Motorsport: Craig Breen and Paul Nagle return to the podium

File image of Craig Breen. Picture: Martin Walsh.

Stipple: Motorsport

Waterford’s Craig Breen and his Killarney co-driver Paul Nagle took a start to finish victory in Rally di Alba in their BRC Racing Team Hyundai i20 R5,

Dominating today’s nine stages - with five of the nine fastest stage times – they finished 8.7 seconds in front of the Finish crew of Jari Huttunen/Mikko Lukka in the Hyundai Motorsport N run car. 

Breen’s team mates Dani Sordo/Carlos del Barrio 14.8 seconds further behind to complete a Hyundai i20 R5 top three.

Monaghan’s Josh Moffett and his Wexford co-driver Andy Hayes (Hyundai i20 R5) were classified 15th, two places and 14.2 seconds ahead of Billy Coleman award winner Armagh’s Josh McErlean, in a Motorsport Ireland Academy backed Hyundai i20 R5, who incurred a 50 second road penalty. 

Another MI Academy backed driver Derry’s Callum Devine retired his Hyundai R5 retired from 11th on the penultimate stage while Philip Allen (Hyundai i20) was an opening stage casualty.

Breen made a fine start and clocked the best times on the opening pair of stages. By S.S. 3 he was 6.1 seconds ahead of Huttinen with Italian ace Luca Rosetti in yet another Hyundai 7.4 seconds further adrift. The hot conditions meant that many drivers struggled for grip, but Breen adapted best of all to take a deserved win.

Meanwhile, reigning champion Portadown’s Colin Turkington (Team BMW) got the defence of his British Touring Car Championship title off to a good start with a win, a second and a tenth place finish in the opening triple header at Donnington Park to give him a six points lead in the series. 

Another Northern Ireland driver Daniel Harper (BMW M4 GT4) secured a class podium finish alongside his BMW Junior Team stablemates in the fourth round of the 2020 Nürburgring Endurance Series on Saturday. Making their debut in Supersport 300 FIM World Championship, Cork motorcycle outfit Team 109 just missed out in qualifying for the season opening doubleheader at the Circuito de Jerez - Angel Nieto in Spain. 

Derry rider and former British Junior Supersport Champion Aughadowey’s Eunan McGlinchey was tipped for P8 position in the qualifier but lost the front end of his Kawasaki Ninga 400 on the second last corner and although he managed to avoid crashing, his dropped too much time. 

Then, in Saturday’s last chance qualifier he seemed set to make one of the final six few places on the grid only this time to lose the rear end of his bike, again on the penultimate corner. He lost out by 0.02 of a second finishing one place outside the top six.

Irish motorsport is saddened to learn of the death of Brian Patterson, undoubtedly one of the best known figures in Irish and British rallying and beyond. From Glengormley, Brian passed away yesterday following a brief illness. Along with his wife Liz, they ran the very successful RallyNews service along with other sections in the rally business.