Devine and O’Sullivan storm to victory in Longford

The pair improved as the event went on.

Sun, 05 Mar, 2023 - 18:40

Martin Walsh

Leading throughout, Derry’s Callum Devine and his Killarney co-driver Noel O’Sullivan won a riveting Ardmore Air Conditioning Corp/Longford Arms Midland Moto Rally in Longford.

Increasing their pace and gaining in confidence on every stage, they finished 10.7 seconds ahead of triple British rally champion Matt Edwards and his Mallow born co-driver David Moynihan in the Keith Lyons-owned Ford Fiesta Rally2. Reigning Triton national champion Monaghan’s Josh Moffett (Hyundai i20 R5) and his Wexford co-driver Andy Hayes were a mere seven-tenths of a second further behind in third.

Following the first loop of three stages a 5.7 second timeframe covered the top quartet led by Devine, who was quickest through the opening stage - 2.5s ahead of Edwards. Josh Moffett and Darren Gass were the pacesetters through stages two and three respectively.

At the Longford service, rally leader Devine declared he was happy with his pace but had opted for tyre compound that was too soft for the ultra-fast stages. Defending national champion Josh Moffett was four seconds behind in second, reckoning he was not as confident as on previous events. Edwards, who had issues with the pop-off valve, was 1.4s further behind followed by Darren Gass, who spun his Citroen near the end of the opening stage. Sam Moffett held fifth - 16.1s off top spot while Letterkenny’s Mark Alcorn showed a great turn of pace that resulted in his Ford Escort slotting into sixth and heading the two-wheel drive category. Enniskerry’s Daniel Barry (Skoda Fabia R5) making a rare appearance in a national championship event was next in a top ten that also featured Cavan’s Gary Kiernan (Ford Escort) and the VW Polo GTi R5’s of Castleblayney’s Brendan Cumiskey and Donegal’s Declan Boyle.

Waterford’s Andrew Purcell was the first major retirement when his Skoda Fabia R5 appeared to suffer some suspension issue early during the opening stage that resulted in a high-speed spin and retirement. Local driver Tommy Doyle on his debut in a Hyundai i20 R5 spun off on the final junction of the opening stage and ended the loop outside the top one-hundred.

In idyllic conditions, the second loop continued at pace with Devine again quickest on the first stage (S.S.4). At the penultimate service, he held a 5.6s advantage, Edwards and Moffett tied for second, the latter finding the final stage of the loop more difficult than the others.

After the crews left the service park on slicks, a local rain shower added a challenging dimension but Devine stretched his advantage to 18.2s before easing off on the final stage to seal a fine win.

“It was a nice win ahead of the West Cork Rally but I know Josh (Moffett) will be hoping to get me back down there. Everything went fine today, the rain made it interesting on the final loop, we had a few slides but it all worked out well.”

Edwards and Moffett completed the podium line-up. Gass netted fourth - and with Edwards not registered for the national series, he took third placed championship points. Sam Moffett, Cavan’s Gary Kiernan, who won the two-wheel drive category, completed the top six.

Ardmore Air Conditioning Corp/Longford Arms Midland Moto Rally (Round 1 Triton Showers National Rally Championship) Longford: 1. C. Devine/N. O'Sullivan (VW Polo GTi R5) 57m. 19.6s; 2. M. Edwards/D. Moynihan (Ford Fiesta Rally2) +10.7s; 3. J. Moffett/A. Hayes (Hyundai i20 R5)+11.4s; 4. D. Gass/B. McNulty (Citroen C Rally2)+28.8s; 5. S. Moffett/K. Moriarty (Hyundai i20 Rally2)+1m. 01.1s; 6. G. Kiernan/John McCabe (Ford Escort)+1m. 29.9s; 7. D. Boyle/P. Walsh (VW Polo GTi R5)+1m. 31.5s; 8. D. Barry/L. Moore (Skoda Fabia R5)+1m. 31.9s; 9. M. Alcorn/D. McAlaney (Ford Escort)+1m. 34.8s; 10. S. Wright/G. Conway (Ford Fiesta R5)+1m. 49.2s.