Circuit of Ireland Report
24 April 2011
McGarrity's Maximum Circuit of Ireland Rally Thriller!
Derek McGarrity and James McKee in their Subaru Impreza WRC claimed maximum points at round two of the Irish Tarmac Championship when they secured victory at the Donnelly Group Circuit of Ireland Rally, in association with UTV Drive.
The win marked McGarrity's fifth success on the event, as he closes in on Jimmy McRae's long-standing record of seven 'Circuit' victories. The result also promotes him to fifth in the championship tables after he failed to score on round one of the series in Galway.
McGarrity enjoyed a weekend-long battle with non-championship competitor, Kenny McKinstry. It was McKinstry who led the rally in his Impreza WRC by a slender 1.6 seconds at the end of day one, but a spin during the final leg saw the two-times Irish Tarmac Champion lose ground.
McGarrity capitalised on McKinstry's misfortune, and the Glengormley driver went on to secure his fifth Circuit of Ireland Rally win by 41.7 seconds.
McKinstry and navigator Kenny Hull claimed second overall, but third place for Kevin Barrett and Sean Mullally was enough to promote them to the top of the Irish Tarmac Championship tables.
In the Group N category, Donagh Kelly and Kevin Flanagan claimed the spoils but they are not registered for this year's series. Instead, Brendan Cumiskey and Jason Ollerenshaw took maximum production points, promoting them to third in the Championship standings.
Next up were Sam Moffett and James O'Reilly whose second placed points were enough to move them to the top of the production category and to second position in the Overall Championship.
In the Historic category, Mervyn Johnston and Wendy Blackledge were the sole finishers, allowing them to maintain their historic championship lead, while Alan Courtney and Paul Soutar extended their lead in the Classic Cars category after a great drive in their Porsche 928.
Jonathan MacDonald
Donnelly Group Circuit of Ireland results (top 10)
- Derek McGarrity/James McKee (Impreza WRC S11) 1h 52m 32.4s
- Kenny McKinstry/Kenny Hull (Impreza WRC S8) +41.7s
- Kevin Barrett/Sean Mullally (Impreza WRC S11) +2m53.6s
- John Dalton/Gwynfor Jones (Darrian T90 GTR) +4m12.3s
- Phil Collins/Derek Brannigan (Escort Mk2) +4m14.1s
- Donagh Kelly/Kevin Flanagan (Lancer Evo 9) +4m58.6s
- Brendan Cumiskey/Jason Ollerenshaw (Lancer Evo 9) +5m41.4s
- Sam Moffett/James O'Reilly (Lancer Evo 9) +6m00.0s
- Adrian Hetherington/Gary Nolan (Escort Mk2) +8m16.7s
- Eugene Meegan/Niall Burns (Lancer Evo X) +8m22.1s
Irish Tarmac Championship Standings (after round two)
- Kevin Barrett 24pts
- Sam Moffett 18pts
- Alan Ring 17pts
- Tim McNulty 16pts
- Derek McGarrity 16pts
- Brendan Cumiskey 13pts
Posted by PMcCollum on 9/5/2011; Last updated by PMcCollum on 9/5/2011