Daniel Cronin and Shane Buckley tops in Kingdom again

Tyre choice for the final pair of stages proved crucial and decisive as Ballylickey’s Daniel Cronin and his Killarney co-driver Shane Buckley won the Banna Beach Resort Kerry Winter Rally for the second time in three years.

It was also their second win in a fortnight following their success in the Fastnet Rally. The Cork/Kerry duo finished 9.6 seconds ahead of the Escort of Ashbourne’s Jack Newman and co-driver Andrew Browne.

Top seeds and early leaders Stephen McCann/Damien Fleming (Ford Fiesta S2000) were 29.5 seconds further adrift in third.