O'Connell and Ryan savour steady success as rivals come unstuck in Boggeragh
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Cashel's Pat O'Connell and co-driver Michael Ryan took their Cashel Autoparts Ford Fiesta R5 to victory in the IC Motor Factors and Tyres-backed Boggeragh Rallysprint near Nad. They finished 22.8s ahead of early pacesetters, Andrew Purcell from Waterford and Galway's Martin Brady (Ford Fiesta Rally2). Bruff's Alan Shinnors and his Ballincollig co-driver Brian Duggan in a Mitsubishi Lancer E9 were 25.4s further behind in third.
A margin of a mere two-tenths of a second separated Purcell and O'Connell on the first of the four timed runs of the 5.9km gravel stage. Leader Purcell reckoned there were a few places where he could improve but the margins were small.
O'Connell caught the Ford Fiesta Rally2 of Dunmanway's David Guest that was stricken for a brief time when the handbrake failed and locked all four wheels. O'Connell was able to steer his Fiesta inside of Guest's car without losing any time. Some fresh tyres helped Alan Shinnors (Mitsubishi Lancer E9) occupy third, some 14.5s further behind, followed by his cousin Matt Shinnors (Mitsubishi Lancer E6) and Douglas driver Mark Murphy (Subaru).
On the second run Purcell extended his lead to 2.6s as O'Connell hit a chicane and by his own admission lost about a second. Alan Shinnors continued in third but Matt Shinnors dropped down with mechanical issues as Wexford's James Boland, double driving Purcell's car, slotted into fourth. Having traced the issues with his Ford Fiesta Rally2 to a severed wire in the motor of the differential release, Guest clawed his way back up the leaderboard to occupy fifth from Mark Murphy, who clipped a bale.
There was drama on the third run when Purcell, approaching a tight right-hand bend lost grip and his Ford Fiesta Rally2 looked ready to slide into a ditch. A quick reaction saw him use the handbrake and while the car spun backwards, his Fiesta stayed on the gravel track. The episode cost him the lead as he slipped to second spot, 24.8s behind new leader O'Connell, who had an untroubled run and went on to claim the spoils.
"I'm delighted," he said. "Last time out in the Laois Rallysprint, I lost by half a second, look we got that bit of luck today with Andrew (Purcell) spinning, but in fairness we drove well."
Behind the top three, Boland and Guest were fourth and fifth respectively. Elsewhere, Donegal's Oisin and Fabian McShane (VW UP) won the J1000 category.
Meanwhile in the JWA Promotions Turkey Run Rally at the Shackleton complex in Derry, the Donegal trio of Aaron McLaughlin, Daniel Doherty and Kevin Eves completed a lock-out of the top three places. Although Carndonagh driver McLaughlin was listed to drive a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, he campaigned a VW Polo GTi R5 and set the pace right from the beginning of the event. On the first of the five timed runs he led the Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 of Glengormley's Derek McGarrity by 7.8s with Muff driver Doherty (Ford Fiesta R5) a further 6.3s behind.
Another top time on SS2 allowed McLaughlin stretch his advantage to 17.9s as Doherty slotted into second. On the repeat of the stage the positions remained the same but the margin between them went out to 28s. Doherty broke McLaughlin's domination of fastest times on the penultimate run but the latter went on to win by 29.4s. Pettigo's Kevin Eves (Ford Fiesta Rally2), who was fastest on the final run, took the final spot on the podium. Strabane's Ryan Caldwell retired his Skoda Fabia R5 with a flat wheel on the final stage.
Elsewhere, Kilkenny's Enda O'Brien (VW Polo GTi R5) took a start-to-finish victory in the Carlow Car Club's Rallysprint at Mondello Park. Punching in the best times on the opening three timed runs, he led Moffett by 9.2s. Then on the penultimate run, Moffett, the reigning national rally champion, clawed 2.1s back and was also quickest on the fifth and final run but could only trim the deficit to 2.2s. Dubliner Neil Tohill (Mitsubishi Lancer E10) was 20.5s further behind in third.