Fourth place overall in the Rentokil Initial Killarney Historic Stages Rally was enough to give Owen Murphy & Anthony Nestor the early lead in the Dance to Tipperary Irish Tarmac Historic Championship in their newly built Talbot Sunbeam. At the end of the classic eight stage event, which was once again the championship opener for the Historic series, they had over a minute to spare from Denis Cronin & Helen O’Sullivan in an Escort. With the non-registered Denis Moynihan and Mark Falvey (below) streaking off into the distance from the start to complete a Cork 1-2, Murphy held third for a time until he was overhauled by Ryan Barrett. Duncan Williams, Alan Watkins and John Coyne, all championship regulars are the provisional top five overall after the first round. Among those who retired were Tomas Davies, Ernie Graham (both BMW M3) and Ross Forde (Escort). Full report and points to appear here shortly.
Photo: Owen Murphy & Anthony Nestor on Molls Gap, courtesy of Stefan Lassus.