Callum Devine takes victory at Hellfire Rally

Devine/O’Sullivan finished two seconds ahead of the Derry/Donegal pairing of Desi Henry/Shane Byrne (Citroen C3 Rally2).

Mon, 14 Aug, 2023 - 07:07

Martin Walsh

On a day of sunshine and rain, the Derry/Kerry crew of Callum Devine/Noel O'Sullivan (VW Polo GTi R5) prevailed on the ALMC Hellfire Rally in Oldcastle, round six of the Triton Showers National Rally Championship.

Devine/O’Sullivan finished two seconds ahead of the Derry/Donegal pairing of Desi Henry/Shane Byrne (Citroen C3 Rally2).

Championship leaders Monaghan’s Josh Moffett and Limerick’s Keith Moriarty (Hyundai i20 N Rally2) were 4.6s further behind in third. Devine and Moffett, who took second-placed points as Henry isn’t registered for the championship, each have three wins from the six events with the eight-round series very likely to go down to the wire.

Devine was best on a tricky albeit short opening stage with late entry Desi Henry (Citroen DS3 Rally2) just 1.9s shy of the rally leader. Gareth MacHale (VW Polo GTi R5) was next 4s off top spot with Josh Moffett 6s behind championship rival Devine. Daniel Cronin (VW Polo GTi ) was fifth. The second stage was cancelled due to an oil spill.

Devine was on a hard tyre for the third stage where the road conditions were dry, he was still quickest to open up a 3.7s lead over Henry, who despite not competing in recent weeks unlike his opposition, was happy with his pace.

Although Moffett moved into third, he was far from happy.

“The car is not working for me, just nothing is going right for me, but we will stick at it.” The Monaghan ace also reckoned that his seat wasn’t comfortable, he was 9.3s behind Devine.

Fourth-placed MacHale clipped a bale and was somewhat cautious on the stage. Cronin (fifth) arrived at the stage end with mud filling one of the wheel rims after he drifted wide out of a chicane, otherwise, he reckoned he was tidy.

Top two-wheel drive exponent Donegal’s Kevin Gallagher (Darrian T90 GTR) admitted he was a little hesitant in places; fellow countyman Declan Boyle (Citroen DS3 Rally2) was of the opinion that his tyres didn’t suit the terrain. The top ten was completed by the Escorts of Gary Kiernan and Gary McPhillips and the Skoda Fabia R5 of Cork’s Jason McSweeney. Cavan’s Chris Armstrong (Escort) retired on the opening stage with mechanical troubles.

On the second loop Henry set a strong pace and was quickest on SS4, times for the fifth stage were scrapped due to a timing issue. Henry’s dominance saw him reduce Devine’s lead to a mere 0.6s. Indeed, it could have been less as he was slowed when he caught the Skoda Fabia R5 of Daniel Barry, who was unaware of his presence. Rally leader Devine spun on SS5. The sixth stage was a positive experience for Moffett, who was best on the stage, in terms of time, he was 7.7s off the lead.

MacHale and Cronin retained their places, the latter opted for a hard slick that was only of benefit on SS6. Gallagher continued to dictate the pace in the two-wheel drive category with his nearest rival Gary Kiernan (Ford Escort) moving to seventh overall.

Devine and Henry were equal fastest through SS7 and Moffett set the best times including annexing a point for winning the final “Power Stage”. MacHale was fourth and Gallagher edged out Cronin for fifth place.

ALMC Hellfire Rally (Round 6, Triton Showers National Rally Championship) Oldcastle: 1.C. Devine/N. O'Sullivan (VW Polo GTi R5) 37m. 45.9s; 2. D. Henry/S. Byrne (Citroen C3 Rally 2)+2.0s; 3. J. Moffett/K. Moriarty (Hyundai i20 N Rally2)+5.1s; 4. G. MacHale/B. Murphy (VW Polo GTi R5)+43.2s; 5. K. Gallagher/R. Moore (Darrian T90 GTR)+1m. 0.1s; 6. D. Cronin/D. Burke (VW Polo GTi R5)+1m. 03.9s; 7. D. Boyle/P. Walsh (Citroen C3 Rally2)+1m. 13.3s; 8. G. Kiernan/J. McCabe (Ford Escort)+1m. 15.3s; 9. M. Boyle/D. McCafferty (VW Polo GTi R5)+1m. 29.1s; 10. R. Moffett/G. Conway (Toyota Starlet)+1m. 32.9s.