy/H. Kennedy (Ford Escort)+1m. 30.7s.
Irish Examiner
26-05-2025
- Automotive
- Irish Examiner
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.
