Motorsport: Craig Breen and Paul Nagle storm to victory in Killarney

Winners of the Rentokil-Initial Killarney Historic Rally, Craig Breen (right) and Paul Nagle (left) with event sponsor Michael O'Mahoney at the finish at the Gleneagle Hotel, Killarney. Picture: Martin Walsh.

As expected, the World Rally Championship duo of Craig Breen and Paul Nagle took the MATS prepared BMW M3 to victory in Saturday’s Rentokil-Initial Killarney Historic Rally.

Three iconic stages, Moll’s Gap, Beallaghbeama and Caragh Lake provided the ultimate challenge and after two runs of each, Waterford's Breen and Killarney's Nagle finished with a 57.1 seconds winning margin to claim the Maurice Nagle Trophy.

The Killarney/West Cork duo of Alan Ring/Adrian Deasy, who powered the ex-Ari-Vatanen Subaru Legacy to fastest time on the final stage, netted second with the Tyrone/Millstreet combination of Cathan McCourt/Liam Moynihan (Ford Escort) one minute 33.7 seconds further behind in third.

Through Moll’s Gap, Breen extricated a 15.1 second gain over Belfast’s Jonny Greer (Sierra Cosworth) with Ring’s Subaru 2.4 seconds further back stymied by a repeat of the misfire that blighted progress during previous events.

In dry conditions, Breen more than doubled his lead on Beallaghbeama where Ring moved into second at the expense of Greer and although the latter was third, he retired after the stage finish with an engine malady.

Having punctured on the first stage, Millstreet’s Mark Falvey put his Escort off the road on S.S. 3 where Waterford’s Ray Breen rolled his Subaru Legacy into the Kerry scenery.

Tackling the repeat loop with a 34-second lead Breen went on to take an untroubled win as Ring, who was only a tenth of a second off Breen’s stage time for SS 3, took the stage spoils on its repeat as the final stage of the rally. Tyre choice was McCourt’s only concern as he finished third.

The father and son duo of Donegal’s Donagh (BMW M3) and Eamonn Kelly (Ford Escort) were next as Welsh ace Neil Williams (Ford Escort), accompanied by West Cork’s Anthony O’Sullivan were sixth followed by Denis Cronin (Escort), the top Cork driver.

Meanwhile, Killarney pair Rob Duggan/Ger Conway (Escort) took a fine victory in the Modified category where they finished a minute and 5.7 seconds ahead of Donegal’s Kevin Eves (Toyota Corolla), Cavan’s Gary Kiernan (Ford Escort) was 4.6 seconds further behind in third.

Duggan led from the start and for four stages, fellow local Colin O’Donoghue (Escort) was in contention, albeit 14.1 seconds in arrears, until he was forced out with clutch issues. Another local ace Aidan Buckley (Ford Escort) finished fourth ahead from Donegal’s Declan Gallagher (Toyota Starlet) and Cavan’s Chris Armstrong (Escort), who completed the top sextet.

Rentokil-Initial Killarney Historic Rally, Killarney: 1. C. Breen/P. Nagle (BMW M3) 49m. 17.5s; 2. A. Ring/A. Deasy (Subaru Legacy) +57.1s; 3. C. McCourt/L. Moynihan (Ford Escort) 2m. 30.8s; 4. D. Kelly/R. Kennedy (BMW M3) 2m. 54.4s; 5. E. Kelly/P. McCrudden (Ford Escort) +3m. 24.0s; 6. N. Williams/A. O'Sullivan (Ford Escort) +3m. 31.0s; 7. D. Cronin/H. O’Sullivan (Ford Escort) +3m. 48.2s; 8. G. Lloyd/S. Williams (BMW M3) +4m. 27.7s; 9. P. Wylie/L. Dunlop (Ford Escort) +4m. 53.1s; 10. D. Williams/G. Williams (Ford Escort) +5m. 15.9s.

Modifieds: 1. R. Duggan/G. Conway (Ford Escort) 47m. 51.1s; 2. K. Eves/C. Melly (Toyota Corolla) 1m. 05.7s; 3. G. Kiernan/D. O'Brien (Ford Escort) 1m. 10.3s; 4. A. Buckley/S. Buckley (Ford Escort) 1m. 35.8s; 5. D. Gallagher/J. McCarthy (Toyota Starlet) 1m. 42.1s; 6. C. Armstrong/D. Curran (Ford Escort) 1m. 46.3s; 7. E. O'Brien/J. Butler (Ford Escort) 1m. 55.8s; 8. R. Conlon/D. Fleming (Toyota Corolla) +2m. 23.6s; 9. G. McPhillips/C. Mohan (Ford Escort) +2m. 32.2s; 10. R. Moffett/D. Kelly (Toyota Starlet) +3m. 18.1s.