Donagh Kelly chasing historic four in a row in Clonakilty

Donegal’s Donagh Kelly bids for a fourth successive victory at the Quality Hotel West Cork Rally this weekend - a feat that has never been achieved in the 40-year history of the Clonakilty event.

Fifteen stages over tomorrow and Sunday including classics like Ring, Ardfield and Rossmore will decide the destination of the title. Most of Kelly’s opposition are on board R5 cars spearheaded by Tyrone’s Alastair Fisher (Ford Fiesta), who crashed out on opening-day 12 months ago. He arrives in Clonakilty as leader of the Clonakilty Blackpudding ITC, whether or not he concentrates on championship points remains to be seen, however, his competitive nature would suggest otherwise – at least for the opening day.

The rally throws up an interesting comparison – a few weeks ago Monaghan’s Sam Moffett won the Nenagh Rally in a Ford Fiesta WRC with Kelly finishing third. In Clonakilty, Moffett will be back behind the wheel of his Fiesta R5 – there is a consensus the R5 cars are now closer to the more powerful WRC’s.