Late victory for Gary Kiernan in Midleton

Cavan’s Gary Kiernan (Escort) and his Limerick co-driver Keith Moriarty took a late victory in the Midleton based Imokilly Rally, round four of the PlasticBags.ie Southern 4 Rally Championship after long time leaders Jonathan Pringle/James Fulton (Escort) crashed out of the lead on the penultimate stage.

Kiernan finished 7.1 seconds ahead of the similar Escort of late entry Killarney’s Rob Duggan and his Ballincollig co-driver Stephen Quin. The all-Cork crew of Barry Meade/Eamonn Hayes (Escort) were 24.1 seconds further behind in third.

On the opening stage near Cloyne, Pringle took a lead of 10.1 seconds with Kiernan in second followed by Kilkenny’s Enda O’Brien, a mere eight-tenths of a second behind. At the Midleton service park, leader Pringle remarked that his tyres had lost their effectiveness.