Grogan best of the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy drivers in Killarney

Keelan Grogan was second home in a very competitive rc4 class and 14th overall. picture by d harrigan.

Keelan Grogan and his co-driver Ayrton Sherlock were the best of the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy drivers at the Assess Ireland Rally of the Lakes International Rally over the weekend. The two-day Killarney-based rally was the fourth round of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship and also a round of the Stellantis Rally Cup.  There was an immense battle for Rall4 class honours all weekend.  The lead changed umpteen times over the course of the 14-stage rally. 

At the end of the Saturday leg, only a handful of seconds covered the top five crews which included Circuit of Ireland winner Cian Caldwell and the Peugeot 208 Rally4 of Kyle McBride. Caldwell jumped into the lead on stage three, Cod’s Head, when 0.8 seconds covered the top four crews. Ryan MacHugh slipped into the class lead with the fastest time on Saturday’s penultimate Ardgroom test and ended the day with a 4.3-second overnight advantage over Grogan. Kyle McBride was also in the mix but a gearbox problem hindered progress on Saturday’s last test. 

The battle continued on Sunday and while MacHugh held the upper hand for most of the rally, a rare mistake on in the final loop ended the Ford Fiesta Rally4 driver’s hopes of Rally Academy bragging rights. 

“It was a small spin but we squashed the exhaust and ended up down on power, we managed to fix it some bit we were more or less in road mode for the last stage,” said the Donegal man who was co-driven by Declan Boyle. 

This allowed Grogan and Sherlock back in front. The Peugeot 208 Rally4 crew finished second in both the Rally4 class and the Stellantis Cup. 

“We had no real dramas all weekend, a spin on the second last stage cost a bit of time,” said Grogan. “And we had no intercom for the second run over Cod’s Head."

McBride and codriver Darragh Mullen, after their earlier gearbox issues, eventually finished third in the Stellantis Cup and fourth in the Rally4 class.  “I am happy, it was my first time driving this Peugeot on dry tar,” he said. 

Caldwell retired on Sunday evening.