Ryan and Murphy battle for series supremacy

THE Valvoline Irish Forest Rally Championship could be decided in tomorrow’s Omagh-based Bushwhacker Rally, the penultimate round of both the Irish series and the Hankook Northern Ireland Rally Championship.

Although Tipperary’s Liam Ryan (Mitsubishi) has an eight-point advantage over Owen Murphy, the Corkonian can actually clinch the series by securing maximum points or by finishing ahead of Ryan. The Omagh event was added to the Valvoline series following the cancellation of the round in Donegal. With the best four rounds to count, Murphy made a tremendous start with victories in the opening rounds in Mitchelstown and Carrick on Suir.

However, a non-finish in the Moonraker Rally allowed the consistent Ryan take over at the top of the leaderboard. Murphy took maximum points on the Cork event last month to move closer to his first major title.