Donal Healy and Denis O’Donovan take spoils in Leap Navigation Trial

Overcoming the challenging and intricate route of the Carbery Navigation Trial in Leap, west Cork, the Lissarda/Drinagh duo of Donal Healy/Denis O’Donovan (Toyota Starlet) took a hard earned victory. 

They incurred a total of fourteen penalties on the 85-mile route to claim their second win on this event since 2015. Their closest rivals, the Leap/Lisavaird partnership of Dermot Whelton/Mark McCarthy (Subaru), were ten penalties further behind with last year’s winners Ovens driver Owen Murphy and his Togher navigator Daire Hayes finishing third, a further penalty point behind.

All of the crews were in difficulty within the first half hour, a network of farmyard lanes near Ballyroe – north east of Leap ensured no crew would manage a clean sheet on the night. Healy/O’Donovan lost time at the complex in French’s yard that saw crews overlap as they clocked into a dual time point; others checking in for the first time held up the winners. Defending champions Murphy/Hayes made an encouraging start and were second by the completion of the first time card during which they had a brief visit to a field.