Despite a ten month lay off, O’Connell (Evo 9) led from start to finish winning the longest rally of the year by a margin of 28seconds.Cork’s Owen Murphy (Evo9) was runner up and third place was claimed by Frank Kelly (Escort Mk2), just 3.2 seconds behind Murphy. Valvoline Championship leader Liam Ryan was fourth nine seconds behind Kelly.
Pictured above are Pat O'Connell and Mark Wiley in the Mitsubishi EVO 9 taking part in the event. The picture is by Ger Leahy Photography.
Based in Mallow, the event consisted of 8 stages totaling 90km. In the morning, there were three stages done twice - at Killavullen, Bweeng and Banteer. In the afternoon, the challenging 19km Streamhill Bridge stage in the Ballyhoura mountains was run twice. As ever, the pre-rally consensus suggested the super smooth and fast Streamhill tests would decide the rally.
Despite overnight rain, the stages were in good condition and blue skies greeted the 66 crews as they drove east to Killavullen. O’Connell, who did not register for this years series was fastest, a feat he repeated on the five remaining tests of the morning. The Cashel driver was 6 seconds ahead of Murphy after stage 2 and 16 seconds after 6. Murphy wanted to win the Jim Walsh rally-his home event after all - but he also needed to gain maximum points for his championship bid. A puncture on stage 2 widened the gap to O’Connell and the Ballincollig driver prioritized the championship thereafter. He judged his pace perfectly to bag second overall and maximum championship points. However, this strategy was almost undone by Frank Kelly who put in a fabulous time on the last Streamhill test to close within 3.2 seconds of Murphy. Kelly had his day-long struggle with the Evo9 of Liam Ryan for third overall, but Ryan, like Murphy, had to keep the championship title in mind. Fifth was claimed by another Evo9, Ian Cochrane who was delighted with the result and the rally, despite being delayed by brakes in the morning.
In the 2WD section, Frank Kelly was in a league of his own and he was followed home by fellow Northerner Shane Mc Girr in the 2 litre Starlet RWD (7thO/A) and local man Paul Fitzgerald (11th O/A) in his Escort Mk2. Once again the junior category was very competitive. Championhip protagonists Douglas Stewart (206) and Derek Butler (Honda Civic) had a close battle all day but in the end they had to give way to the pace of Kevin O’Connor in the Citroen C2R2.
Before the Cork rally Liam Ryan and Vincent McAree were joint leaders on 54 points, eleven ahead of Owen Murphy with 43. McAree retired on Saturday and now drops to third with 55 points. Ryan now has an outright lead of 72 points. Murphy is second just eight behind and the Corkman has the considerable advantage of having three maximum scores. With two rounds remaining, Murphy needs just one other maximum score to claim his first forest championship.
TOP TEN FINISHERS
1. Pat O’ Connell/ Mark Wiley Mitsubishi Evo9 51-12
2. Owen Murphy/James O’ Brien Mitsubishi Evo9 51-40
3. Frank Kelly/Liam Brennan Ford Escort Mk2 51-43.2
4. Liam Ryan/Aidan Bourke Mitsubishi Evo9 51-52.4
5. Ian Cochrane/Ray Fitzpatrick Mitsubishi Evo9 52-29.8
6. Stephen and Susanne Wright Mitsubishi Evo6 52-19.7
7. Shane Mc Girr/Jackie Elliot Toyota Starlet RWD 53-05.7
8. Enda Mc Nulty /Paul Sheridan Subaru Impreza 53-23.1
9. Ger and James Lucey Mitsubishi Evo8 53-36.8
10. Patsy Keenan/Martin Brady Mitsubishi Evo8 54-23.2
Rally Summary
Stage wins: Pat O’Connell 6, Owen Murphy 1, Frank Kelly 1.
Leaders Stage 1 to 8 Pat O’Connell.
Class Winners Class 1 Joe Shinnors Jnr (Nova), Class 2 Cyril Wharton (205), Class 3 Paul Fitzgerald (Escort Mk2), Class 4 Ray Benskin Snr (Escort Mk2), Class 5 Frank Kelly (Escort Mk2), Class 6 Stephen Wright (Evo6), Class 7 Enda Mc Nulty (Impreza), Class 8 Pat O’Connell (Evo 9) and Class 9 Kevin O’Connor (C2R2).
Leading retirements: Martin Cairns (roll), Vincent Mc Aree (puncture/wiring loom) James Coleman (axle) and Donal Keane (off).
