Heavy rain washes away final stage Mayo showdown

David Kelly and Patrick McCrudden secured a clinical debut victory for their Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 at a rain-soaked Mayo Stages Rally on Sunday, as deteriorating weather conditions forced a premature end to the opening round of the Triton Showers Motorsport Ireland National Rally Championship.

What began as a high-speed chase through the lanes around Westport descended into a battle of attrition against standing water, leading the Mayo Motorsport Club to make the difficult but universally supported decision to curtail the event after stage eight.

The all-Donegal pairing of Kelly and McCrudden established their intent early, trading times with the heavy hitters before moving into a lead they would not relinquish.

By the time the field reached the first service, they had carved out a narrow 5.6-second cushion over the chasing pack. It was a flawless performance from Kelly, who managed the changing grip levels with a maturity that belied his first competitive outing in the new Skoda.

Eddie Doherty and Tom Murphy brought their Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 home in second place, trailing the winners by a mere tenth of a second in the final standings. Doherty, the defending national champion, used the event as a high-speed shakedown for the upcoming West Cork Rally but found his progress hampered by a failing gearbox linkage. Despite the mechanical handicap and the lack of a functional gear selection at times, the Kilkenny man remained upbeat, noting that the priority was seat time ahead of his return to the Irish Tarmac Championship trail. His fastest time on the final running stage served as a reminder of the pace within the new car.

The final step of the podium was claimed by Matthew Boyle and Gary Byrne in another Skoda Fabia RS Rally2. It was a milestone result for the youngest of the Boyle dynasty, marking his second career podium and a first for co-driver Byrne. Having only taken delivery of the car last Thursday, Boyle was the sole member of the family to reach the finish after his father Declan and brother Michael both retired earlier in the day. Michael Boyle’s challenge ended on stage three when a puncture was compounded by a collapsing jack in the soft roadside verge, leaving him unable to change the wheel.

In the modified ranks, Brian Lavelle and Jack Kelly were the class of the field. Driving a Ford Escort Mk2, the Achill Island man claimed the Class 14 win and finished eleventh overall, a result inspired by the single-stage rallies held on his home island decades ago. Lavelle finished 35 seconds clear of the experienced Gary McPhillips and Ger Conway.

The Rally4 category was dominated by Oran England and Mayo Club member, Darragh Mullen in their Peugeot 208. Following the announcement that the Stellantis Cup would move to Michelin tyres, the former champion chose Mayo as a strategic shakedown. England’s decision to move early on the new rubber paid dividends as he finished over two minutes clear of John O'Rourke and Derek Lynch’s Opel Corsa.

Class battles 

Sligo’s Colin Gray with Mayo Co-driver Bradley O’Donnell took the honours in Class 1 in their Honda Civic while 17-year-old Oisin McShane from Donegal, who is also a prominent goalkeeper with Derry City’s U20 LOI team, drove his Peugeot 208 R2 to first place in Class 2A. First place in Class 3 went to Ruairi and Martin McGarrity in their Citroen DS3 while Galway driver Adrian Quinn Jnr and his co-driver Des Sherlock claimed victory in Class 4 driving a Renault Clio Rally3. Waterford’s Richie Power and Ross Ryan won Class 9 in their Ford Escort Mk2 as Class 10 honours went the way of Carlow’s Paul Cullen and Brian Rowan in an Opel Corsa. Galway’s Damien Connell and Gary McWalter battled their way in their Honda Civic to the Class 11f win with Monaghan’s Anthony Hand and David McCrudden winning Class 11r in an Escort MK2. Class 12 went the way of Donegal’s Danny O’Donnell who had Cathair Huges on the notes in another Ford Escort Mk2 while Sligo Pallets Border Drive of the Day winner Barry McLaughlin and Barry McBride also went home with Class 13 victory. Colin Kane and Gary McBride were the fastest Class 15 in a Subaru Impreza while Wexford’s Tomas O’Rourke and Tomas Scallan won Class 20 in a Mitsubishi Evo. The Junior section was won by Donegal’s Patrick Doherty and Conal McNulty who took the lead of the Juniors on stage 3 and held it to the finish in their Honda Civic.

Drives of the day 

Sligo Pallets Border Rally Drive of the day winners were aforementioned Barry McLaughlin and Barry McBride who took the award in their Ford Escort MK1 with a fastest time on Stage 6 while the Top Part West Coast Rally recipients were Anthony Hand and David McCrudden in their Ford Escort MK2.

How the locals fared 

Young Bekan man James Ronan made a fairytale start to his tarmac rallying career by winning the Margaret McGreal Cup, Ably navigated by David Doherty from Ballinlough, the pair etched their names on the coveted award for top local crew to finish the rally.

“I have to give credit to James on his first tarmac rally,” said Doherty at the finish ramp. “I only met James on Friday evening, I went to school with his dad,” said the last minute recruited, highly experienced navigator.

Other top placed local finishers included Mervyn Deane and Trevor Burke in their Escort Mk2 who finished in 33rd place, while local Westport driver Chris Rose, who had Tony McGovern on the notes, brought the distinctive yellow Honda Civic home in 46th place.

The all-Sligo pairing of Rob Heelan and Keith Jacob finished 55th while the second Bekan crew of Lorcan and Colm Ronan drove their Nissan Sunny to 61st place overall, just five seconds ahead of Belcarra father and son team Fiachra and Oisin Moran, who debuted their Type R Honda Civic in 62nd place.

Colm Connor and Eamonn Bonner were 65th while Kevin Dempsey and Sean Connolly brought their Peugeot 206 home in 78th place, while Ian Chambers and Ella Conway, another crew to embark on their first stage rally, finished 88th.

The testing stages saw a lot of competitors fall by the wayside throughout the day, among them a number of local club entrants. They included David Healy and Martin Byrne who retired on Stage 6 with driveshaft failure while leading their class. James McGreal and Trevor O’Connell’s event also finished prematurely on stage 6, a stage which also claimed Fintan McGurrin and Keelan Joyce on their debut rally drive. Padraic Cawley and Jamie Lally failed to emerge from Stage 8 in their Citroen C2 while Barry McGing and Conor O’Rourke’s event never really got going as their Dacia suffered mechanical issues on Sunday morning. Local navigators Ivan Hernon, Derek Molloy and Bradley O’Donnell also failed to make it to the finish of the event.