Philip Morrow (Evo9) was second just eight seconds adrift with Josh Moffett (Evo9) third 37 secs behind Morrow. Michael Conlon (Escort) was tenth overall and best 2WD car while Dean Raftery (Civic) was best junior once more.
Once again the Valvoline Motorsport Ireland Forest rally Championship served a nail biter on the Moonraker. The Moonraker was the second round of the Valvoline series and based in Lismore. On the previous round in West Limerick Morrow pipped O'Brien on the last stage to win by a second and a half. Today O'Brien was fastest out of the blocks with a time 9 seconds better than Morrow.
For the remaining 4 stages (stage 6 was cancelled), it was nip and tuck on every test but Morrow was not able to pull back the time loss on stage 1. Josh Moffett had a great result in third with Martin Cairns fourth and Sam Moffett fifth. O'Brien and Morrow now share leadership of the Valvoline Championship.
Pat O'Connell and Vincent McAree did not start and Owen Murphy (Evo9) retired on stage one with transmission trouble. Other retirees included Andy Fanning (Puma) with broken shaft and Sean Benskin (Escort).
· 58 crews started the event, 41 finished.
· Leader: O'Brien SS1 to SS5
· Fastest Times: O'Brien 3, Morrow 3.
· Round 3 of the Valvoline Championship hosted by Carrick-on-Suir MC Sunday April 13th.
