Donagh Kelly looks to grasp championship opportunity in Killarney
Winner of the opening two rounds in Galway and Clonakilty, the Donegal driver opted to skip the Circuit of Ireland, where Sam Moffett (Ford Fiesta WRC) moved to the top of the leaderboard — eight points ahead of Kelly.
Moffett is one of a number of high-profile drivers not competing in Killarney while reigning champion Declan Boyle, the top seed and former champion Garry Jennings are both out — due to transmission issues.
In their absence, Kelly’s principal rivals are likely to be double Lakes winner Daragh O’Riordan (Ford Fiesta WRC) and Robert Barrable (Subaru WRC). Kelly led last year only to crash out on the penultimate stage. This season, as well as winning two of the Tarmac rounds, he actually leads the Triton Showers National Rally Championship. Indeed, he has a superb opportunity to clinch the double and follow in the footsteps of fellow countyman Declan Boyle and Meath’s Tim McNulty.
For the moment though, the 16 stages straddling the Kerry and Cork county boundaries will be his main focus of attention.
The iconic Moll’s Gap stage, some of which has been resurfaced, will be tackled on three occasions over the weekend. Once tomorrow as it precedes the Tim Healy Pass, the gateway into the stages of the Beara Peninsula that provide an equally daunting challenge.
The event will offer O’Riordan the opportunity to secure a third victory in five seasons. The Midleton driver always performs well on the “Lakes” but needs to atone for non-finishes in the last two years. Last year he withdrew as he felt unwell, while in 2013 he crashed out of the lead on the Tim Healy Pass.
Having impressed on the Circuit of Ireland, the entry of Robert Barrable in the McKinstry Motorsport S14 Subaru WRC provides an interesting angle. He had a great battle with O’Riordan on the West Cork Rally a few seasons ago and only lost by 1.3 seconds. The lack of knowledge of the stages in comparison to O’Riordan and Kelly may hinder the Dubliner initially.
Meanwhile, on his debut in a World Rally Car on last year’s Lakes, Castleisland native Alan Ring came home in second spot. Having won the Circuit of Kerry two weeks ago, he was out of form in Monaghan last week but the more familiar territory should be the perfect incentive.
The top 10 also features former Billy Coleman award winner Stephen Wright in his Ford Fiesta R5. The Fermanagh man is certainly adapting to the car and was in line for a strong result on the circuit until he slid off the road. Last week in Monaghan, he finished fourth overall behind the Moffett brothers and Donagh Kelly.
The Modified category should rest be between Clonmel’s Roy White (MG ZR) and Killarney’s Fergus O’Meara (Escort) — Declan Gallagher is a non-starter. Bandon’s Vincent McSweeney in his 1600cc Honda Civic is likely to make a strong impression.
In Group N, the main contenders are Aaron MacHale (Mitsubishi), Brendan Cumiskey (Subaru), David Guest (Mitsubishi) — all in Class 4 — and the Class 2 Honda Civic of Stephen Carey. The rally is round two of the PlasticBags.ie Southern 4 series.
It is also a counter for the European Historic Rally Championship. However, the response is poor and there will probably be more EHRC officials than competitors in Killarney, where the organisers may call time on this element unless a more satisfactory calendar is approved. For all that, Millstreet native Denis Moynihan (Ford Escort) will be the barometer of form.
Elsewhere, in the juniors, local hot-shot Rob Duggan (Fiesta R2) will be expected to shine.
Tomorrow’s first stage (Moll’s Gap) begins at 8.30am and servicing is at the pier in Castletownbere. Sunday’s service location is at the usual Liebherr complex in Fossa. The event is based at the Gleneagle Hotel.
Meanwhile, Cork racer Matt Griffin (Ferrari 458 Italia), along with regular team-mate Duncan Cameron and Alex Mortimer, will compete in the second round of the World Endurance Championship in Spa, Belgium tomorrow.
The six-hour race begins at 2.30pm. Last week, Griffin/Cameron notched up two fifth-place finishes in the opening rounds of the GT Open series at the Paul Ricard circuit in France. With one exception, Griffin will race every week from now until August.
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