Kelly bids to secure title in Enniskillen
It’s the penultimate round of the Clonakilty Blackpudding Irish Tarmac Championship, with long time leader Donagh Kelly (Ford Focus WRC) set to edge closer to the title on the 12-stage rally.
Former Tarmac champion Jennings has only competed in selected rounds of this year’s series and won on his last outing in the Donegal International, the prospect of a hat-trick of Ulster wins should provide ample motivation for the Kesh driver. In the interim, Jennings also netted the spoils in the Lurgan Park Rally to endorse his credentials as the driver very much in form.
So too is second seed Donagh Kelly, who has already won the Triton Showers National Rally Championship and is within sight of the unique double. Only Tim McNulty and Declan Boyle have won both championships in the same season – the former in 2011 and the latter last year. In Sligo, Kelly adopted championship mode and didn’t get into the heat of battle with rally winner Declan Boyle (Ford Fiesta WRC), as second placed points were enough to win that series.
He is unlikely to get involved in a dice with Jennings but would still like to get the better of him on his (Jennings) home ground and add to his list of victories in Galway, West Cork and Killarney. Kelly will also be keeping an eye on Sam Moffett (Fiesta WRC) – his only real rival in the Tarmac series.
With 50% bonus points on offer for the Cork ‘20’, it makes the situation a little more complex. Were Kelly to win the Ulster and Moffett to finish third or lower, then the title race will be over. The fact that Jennings can also score championship points adds more intrigue. It’s been five years since Derek McGarrity (Subaru WRC) was last successful on the Ulster Rally, the Antrim driver hasn’t shown that type of form for some time and will need to raise his game to stay with two top seeds.
Meanwhile, Monaghan’s Sam Moffett, having missed the Rally of the Lakes and the Donegal event, returns to the Tarmac series. With a shakedown win on last week’s Tipperary Stonethrowers Rally, his CombiLift Ford Fiesta WRC should be competitive. He’s a little surprised the Tarmac title is still within his compass, a finish even within one or two places of Kelly will bring the title decider to the Cork ‘20’ next October.
Having utilised the Stonethrowers both as an Ulster shakedown and a confidence builder, Josh Moffett (Ford Fiesta WRC) could be the driver that is closest to Jennings and Kelly.
The top seeded R5 driver is Enniskillen’s Stephen Wright in his Killyhevlin Hotel-liveried Ford Fiesta. How he fares against the likes of Derek McGeehan (Mini WRC), Desi Henry (Skoda Fabia S2000) and Jonny Greer (Citroen DS3 R5) will be watched with interest.
In the two-wheel drive category, the top entries are entries Frank Kelly and Camillus Bradley, both in Ford Escorts, Shane McGirr (Toyota Starlet) and Daniel McKenna (Toyota GT86).
For promising Killarney driver Rob Duggan, it’s a key event. Partnered by Ger Conway, he’s involved in a great duel for the “Road2Wales” with Coleraine’s Jon Armstrong (Peugeot 208R2), who has Killarney’s Noel O’Sullivan calling the pace notes.
Duggan switched to a Peugeot 208R2 for the last round in Tyrone where he took top points. In the ITC Junior series, he is four points behind Boherbue’s John O’Sullivan (Ford Fiesta).
The ITC section is over tomorrow’s eight stages while the “Road2Wales” involves all 12 stages of the rally. The winner of the Road2Wales will get a fully funded driver in a Citroen D3 R5 on Rally GB.
“The plan is just try and keep the head, we are relying on good results for both championships, in that respect there is a lot of pressure,” said Duggan.
“The drive in Rally GB would be great, it will be a step up in pace yet again. Jon Armstrong will be the man to beat, beating him on his home turf will not be easy. The roads are very different in Ulster compared to down home in Killarney, there are a lot of crests, a lot of brave stuff.
The first of this evening’s four stages is close to Fivemiletown and will begin at 4.26pm, with servicing after each pair of stages at St Angelo Airport complex.
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