Little joy for Irish in Rally Fafe Montelongo

Craig Breen, file photo

Irish drivers Craig Breen and Callum Devine didn’t have the best of outings in Rally Fafe Montelongo, round three of the European Rally Championship, although Devine, who had failed to finish the previous two rounds, eventually came home in ninth place.

Breen onboard the MRF Tyres backed Hyundai i20 R5 was very much in the mix during Saturday’s first leg that was dominated by Russian driver and eventual winner Alexey Lukyanuk (Citroen C3R5). In changing weather conditions tyre selection was key. By the end of the morning loop of three stages Breen held third - 6.3 seconds behind Norway’s Oliver Solberg (VW Polo GTi R5) and his Northern Ireland co-driver Aaron Johnston and trailing rally leader Lukyanuk by 9.5 seconds. After the repeat loop Breen, who posted the best time on S.S. 4 to give Team MRF Tyres its first stage win in the ERC, was into second as Solberg suffered due to an incorrect tyre choice.