UNOFFICIAL NAT. L/BOARD AFTER FINAL STAGE
1st (24) Manus Kelly/Donal Barrett (Escort) 2.35.59.1
2nd (25) Frank Kelly/Liam Brennan (Escort) 2.36.44.1
3rd (28) Paul & Karl Reid (Escort) 2.36.48.3
4th (18) David Bogie/Michael Hendry (Escort) 2.36.58.6
5th (22) Damien Gallagher/Brendan McElhinney (Escort) 2.37.51.3
6th (43) Declan McNaughton/Ronan O`Neill (Escort) 2.38.37.3
7th Richard Moffett 8th Columba Heena 9th Stephen McCann 10th John Bonner
This Joule Donegal Rally proved once again to be a massive challenge for the crews and it is Garry Jennings & Rory Kennedy in their Subaru Impreza who have taken the spoils of victory following a very impressive display. Their winning margin over 2nd placed Declan & Brian Boyle in their new Fiesta WRC was 1m7s with Donagh Kelly & Kevin Flanagan finishing 3rd in their Focus WRC, just over a minute behind. Garry won the rally previously in 2012 and Rory won 3 times over the years. When the winning Subaru finished the final Fanad stage that finished at Portsalon, Garry took the time to say. `It was not just as hard this time as we were the underdogs so there was not so much pressure. It was still hard going. The last stage was nerve wracking. We were taking flat out corners in 2nd gear.` Rory Kennedy commented. `We had a fantastic team looking after us and Garry drove a brilliant rally incredibly well`. For Rory this will be a special evening as he will receiver the winner`s trophy that is dedicated to his father Jim.
Last year`s winner Declan Boyle surprised everyone with his speed and commitment in his brand new Fiesta WRC. He admitted that on his first test in the car earlier this week it ended up 200 yards up a field in a bog. He has promised to get as many miles in the car as he can during the next year so he can come back and win this rally. Donagh Kelly/Kevin Flanagan had a mishap with this Focus early on Saturday morning and following that were on the back foot but did well to finish 3rd. Donagh has a commanding lead in the Clonakilty Blackpudding Tarmac Championship and is on 60 points. Sam Moffett has 40 and Joe McGonigle is 3rd following his great run here this weekend and is on 33 points.
In the National Rally Manus Kelly scored a brilliant victory and Frank Kelly raced through the final stages to finish 2nd, just ahead of Paul Reid with Scotsman David Bogie 4th. There was heartbreak for Adrian Hetherington who was heading for what would have been a brilliant 2nd place but his Escort ground to a halt on the final Fanad stage with suspected engine problems. In the Historic Rally with one stage to go Seamus O`Connell would appear to be heading for victory with John Moynihan 2nd and Ernie Graham 3rd. This will mean that Ernie Graham will move into the lead of the Historic Championship from Gareth Lloyd. Although he retired from the rally Declan Gallagher still leads the Modified category of the Tarmac C/ship with Frank Kelly moving into equal 1st. Further news from the final stages is that Martin Doherty/Conor Foley (Lancer) have won the GpN category. Trevor Bustard was heading for 2nd GpN but his Lancer has stopped a few stages from the end with a broken gear linkage.
Finally for now very well done to Eamonn McGee and his Donegal MC team and a huge thanks to everyone who helped us and supported the RallyNews service during this great weekend of rallying.
BRIAN & LIZ PATTERSON & MICHAEL & ZOE PATTERSON www.rallynews.net *Follow RallyNews on Twitter & Facebook @Pacenotes or @Real_RallyNews
