A stunning performance from Robert Barrable & Damien Connolly in their Ford Fiesta R5 has the Dublin / Monaghan team lead the Cartell.ie International Rally of the Lakes by 28.3 seconds over the Impreza WRC of Manus Kelly & Donall Barrett. With Kelly not eligible for championship points, third placed Desi Henry and Liam Moynihan (Fabia R5) are Barrables closest challengers in championship terms. Sam Moffett the defending champion lies in fourth place, while his brother Josh who leads the championship had a difficult day with persistent brake problems and lies in sixth place behind Jonny Greer. Things didn’t go so well for Daniel Cronin who retired from fifth place after five stages with a sensor problem while Stephen Wright lost a lot of time on Ardgroom 2 and is well down the order having set some competitive times for most of the day.
John Bonner is top registered modified driver following Kevin Eves retirement with a bent axle on the second stage. Owen Murphy has a strong lead in the Historic Category while Colin O’Donoghue took a comprehensive victory in the Junior Rally.
Overnight Top 5 (Tarmac Registered only)
1 – Robert Barrable – Ford Fiesta R5 – 1:06:43.7
2 – Desi Henry – Skoda Fabia R5 – +45.5
3 – Sam Moffett – Ford Fiesta R5 – 1:08.1
4 – Jonny Greer – Ford Fiesta R5 – 2:05.0
5 – Josh Moffett – Ford Fiesta R5 – 2:36.6