Callum Devine and Noel O’Sullivan took victory on the 2023 Circuit of Ireland having led
from the opening stage to claim a 10.2-second win over Irish Tarmac Rally Championship
leaders, Josh Moffett and Andy Hayes.
Devine started the day on the stages in the
Cookstown area with a time 3.8 seconds faster than Moffett.
Desi Henry and Sam Moffett were third and fourth after stage one while Meirion Evans was in fifth.
Cathan McCourt was an early retirement. His Citroen C3 Rally2 broke its driveshaft on the
first junction, costing he and co-driver Caolan McKenna three minutes before getting it fixed
in the next service halt.
Josh Moffett responded to Devine’s quick start by winning stage two
and cutting Devine’s lead to 0.3 seconds heading into service.
Desi Henry held third after two stages, 1.6 seconds ahead of Evans who jumped ahead of Sam Moffett. Jonny Greer
came back from a slow start to move level with Sam Moffett in fifth after three stages.
On stage four, Devine upped the pace and went fastest by 13.3 seconds, which put Josh go
from 0.8 seconds back to 14.1 seconds by the halfway point. The West Cork Rally winner
had a big moment over a Shanmaghry crest, finishing the stage with a puncture. Defying the
odds in his typical fashion, Moffett still managed to set a second-fastest time through stage
four.
Sibling Sam also suffered some damage on Shanmaghry. He lost the power steering in
his Hyundai after an abrupt landing after yet another crest. Moffett lost three seconds to
Greer who had now moved into fourth ahead of Desi Henry.
Josh Moffett responded to the pressure by taking a hat-trick of fastest times between stage
five and seven, including beating the bogey time on stage five.
Evans was back on form at the start of Saturday afternoon’s stages, while Greer struggled on the bumps and Sam
Moffett hit more trouble, losing over 10 seconds stuck in one of stage five’s initial chicanes.
A puncture on stage six cost Desi Henry a minute and dropped him down the leaderboard to
eighth. Just ahead of him was Declan Boyle had slipped 3.4 seconds ahead of Robert
Barrable to move into the top six.
Barrable was to finish the Circuit of Ireland in sixth, however, as Boyle slid off the road on
the final stage of the day.
Sam Moffett completed his eventful day in fifth, continuing to relearn the Rally2 ropes behind the wheel of his new Hyundai. Jonny Greer was getting faster and faster to finish within three seconds of the podium positions in fourth.
Continuing his run of podiums was Meirion Evans in third.
Callum Devine and Noel O’Sullivan ensured they didn’t let their first international rally win of 2023 slip, going fastest
on the Circuit’s Shanmaghry finale by 0.8 seconds over runners-up Josh Moffett and Andy Hayes.
Jason Black and Karl Egan were best of the Modified in tenth overall, less than three
seconds ahead of Kevin Eves. Killian McArdle guided Eddie Doherty to 18th OA and third in
Class 7.
Johno Doogan and Ciaran Marron were two places further back in a similar Ford
Escort MKII. Michael Conlon and Domhnall Lennon took the honours in Class 5.
Declan McKenna navigated Bryan Jardine to 70th OA.
Tommy O’Connell/Emmett Sherry led the historic category after the first stage but failed to
finish the event.
Arthur Kierans, Kaine Treanor and Calum Maguire would also all fail to make the finish as co-drivers in their respective pairings.
Aaron Mc Elroy pp Oisin Sherlock.
County Monaghan Motor Club 