Devine fends off visitors to clinch Donegal Rally hat-trick

Photo: D Harrigan Images

Callum Devine and Noel O’Sullivan made it three Donegal International Rally victories in a row after sealing a 20.5-second win over Meirion Evans and Ger Conway.

Devine started the three-day event by setting a joint-fastest time with European Rally Championship contender Jon Armstrong on Donegal’s opening stage. Armstrong moved into the lead briefly when he recorded Mamore Gap’s benchmark time before dropping 30 seconds on stage three when his Ford Fiesta Rally2 encountered rear differential trouble.

Two stage wins combined with two runner-up and third-fastest times gave Devine a 12.4-second lead over New Zealand’s Hayden Paddon at the end of Friday’s action.

The Toyota Yaris Rally2s of Evans and William Creighton finished Friday in third and fourth, separated by a mere 0.2 seconds with Armstrong breathing down their necks after a brace of stage wins on Friday afternoon.

A storming drive over Saturday’s opening High Glen test catapulted Armstrong and Shane Byrne back up into second, with one second covering Armstrong, Evans, Creighton, and Paddon in the race behind Devine.

Unfortunately for the M-Sport pilot, another mechanical issue cost him almost a minute on the subsequent loop of High Glen and Lough Keel stages, which put him out of contention.

It was Creighton and Paddon who shared stage wins amidst Armstrong’s woes, but the pair of challengers were to suffer late Saturday blows.

Paddon’s Lough Keel fastest time had put him into Donegal’s top three at the rally’s halfway point, but he was still struggling with his Hyundai’s handling on the speedy stages. In the end, it was an unlucky stage 13 for the two-time ERC champion when he slid wide on one of Knockalla’s iconic bends, rolling into retirement.

Creighton, meanwhile, was charging into overall contention after four stage wins from six on Saturday. His Knockalla dominance coincided with handbrake issues for Devine’s Skoda Fabia Rally2.

The Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy ace had cut Devine’s advantage from 17.7 seconds after stage seven to under five seconds ahead of Saturday’s final stage.

Creighton’s superb Saturday ended in heartbreak, though, when a slow puncture resulted in his Yaris understeering through a hedge on Garrygort.

With two runs of Carnhill, Atlantic Drive, and Fanad Head left to go, Devine now had 21.8 seconds in hand over Evans and Conway ahead of Sunday’s special stages.

After two days of sunshine, rain greeted the crews on Sunday morning. Devine judged the mixed conditions best on Sunday’s Carnhill opener to extend his lead to 30.1 seconds. Just behind, the race for third was heating up with Moffett and Armstrong eyeing up third-placed David Kelly.

Armstrong surged into third on the next Atlantic Drive test despite his less-than-ideal package of wet tyres on the now bone-dry roads. The Fermanagh native made third his own with two more stage wins, including a 6.1-second fastest time on Donegal’s penultimate stage. Unfortunately, an overshoot on Fanad Head left Armstrong stuck without a result, capping off a weekend of ups and downs.

Kelly had done enough on his home event to keep 2022 Donegal Rally winner Moffett at bay, sealing the final podium position as Devine and Evans maintained their top two positions to make it a repeat of the 2024 Donegal International Rally podium.

Moffett and Andy Hayes were happy with their fourth-place finish after starting the event with the aim of enjoying one of the world’s best asphalt rallies. Their Hyundai i20 R5 kept the crowds entertained in its usual powersliding fashion, surviving a stage 18 brush with a chicane to claim solid championship points.

Declan and Michael Boyle enjoyed a close battle throughout the three-day event, and it looked as though Father had got the better of son up until a puncture on stage 17 had Declan drop behind Michael in what turned out to be the race for fifth. Matthew Boyle’s tenth-place finish made it a memorable weekend for the whole family.

Kyle McBride and Darragh Mullen repeated their West Cork Rally success with another Rally4 victory, finishing 41.7 seconds clear of Joseph Kelly and Killian McArdle.

Ben McFall and Damian McAuley impressed in their Ford Fiesta Rally4 to seal third.

Donegal International Rally top five:

1 Devine/O’Sullivan (Skoda Fabia Rally2) 2:23:30.2s

2 Evans/Conway (Toyota Yaris Rally2) +20.5s

3 Kelly/Kierans (Volkswagen Polo R5) +1:22.9

4 Moffett/Hayes (Hyundai i20 R5) +1:30.0

5 Boyle/McCafferty (Fabia Rally2) +3:18.0

McEvoy Motorsport & Flat 2 The Hat Modified ITRC

Aaron McIntyre and Derry Long claimed a hard-fought two-wheel-drive victory in their Toyota Starlet. McIntyre, who was making his Donegal International Rally debut, was third heading into Sunday’s six stages.

Usual modified pacesetter, Kevin Gallagher, had controlled the category up until his Darrian T90 slid out of a two-minute lead on Sunday’s opening Carnhill test.

That left McIntyre fighting for the modified lead against Ford Escort Mk2 pilot Gareth Irwin. A spin on Fanad Head gave Irwin a 13.8-second lead, which was only cut by 0.6 seconds on the next Carnhill test.

McIntyre went on an almighty charge over Donegal’s penultimate Atlantic Drive stage to claim a 10.2-second fastest time. His epic push coincided with two overshoots for Irwin, who in the end had to settle for second, 24.6 seconds clear of third-placed Conor Harvey.

Reigning McEvoy Motorsport & Flat 2 The Hat Modified champions Frank and Lauren Kelly fought back after a frustrating misfire on Friday left them outside Modified’s top ten. A string of top-five times put them into fourth, although Michael Carbin was less than a second behind with one stage to go. Kelly put the hammer down, setting the second-fastest time over his favourite Fanad Head stage to confirm his fourth-place finish.

Donegal International Rally Modified top five:

1 McIntyre/Long (Toyota Starlet) 2:33:47.6s

2 Irwin/McCauley (Ford Escort Mk2) +20.3s

3 Harvey/Doherty (Escort) +44.9

4 Kelly/Kelly (Escort) +1:22.3

5 Carbin/O’Sullivan (Escort) +1:24.8

Wales Motorsport Fabrication Historic ITRC

Donegal’s John O’Donnell and Paddy Robinson secured a dominant Donegal Historic Rally victory, controlling the competitive category from start to finish.

O’Donnell set the early pace with a 5.4-second fastest time over High Glen on Saturday morning. Nearest challenger Stuart Darcy dropped out of contention on the next pass over High Glen, leaving Meirion Evans, Trevor Wilson, and Michael McDaid to challenge O’Donnell’s BMW M3.

11 incredible stage wins from a possible 13 put O’Donnell’s Donegal crown beyond doubt, eventually finishing a minute and a half clear of Evans and Anthony O’Sullivan’s Ford Escort RS1800.

McDaid and Denver Rafferty looked set to seal third in Historics, but their Escort RS1800 failed to make it through Donegal’s deciding Fanad Head test, handing the final podium spot to Wilson and Paul Mulholland’s M3.

Hugh McQuaid and Declan Casey were over a minute further back in fourth, with Duncan Williams and Guy Weaver completing the top five.

Donegal Historic Rally top five:

1 O’Donnell/Robinson (BMW M3) 1:53:00.3s

2 Evans/O’Sullivan (Ford Escort RS1800) +1:33.6s

3 Wilson/Mulholland (M3) +5:31.3

4 McQuaid/Casey (Escort) +6:50.1

5 Williams/Weaver (Escort) +8:09.5

Paul Browne Plant Hire & Civil Engineering Junior ITRC

A hat-trick of stage wins on Sunday morning gave Ronan Dorrian and Mickey Joe Browne an insurmountable Donegal Junior Rally lead at its halfway point.

Kyle and Aaron Browne were Dorrian’s nearest challengers with three stages to go, but a strong charge over Carnhill put Graham Roche into third by 1.5 seconds. Aaron Reid made it a three-car race for second after his stage win on Atlantic Drive with 6.4 seconds covering the three Honda Civics heading into Donegal’s finale.

Dorrian held on to take an impressive 51.2-second victory while Reid continued his strong turn of pace to jump two positions into the Junior category’s runner-up spot.

Browne pipped Roche on Donegal’s decider to clinch the final podium position.

Donegal Junior Rally top five:

1 Dorrian/Browne (Honda Civic) 58:46.6s

2 Reid/Reid (Civic) +51.2s

3 Browne/Browne (Civic) +57.3

4 Roche/Roche (Civic) +1:02.4

5 Doherty/Hegarty (Civic) +3:13.7