Moffett clinches National Rally Championship after strong Clonmel showing 

Monaghan’s Josh Moffett and his Limerick co-driver Keith Moriarty clinched the Triton Showers-backed Motorsport Ireland National Rally Championship with a strong victory in the Clonmel based Tipperary Stonethrowers Rally, round six of the series. Replicating the template of the previous five rounds Moffett led from start to finish to claim his second national title as he lifted the Vard Memorial Trophy at the Talbot Hotel in Clonmel.

Dubliner Gareth MacHale (VW Polo GTi R5) and his Killarney co-driver Ger Conway were a minute and 9.6 seconds behind and 39.5 seconds in front of the Ford Fiesta Rally2 of Dunmanway’s David Guest and his Mitchelstown co-driver Jonathan McGrath.

The Cavan/Derry combination of Chris Armstrong/Gavin Doherty (Ford Escort) were the top two-wheel drive crew, finishing sixth overall.

For the sixth time in the series, Moffett was best on the opening stage and posted the fastest times on the remaining two stages of the opening loop to open up a 16.6 second lead over Ballylickey’s Daniel Cronin (VW Polo GTi R5). Late entry Armagh’s Darren Gass held second after the second stage but a sheared rear hub saw his Citroen spin several times before it came to a halt, narrowly missing a concrete pillar in the process. Gareth MacHale, who caught Owen Murphy’s ailing Citroen C3 on the second stage, slotted into third followed by Guest, in the ex-Callum Devine car, who thought he had punctured on S.S. 2 after he clipped a rock, luckily, there was only slight damage to the wheel rim.

On the repeat loop, an unrelenting Moffett pushed his advantage out to 55.1 seconds, a broken compression strut brought Cronin’s rally to an end – elevating MacHale and Guest to second and third respectively. Tim McNulty, who lost brakes for the second and third stages, crashed out on the fourth. Murphy also joined the list of retirements when his Polo developed an oil leak on S.S. 6. Powering his way to his second title (he won the series in 2019) Moffett took the Vard Memorial Trophy with two rounds to spare.

Elsewhere, Finland’s Kalle Rovanperä won Rally Estonia his fifth WRC victory in six rounds. He finished a minute and 00.9 seconds clear of Toyota GR Yaris team-mate Elfyn Evans. Estonian Ott Tänak (Hyundai i20) was a further 54.8 seconds adrift in third. Waterford’s Craig Breen slid off the road on Friday’s stages and returned under Rally2 to finish 31st, his M-Sport team mates Pierre-Louis Loubet and Gus Greensmith both retired on the final leg.

Tipperary Stonethrowers Rally (Round 6, Triton Showers-backed Motorsport Ireland National Rally Championship) Clonmel: 

1. J. Moffett/K. Moriarty (Hyundai i20 R5) 57m. 03.0s; 2. G. MacHale/B. Murphy (VW Polo GTi R5)+1m. 09.6s; 3. D. Guest/J. McGrath (Ford Fiesta Rally2)+1m. 49.1s; 4. B. Cumiskey/M. Connolly (VW Polo GTi R5)+2m. 02.1s; 5. S. McCann/J. McCabe (Ford Fiesta R5)+2m. 57.0s; 6. C. Armstrong/G. Doherty (Ford Escort)+3m. 07.8s; 7. P. Barrett/K.Reilly (Ford Fiesta R5)+3m. 25.0s.; 8. P. McHugh/P. O'Donnell (Ford Escort)+3m. 42.8s; 9. G. Sayers/G. Gilchrist (Ford Fiesta R5)+3m. 50.0s; 10. Jack Newman/Andrew Browne (Ford Escort)+3m. 55.4s.

Championship positions after Round 6: 1. J. Moffett 122 Points (Champion); =2. D. Gass & R. Barrable 66 Points.