Tarmac champion Sam Moffett (Ford Fiesta R5) heads the entry for the Cartell.ie Rally of the Lakesthat begins from Killarney tomorrow morning.

After a dramatic opening on the final leg of the Easter Rally in Antrim, when the Subaru WRC of overnight leaders Derek McGarrity/Paddy Robinson failed to start after transmission troubles, Monaghan’s Josh Moffett (Ford Fiesta R5) and his Wexford co-driver Andy Hayes took the spoils and consolidated their lead in the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship.

Leading from the start Donegal’s Donagh Kelly (Ford Focus WRC) swept to a fifth successive victory in the Quality Hotel West Cork Rally. Co-driven by Monaghan’s Conor Foley they finished 45.8 seconds clear of Monaghan’s Josh Moffett and co-driver Andy Hayes with Irish Tarmac champions Monaghan’s Sam Moffett and Cork’s Karl Atkinson (Fiesta R5) in third.

There are events that will always buck the trend in Irish rallying and this weekend’s Quality Hotel West Cork Rally, the opening rounds of the Irish Tarmac Championship and the PlasticBags.ie Southern 4 Rally Championship is a prime example.

One of the most scenic locations in the country, Achill Island, provides the backdrop for the opening round of the Triton Showers Rally Championship on Sunday.

The first day of the Joule Donegal International Rally in Letterkenny was a battle of the Kellys — Frosses driver Donagh Kelly and Letterkenny’s Manus Kelly — while Fermanagh’s Garry Jennings remains very much in touch.

Donegal’s Donagh Kelly has won numerous Irish rallies some of which culminated in National and Tarmac Championship titles — one of three drivers to win both in the same season. Yet, the one rally that has eluded him is, ironically, the Joule Donegal International Rally.

Denied victory in last week’s third round of the British GT Championship at Rockingham by a controversial penalty, Cork’s Matt Griffin turns his attention to tomorrow’s World Endurance Championship (WEC) second round at the Spa Francorchamps circuit in Belgium.

There was late drama in the Cartell.ie Rally of the Lakes in Killarney, where Monaghan’s Sam Moffett (Fiesta R5) and his Bandon co-driver Karl Atkinson took victory after long-time leaders, Roy White and co-driver James O’Brien, clattered their Fiesta WRC against a chicane bale on SS 13 and limped to the stage finish before retiring.

This weekend is likely to be a defining moment in the annals of the Cartell.ie Rally of the Lakes in Killarney. A glance through the list of previous winners reveal that drivers of World Rally Cars have triumphed since the Millennium, but that thread is tenuous as the new breed of R5 cars is set to bring the sequence to an end.

Donegal’s Donagh Kelly bids for a fourth successive victory at the Quality Hotel West Cork Rally this weekend - a feat that has never been achieved in the 40-year history of the Clonakilty event.

Following a winter of uncertainty, Irish rallying springs into action tomorrow with the Corrib Oil Galway International Rally, the opening round of the Clonakilty Blackpudding Irish Tarmac Championship.

Martin Walsh tells you all you need to know about the upcoming Clonakilty Blackpudding Irish Tarmac Championship.

Waterford’s Craig Breen (26) will defend his Circuit of Ireland title against opposition that includes European Rally Champion and last year’s event runner-up Kajetan Kajetanowicz along with former triple British rally champion Keith Cronin and Ulster driver Alastair Fisher.

Dubliner Robert Barrable, better known for his rallying forays, will compete in this season’s British GT Championship where he will team up Northern Ireland’s Wilson Thompson in a Team HARD-prepared Ginetta G55 GT4.

Meath driver Stephen Daly became only the fifth ever driver to make a successful defence of the famed Leinster Trophy.

Donegal’s Donagh Kelly (Ford Focus WRC), co-driven by Monaghan’s Conor Foley, coasted to v ictory in the Cartell.ie Rally of the Lakes in Killarney where they eased off on the closing stages to take the laurels. For Kelly, victory promoted him into the lead of the Clonakilty Blackpudding Irish Tarmac Championship.

The in-form Donagh Kelly (Ford Focus WRC) can take a major step towards annexing the Clonakilty Blackpudding Irish Tarmac Championship on this weekend’s Cartell.ie Rally of the Lakes in Killarney. 

Organisers of the Cartell.ie Rally of the Lakes (May 1-3) will use the stages along the Beara Peninsula on the opening day of the event rather than the second and final day as in previous years.

The Moonraker Rally in Ballyvourney and the Rally de Portugal may not have that much in common other than gravel surfaces, but both have a tangible link with former triple British rally champion Keith Cronin.

Craig Breen realised his childhood ambition with victory on the Discover Northern Ireland Circuit of Ireland Rally

True to its association, the Discover Northern Ireland Circuit of Ireland Rally in Belfast is set for a titanic finish, with just a second between Irish drivers Craig Breen (Peugeot 208 T16) and Robert Barrable (Ford Fiesta R5) setting out on today’s final leg of 10 stages.

Craig Breen makes no secret of his desire to win the Discover Northern Ireland Circuit of Ireland Rally, which cranks into action this morning, doubling as round three of the European Rally Championship and also the third round of the Clonakilty Blackpudding Irish Tarmac Championship.

Motorsport: Losing time off the start line of last night’s opening stage of Rally Sweden, round two of the World Rally Championship, the Irish crew of Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle (Citroen D3 WRC) are outside the top 10 but still only 2.6 seconds off the lead after the completion of the Super Special at Karlstad. Meeke was very relaxed at the stage finish and was looking forward to today’s nine stages.

Former triple British Rally Champion Keith Cronin is delaying his assault on the WRC2 category of the 2015 World Rally Championship.

Irish rallying has received a major boost after Triton Showers was confirmed as title sponsor of the National Rally Championship.

Although not exactly threadbare, Declan Boyle’s title aspirations in the Dunlop National Rally Championship hinge on securing maximum points from all three remaining rounds.

Even though Finland’s Esapekka Lappi and co-driver Janne Ferm (Skoda Fabia S2000) dominated most of the 10 stages in yesterday’s opening leg of the Discover Northern Ireland Circuit of Ireland Rally, the event remains delicately poised and set for a frenetic finish through today’s eight stages.

On home ground, it is not surprising that there is a wave of expectation on Craig Breen to win the Discover Northern Ireland Circuit of Ireland Rally, round four of the European Rally Championship that gets underway in Belfast this morning.

Irish and Welsh contests are nothing new in the Quality Hotel West Cork Rally and Denis Cronin and Daragh O’Riordan will have Welsh ace Melvyn Evans as their most formidable opponent when the 13-stage event starts in Clonakilty tomorrow.

On their debut for the factory Citroen Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team, Dungannon’s Kris Meeke and Killarney’s Paul Nagle netted a podium finish along with a bonus point from the Power Stage of Rallye Monte Carlo, the first round of the World Rally Championship.

Irish pair Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle in their Citroen DS3 WRC made a memorable start to the World Rally Championship and hold second overall after the opening day of an incident-filled Rallye Monte Carlo.

Past and present Billy Coleman award winners dominate the 100-strong entry list for today’s Carlow Rallysprint at Mondello Park.

Over terrain that will be relatively familiar, Keith Cronin knows that any advantage he can accrue over Frenchman, Sebastien Chardonnet will be a bonus as they go head to head for the most lucrative prize within the WRC3 feeder category of the World Rally Championship.

Even with three British Rally Championship titles under his belt, Keith Cronin had not been able to progress his career due to a lack of funding.

Irish drivers, Robert Barrable and Keith Cronin had contrastingfortunes in their respective outings in the Barum Czech Rally Zlin (Czech Republic) and Rallye Terre de Lozere (France).

Competitors in the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship and the British Rally Championship will traverse the same stages under their respective banners of the Ulster Rally and Rally Northern Ireland this afternoon.

Dunlop National Rally Championship leader Thomas Fitzmaurice will battle a strong overseas contingent at Sunday’s ALMC Rally in Meath and Louth.

Entering the final stage of the opening leg of the Donnelly Group Circuit of Ireland Rally, the third round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, Finnish driver, Juho Hanninen (Skoda Fabia S2000) led Norwegian, Andreas Mikkelsen, also in a Skoda, by just six 10ths of a second behind.

Elevation to the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) series has raised the profile of the Donnelly Group Circuit of Ireland Rally.

Dubliner Robert Barrable is aiming for glory in this year's Circuit of Ireland rally which is set to begin this weekend.

The revamped Dunlop National Rally Championship begins on Sunday with the Abbeyleix Manor Hotel Rally and a capacity entry for the nine stages around Rathdowney.

Reigning champion Kenny McKinstry heads the entry for tomorrow’s Magic Bullet Rally at the Kirkistown Race Circuit for the beginning of the DGM/Carryduff Forklift Northern Ireland Rally Championship.

THE World Rally Championship gets underway next week with the Monte Carlo Rally and according to Corkman Gerard Quinn, winning the manufacturers’ title remains the holy grail while having the world champion driver is also a tantalising prospect.