Motorsport: Eamonn Kelly claims Tipperary Stonethrowers Rally
Donegal's Eamonn Kelly (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) and his Sligo co-driver Niall Burns won the Tipperary Stonethrowers Rally, the final round of the Triton Showers National Rally Championship. Pic: Courtesy James Burke.
Donegal's Eamonn Kelly (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) won the Clonmel-based Tipperary Stonethrowers Rally, the final round of the National Rally Championship that marked the end of Triton Showers reign as title sponsors.
Over half of the day's nine stages were interrupted as Kelly finished a minute and 7s ahead of Clonakilty's Cal McCarthy (Citroen) with Clare's Padraig Egan (Ford Escort) 8.3s further behind in third.
Road conditions on the opening loop of three stages were wet and slippery as Donegal's Kevin Eves (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) led Kelly by 10.9s with Ballylickey's Daniel Cronin (Skoda Fabia) just 1.6s further behind.
Indeed, the West Cork driver made a good start, slotting the IN Sport car into second 3.1s behind Eves. The stage was neutralised when Meath's Tom Holton slid off.
Leader Eves had a moment on SS2 where Cronin experienced a bit of an overshoot. Kelly misheard a few pace notes on SS3 but still moved into second as Cronin admitted he was a bit too cautious.
On the repeat loop and as the roads began to dry, Eves continued to lead as he described the conditions on SS4 and SS5 as tricky.
On SS6 near Cahir he damaged a rear wheel and went no further; although no stage times were applied, he was still shown as rally leader - 7.9s ahead of Kelly with Cronin third.
Kelly arrived at the finish of SS7 as the new rally leader even though his Toyota had a damaged wheel rim. The drama continued when Cronin lost substantial time with a puncture with fellow West Cork driver Cal McCarthy (Citroen C3 Rally2) inheriting second - a minute and 16s behind Kelly with a hard-charging Padraig Egan (Escort) in third. Cronin punched in a stage win as he utilised the closing stages as seat time in the Skoda.
Kelly, co-driven by Sligo's Niall Burns went on to secure a first-ever national rally event win.
McCarthy had a final stage win to repel Egan's bid for second, the latter having an overshoot. James McCarville (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2), Clonmel native Roy White (MG S2000) and Cavan's Jonny Pringle (Ford Escort) completed the top six.
Meanwhile, the battle for the Motorsport UK British Rally Championship went down to the very final stage of a dramatic final round Cambrian Rally where Welsh ace Osian Pryce (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) edged out Scotland's Max McRae (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) by a mere 1.2 seconds.
Through a cocktail of torrential rain and strong winds, Pryce, McRae and a second Welsh driver, Merion Evans (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) sought championship supremacy.
McRae made the best start and set the pace on the opening pair of stages to lead Pryce by 1.8s with Evans 3.7s further behind. Pryce had a slight transmission issue and Evans hit a rock. On SS3, McRae spun after encountering some standing water losing some 15s and the lead to Pryce. Evans took the stage win to move into second 1.2s behind Pryce while McRea in third was only 4.9s off top spot.
The first chink in the triple assault came on SS5 Hiraethog when Evans slid his Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 off the forest track and out of the rally to leave Pryce with a 14.9s advantage over second-placed McRae. Three successive stage victories saw the grandson of former five-times BRC winner Jimmy McRae cut a 15.9s deficit to 5.9s ahead of the final stage and although McRae took yet another stage win it wasn't enough and Pryce claimed his second BRC title in four years.
Elsewhere, Latvia's Martin Sesks (Skoda Fabia RS rally2) won the Rally 6 Cities North of Portugal that marked the conclusion of this season's European Rally Championship.
There was early disappointment for Dungannon native Kris Meeke, who was forced to start first on the road after his Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 stopped with a broken hub on the qualifying stage. Meeke, despite having to sweep the loose gravel, held sixth after Saturday's third stage but crashed out on the next stage; he and co-driver Stuart Loudon were uninjured.
Sesks dominated Saturday's leg and ended the day 5.7s ahead of his MRF Tyres teammate Finland's Roope Korhonen. Issues with the front damper cost Sesks valuable time as Korhonen arrived at the final service with an 8.2s advantage. On SS15 Korhonen's Toyota had only two-wheel drive and Sesks regained the lead before going on to win - a minute and 2.9s ahead of French driver Pablo Sarrazin (Lancia Ypsilon Rally2) with Korhonen 22.1s further behind in third.
Triton Showers National Rally Championship) Clonmel: 1. E. Kelly/N. Burns (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) 44m. 31.5s; 2. C. McCarthy/B. Duggan (Citroen C3 Rally2)+1m. 07.0s; 3. P. Egan/T. Ryan (Ford Escort)+ 1m. 15.3s; 4. J. McCarville/M. Brady (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2)+1m. 47.6s; 5. R. White/D. Cooney (MG Rover S2000)+2m. 02.5s; 6. J. Pringle/P. O'Callaghan (Ford Escort)+2m. 05.3s.
1. O. Price/J. Morgan (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) 49m. 55.7s; 2. M. McRae/ F. Cameron (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2)+1.2s; 3. J. Williams/R. Whittock (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2)+2m. 06.4s; 4. M. Hirst/D. Dear (Skoda Fabia R5)+3m. 24.4s; 5. D. Sigurdarson/A. Sigurdardottir (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2)+3m. 56.8s; 6. J. Wilson/P. Mulholland (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2)+4m. 16.7s.
1. M. Sesks/R. Francis (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) 2h. 05m. 42.1s; 2. P. Sarrazin/Y. Roche (Lancia Ypsilon Rally2)+1m. 02.9s; 3. R. Korhonen/A. Viinikka (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2)+1m. 25.0s; 4. J. Solans/R. Sanjuan (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2)+1m. 48.0s; 5. S. Tempestini/F. Maior (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2)+2m. 28.4s; 6. A. Pelamourgues/B. Pouget (Hyundai i20 N Rally2)+3m. 19.0s.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
