Cousins lead the way after first leg in Donegal

Motorsport: Donegal cousins Declan and Brian Boyle (Subaru WRC) finished 5.2 seconds in front of the Ford Fiesta WRC of Monaghan’s Sam Moffett/James O’Reilly at the end of the first leg of the Donegal International Rally, round four of the Clonakilty Blackpudding Irish Tarmac Championship.

In a close contest Boyle was a tenth of a second up on his rival on the opening stage but Moffett with a pair of fastest stages times led his rival by 1.6 seconds after the opening loop where Garry Jennings (Subaru) bemoaned the lack of a sharp response as he moved up through the gears, 10.5 seconds further back.

Moffett clipped a rock and punctured on the fourth stage as Boyle (along with Jennings and Gass) beat the bogey time to move 5.9 seconds in front. An instant response from Moffett cut the deficit to 3.6 seconds but Boyle, despite beating the bogey again, managed to extend his lead margin to 5.2 seconds. Following some transmission issues on the first loop Darren Gass (Subaru WRC) increased his pace to slot into third — 23.3 seconds further behind.