Barrable wins West Cork Rally
The Swords/Athlone combination of Michael Barrable and Dermot O'Gorman won the Quality Hotels West Cork Rally by 10.7 seconds today in their Ford Focus WRC.
Tim McNulty/Anthony Nestor, who led for most of the two-day Clonakilty based rally, had to settle for second.
They lost more than a minute when their Subaru punctured on Stage 13 today, and although they made a gallant effort to reclaim top spot, the time lost proved too much.
Barrable, who led after the opening stage yesterday, was some 30 seconds behind McNulty when the crews entered S.S. 13, but then encountered McNulty’s punctured Subaru floundering to the stage finish.
McNulty lost further ground when he spun his car as he made a brave effort to reduce the deficit.
Although McNulty slashed the margin to just 10.4 seconds at the finish, Barrable was able to dictate his own pace and secure his first ever win in the event.
Liam McCarthy was third, making him the top local driver. He lost that position to fellow local Denis Cronin earlier in the day when his S12 Subaru punctured.
McCarthy reclaimed the position within a few stages however, and at the finish the margin between them was some 30 seconds.
The Group N category was won by local driver, Kevin Kelleher (Mitsubishi), his nearest rival over the two days, John Foley (Subaru) retired with differential trouble midway though today’s stages.
Another local driver, James O’Sullivan, also in a Mitsubishi, was second.
The principal retirement was that of Donie O'Sullivan (Subaru) - he was forced out after the opening stage when his Subaru developed transmission trouble.
1. M. Barrable/D. O'Gorman (Focus WRC) 1h. 55m. 53.8s
2. T. McNulty/A. Nestor (Impreza WRC) 1h. 56m. 04.2s
3. L. McCarthy/K. Murphy (Impreza WRC) 1h. 58m. 37.3s
4. D. Cronin/H. O'Sullivan (Impreza WRC) 1h. 59m.11.0s
5. J. Ingram/I. Allsop (Impreza WRC) 2h. 03m. 39.7s
6. J. Dalton/G. Jones (Darrian) 2h. 04m. 55.7s
7. K. Kelleher/M. Kelleher (Lancer N) 2h. 05m. 13.2s
8. K. O'Donoghue/J. O'Leary (Escort) 2h. 06m. 45.3s
9. W. Patterson/R. Guest (Escort) 2h. 07m. 34.4s
10. J. O’Sullivan/B. Duggan (Mitsubishi) 2h. 08m. 26.8s.
