| Donnelly takes home triumph |
24-Aug-09
There was exhilaration for Eugene Donnelly and co-driver Paddy Toner and bitter disappointment for Gareth MacHale at the end of the Toddsleap.com Ulster International Rally on Saturday evening. The last stage of the race determined the end of a titanic battle between the two Irish Tarmac Championship leaders. Just 14.1 seconds separated the pair as Maghera’s Donnelly brought his Digiprintz Skoda Fabia WRC over the victory ramp in a time of one hour 48 minutes 09.2 seconds. |
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Donnelly came from behind on the final 14th stage, which he started half-a-second behind Dubliner MacHale and co-driver Brian Murphy, and finished the eight-mile stage 14 seconds clear.
MacHale simply got it all wrong, overshooting a right turn at a crossroads and going straight up a gravel lane, where the Slade
Castle-backed Ford Focus then stalled.
It was Donnelly’s home stage and MacHale knew that, which could have been a psychological disadvantage.
A delighted Donnelly claimed: “We gave it everything at the end. A couple of places we pushed especially hard and it was brilliant to win on my home stage.”
Donnelly now has an 18-point lead over MacHale going into the final round in Cork in October.
Derek McGarrity finished third, the Glengormley driver having led on more than one occasion in his Subaru Impreza S12.
In the battle for British Rally Championship honours, Mark Higgins (Subaru Impreza) took the win over Gwyndaf Evans in his Lancer Evo 10. Higgins now leads the series following the demise of Keith Cronin, who crashed out on Friday evening. However, there is a bonus system in operation in the final round in Yorkshire, so the 23-year old Cork driver is still in with a shout.
Alastair Fisher brought his Lancer Evo across the finish in sixth overall, and third in Group N, while Kris Princen was top Clio West Euro Cup runner and seventh overall.
Alan Carmichael scooped the lion’s share of Irish Group N and Irish Evo Challenge points with his Lancer Evo, while Pat Kirk claimed 10th place.
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News item by Linda Keen, The Irish News.
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