Kelly Crowned With Second Championship Title – Motorsport.ie

There was drama right to the final stage of the Todds Leap Ulster Rally based on Enniskillen, with Donegal driver Donagh Kelly retaking the lead at the end to score his eighth major rally victory this year, adding the Clonakilty Blackpudding Irish Tarmac Championship to the Triton Showers National title he has already won.

Kelly, with his Derry co-driver Kevin Flanagan, took his Focus WRC into the lead on the opening stage near Clogher, while Garry Jennings and Rory Kennedy, who were trying for their third Ulster win in a row, had turbo problems on their Subaru Impreza and dropped well down the placings.

By the overnight halt, Kelly was almost half a minute clear of his nearest challengers, Antrim driver Desi Henry and Monaghan’s Stephen Wright, with Jennings in fourth place, 45 seconds down on the leader.

The Fermanagh man set a cracking pace on day two, while Kelly was very conscious of the need to finish the rally to take the Tarmac title, so that Jennings blasted into top place on the eighth of the twelve stages and looked all set for his Ulster hat-trick.

However, at the last moment, fate intervened, and with just a few miles of the final Widow Magee stage remaining, Jennings hit a chicane straw bale, causing damage to the front of his car, which went on fire, forcing instant retirement, and handing top place back to the surprised but delighted Kelly.

Desi Henry held on for a distant second place, but Stephen Wright was a retirement, handing third position to Derek McGeehan and Arthur Kierans. Rob Duggan and Ger Conway were the best crew from the Republic, in seventh place, leaving the young Killarney driver still leading the Carryduff Forklift Road to Wales competition with its prize of an entry in the final round of this year’s World Rally Championship in November.
2014 Dunlop Sexton Motorsport Ireland Young Racing Driver of the Year Jonny McMullan travelled to Silverstone in England this weekend to defend his lead in the BRSCC National Formula Ford Championship. Qualifying illustrated just how competitive top level Formula Ford Racing can be with just a single second covering the top 14 spaces on the grid. McMullan qualified in fifth for the opening race of the meeting and finished in eight, just adrift of championship rival Patrick Dassault. In race 2, McMullan reversed his opening result. Starting from eight on the grid, McMullan finished in fifth and these results mean McMullan maintains his lead in the BRSCC National Formula Ford Championship. Trinity College student Jake Byrne qualifed for the opening race in second position, missing out on pole by just .001 of a second. Byrne finished fifth in that race and started fifth on the grid for race 2 in his Ray GR13. Despite his encouraging pace, Byrne failed to finish race 2, retiring after lap 11 of 19.

Joe Courtney triumphed on both days of the Motor Enthusiasts Club Hillclimb, rounds 6 and 7 of the Naylor Engineering National Hillclimb/Sprint Championship. Courtney, in his Reynard 913-Peugeot was over a second quickest than his nearest rival on Saturday and the same on Sunday with his best time of the weekend being 38.3 seconds. At Skibbereen and District Car Club’s Autotest in Clonakilty, Paddy Power kept the punters happy winning Saturday’s proceedings in his Mini Special. Power was unable to do the double however with Timmy Lynch winning on the Sunday in his Westfield. The event was rounds 8 and 9 of the Premier Auto Parts Munster Championship.

TODDS LEAP ULSTER RALLY AT ENNISKILLEN (ROUND 6 OF CLONAKILTY BLACKPUDDING
IRISH TARMAC CHAMPIONSHIP):
1 Donagh Kelly/Kevin Flanagan (Ford Focus WRC) 1h 42m 31s,
2 Desi Henry/Liam Moynihan (Skoda Fabia S2000) 1h 44m 18s,
3 Derek McGeehan/Arthur Kierans (Mini WRC) 1h 44m 53s,
4 Jonny Greer/Kirsty Riddick (Citroen DS3 R5) 1h 45m 23s,
5 Derek McGarrity/Diarmuid Falvey (Subaru Impreza WRC) 1h 46m 49.8s,
6 Jon Armstrong/Noel O’Sullivan (Peugeot 208 R2) 1h 46m 50s,
7 Rob Duggan/Ger Conway (Peugeot 208 R2) 1h 47m 23s,
8 Daniel McKenna/Gordon Noble (Toyota GT86) 1h 48m 53s,
9 Callum Devine/Keith Moriarty (Opel Adam) 1h 49m 12s,
10 Camillus Bradley/Crawford Henderson (Ford Escort) 1h 50m 08s.

SKIBBEREEN & DISTRICT C C AUTOTEST AT CARBERY PLASTICS, CLONAKILTY, CO CORK
(ROUND 9 OF PREMIER AUTO PARTS MUNSTER CHAMPIONSHIP) (DAY 2):
1 Timmy Lynch (Westfield) 575.2s,
2 Liam Cashman (Westfield) 588.4s,
3 Paddy Power (Mini Special) 593.8s,
4 Don Giles (Westfield) 625.7s,
5 Peter Desmond (Westfield) 634.9s,
6 Liam Croston (Nova) 635.4s.
Class winners: Rory Power (Mini) 644.3s, Paddy Power, Liam Cashman, Michael
Lynch (Starlet) 687.9s, Liam Croston, Brian O’Connell (Micra) 762.5s, David
Nyhan 836.4s, George Swanton (Starlet) 703.1s, Patricia Denning (Starlet)
774.5s.