Through rain, mist and an afternoon of scorching sunshine, and being chased by one of the most impressive and talented fields in quite a number of years on a loose-surface event, Jordan Hone and his father Paul delivered a cool and calm masterclass to claim a very first rally victory on the Killarney Forest Rally and leave with maximum points in the hunt for the Sligo Pallets Forest Rally Championship title.
With ninety cars starting the event, the buzz was real in the build up, but a lot of crews will have been surprised to wake up to misty rain for the opening loop on what was forecast to be a drying affair.
By the end of the rally there would be an 11.2 second gap to Vivian Hamill & Gary Nolan, with third going to a rather surprised Niall McGonigle & Caolan McKenna who leave the Killarney Forest Rally with a stage win and podium finish on what had been intended as a shakedown for next weekend Fivemiletown event.
Just 13 seconds off a podium spot was Derek Mackarel and Eamonn Creedon. They took 4th OA in their Fiesta R5 and had 3rd fastest stages times on the final two stages as the Stonebridge driver continues to adapt to the car.
In the 2WD battle, it was a tricky day with many of the Sligo Pallets Forest Rally Championship frontrunners reporting issues throughout the day, although for the late entrant pair of Shane McGirr & Denver Rafferty it was a successful trip south for the Lada pair as they claimed victory.
Ten seconds behind McGirr was back-to-back 2WD Forest Champion Micky Conlon & James McEneaney, the MC Blinds Ford Escort looking worse for wear following a dramatic meeting with a chicane on the opening stage when they got caught out with cold brakes. They lost a considerable amount of time but still finished the stage 2nd 2WD and just 7.2 seconds down on McGirr.
The gap opened slightly more on the second stage due to a stall on a junction but a very clean run through the third test and McGirr’s tyres going off gave them a 1.7 second lead in the 2WD section at service.
Although no major drama was reported on the final loop, the stages were badly cut up and McGirr managed to claw back the time to demote Conlon/McEneaney to 2nd 2WD and tenth overall.
Ryan Farrell was alongside Dylan Eves. They were second in Class 2 and sixth 2WD by the end of the day. In the same class, Tommy Moffett made his Rally4 debut. He and co-driver Domhnall Lennon finished sixth. The former J1000 champion proving the benefits of the Junior series with some instantly competitive stage times.
Reigning Irish Forest Rally Champion co-driver Arthur Kierans returned to the driver’s seat in his Subaru Impreza. His navigation trial partner Shane Maguire made his stage Rally debut on the event. Unfortunately transmission issues halted their run after just one stage.
Killian McArdle was,on the notes for Peter McCullagh. They’d also fail to finish, as would James McCarville and Conal McNulty.
The Sligo Pallets Forest Rally Championship returns on 14 April with the Carrick-on-Suir Willie Loughman Forest Rally.
County Monaghan Motor Club 