Podium finish for Irish duo

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.

Through the final leg of four stages, the Irish pair consolidated their third place and took no risks. World champions Sebastien Ogier/ Julien Ingrassia (VW Polo WRC) won the event – finishing a minute and 18.9 seconds in front of the privately entered Ford Fiesta WRC of Bryan Bouffier/Xavier Panseri. Meeke/Nagle were 35.4 seconds behind in third.

The first run through the infamous Col de Turini – standing water and then plenty of snow at the top of the ‘Col’ – provided the competitors with a testing challenge. Ogier set the best time with Meeke fourth fastest. On the next stage, Ogier was quickest again with Meeke just 3.5 seconds behind. All the top positions remained unchanged, except for sixth where Mikko Hirvonen displaced Welshman Elfyn Evans.

Heavy snowfall brought the cancellation of the second run on the Col de Turini. Jaroslav Melicharek went off on a snow-covered section and blocked the road and organisers decided to cancel the stage.

The “Power Stage”, the final stage, took place in heavy rain and dense fog. In the race for the three points, Ogier was edged out by team-mate, Jari Matti Latvala by a fraction of a second, Meeke was third quickest to gain an additional championship point. There was bitter disappointment for Hirvonen when the battery of his Fiesta continued to lose power and his car ground to a halt with Evans regaining sixth place.

A delighted Meeke said: “I’ve never witnessed conditions like these at a rally. It was incredibly difficult, but we achieved our goal. It’s really nice to be able to pay back the team for their support.”

In WRC2, Dubliner Robert Barrable, in his Tunnock’s Ford Fiesta R5, netted third in the category and 13th overall. Co-driven by Stuart Loudon, their passage through the Col de Turini was stymied when the windscreen completely misted over. Barrable’s service crew replaced a broken clutch during the final leg.

Eamonn Boland/Micky Joe Morrissey (Subaru) were 14th.

Also in difficult weather conditions, Kieron Graffin (Mitsubishi EvoX) won the New Year Stages Rally in Kirkistown. He finished the six stage rally 14.3 seconds ahead of the Subaru WRC of Paddy McVeigh with former national champion George Robinson (Mitsubishi EvoIX) just three tenths of a second behind in third. Both Graffin and McVeigh punched in a pair of fastest stage times; Robinson and Desi Henry set the pace on the remaining stages. Dessie McCartney drove a Darrian T90 to 15th place.

The Longford crew of Colin Duffy and Sam Johnston (Subaru) won the Dromtarriffe-based Cork 1000 Shakes Navigation Trial, a counting round of both the National and Munster Championships. They finished with 20 penalties with two Cork crews, Johnny Kenneally/Ken Carmody (Subaru) and Ger O’Connell/Denis O’Donovan (Subaru) completing the event on 40 penalties, the former finishing second by virtue of the “furthest cleanest” rule.