Donal Healy/Denis O’Donovan take lead in Munster Navigation Trial Championship

The intricacies of a farmyard lane network proved to be a major factor in the Carbery Navigation Trial in Leap in West Cork where the Ovens/Drinagh duo of Donal Healy/Denis O’Donovan (Toyota Starlet) triumphed to move into the lead of the Munster Navigation Trial Championship.

Within a few miles of the start in Leap, all the competitors were in difficulty at French’s farmyard where the complex lane network cost them time. Aside from the winners, the Longford/Monaghan combination of Pakie Duffy/Evin Hughes (Subaru) managed to traverse the opening section by also dropping three penalty points, the same total as Healy/O’Donovan.

Winners of the opening round of the Munster series Alan Shinnors/George Shinnors (Subaru) were on four penalties with the Leap/Lisavaird pair of Dermot Whelton/Mark McCarthy the best of the rest with seven penalty points. Most of the others had amassed penalties that ran into double — or indeed treble-figure sums.