Motorsport: Breen gains first ever win

Consolidating his lead role on the second run, Ray Breen went on to win the Cork Single Stage Rally, his first ever victory.

Breen and co-driver, Podge Newe were fastest on the first two runs of the 10-mile

stage and went on to win by 32 seconds.

Frank O’Mahony, co-driven by his son, Brian, took a popular second place after they overcame a number of niggling problems that included a gear lever that popped out of first gear as they made their way out of junctions.

They also overshot at one point and lost several seconds.

Likewise, Tommy Graham/Finbarr Mangan also endured a problematic day but held on to finish third.

One of the performances of the rally came from Jimmy Lambert (Escort) who won the two-litre class and also finished fourth in overall classification.

The Group N category was won by Gerry McVeigh (Mitsubishi), who set the fastest overall time on the final run.

The Dungannon driver took the Class 4 win by three seconds from Trevor Molloy (Mitsubishi).

Johnny O’Leary (Subaru) was third in the showroom category.

TOP 10 finishers:

1. Ray Breen/Podge Newe (Subaru Impreza) 23M. 17S;

2. Frank O'Mahony/Brian O'Mahony (Metro 6R4) 23M. 49S;

3. Tommy Graham/Finbarr Mangan (Escort WRC) 23M. 54S;

4. Jimmy Lambert/John Coleman (Escort) 24M. 02S;

5. Liam McCarthy/Kieran Murphy (Toyota Celica) 24M.

21S;

6. Jerry McVeigh/Tadgh Dineen (Mitsubishi) 24M. 33S;

7. Trevor Molloy/Brian Boland (Mitsubishi) 24M. 37S;

8. Johnny O'Leary/Michael Coleman (Subaru) 25M. 01S;

9. Leonard Downey/Mark Murphy (Escort) 25M. 05S;

10. Wesley Patterson/Bob Kelly (Opel Corsa) 25M. 12S.

Meanwhile, Eddie Kinirons, in a Toyota Celica won the Carlow Rallysprint at Mondello Park, from the Escort of Douglas Richardson and James Foley (Honda Civic).

The Ford Ka Challenge category was won by John Carroll, he finished ahead of both Barry Barrable and Trevor Harding.