ON SATURDAY morning, a familiar Subaru S12 B sat in a field in Garrygort, just outside Milford.
The crew inside worried that the game was up.
Almost two minutes had been lost and the hopes of lasting the pace in the Joule Donegal International Rally were in danger.
Manus Kelly and Donall Barrett were in only their second ever event in the Melvyn Evans-hired Impreza, though.
[adrotate group=”70″]The winners of the national rally last year in Donegal, the Glenswilly-Milford duo were back in ambitious mode this time around.
“We got caught under breaking on a 5 right,” Barrett explained later at service.
By the close of Saturday, the crew were settled again, but still had a huge gap, 30.4 seconds to be precise, to make up.
Garry Jennings, Donagh Kelly and Declan Boyle all had their mechanical trouble and their events had ended by the time Manus and Donall took to the start of High Glen on Sunday morning.
[adrotate group=”43″]The Impreza, on slick tyres in the Sunday drizzle, roared over High Glen and was back in the game.
Superb runs over Glen and Fanad Head meant that they were only 7.6 seconds behind Keith Cronin at service.
When the second loop of High Glen was cancelled, because of live electricity wires hanging across a part of the stage, there was a danger that they’d run out of road and time.
Cronin led by 9.3 after the second run around Atlantic Drive, the penultimate stage.
Kelly was 18 seconds quicker over Fanad the first time, but they’d had a tyre advantage for that loop.
The game was closer now, but the ultimate prize was in sight.
As they crept over the Harry Blaney Bridge, the thoughts turned to Vincent Bonner and Seamus McGettigan and Declan Boyle and Brian Boyle, the only two previous all-Donegal crews to win this great event.
At the start line at Cashel Glebe, Kelly clipped on his helmet.
Barrett buckled himself in, clipped the helmet and, as the Impreza began to roar, driver said to navigator: ‘We’re going for gold here’.
[adrotate group=”46″]At Portsalon, anxious friends and family waited with a posse of media. Clerk of the Course Eamon McGee arrived and, tearing up, confirmed that the impossible had in fact become possible over the 19km of the Fanad Head stage.
Just 0.5 seconds were between them; the tightest finish ever to the best Donegal International Rally ever. It was that good. Indeed, this achievement would stand alongside the greatest of any by Donegal sportspeople, given the back story and where they’d come from. The drama of it all just heightened the feeling.
The Impreza, ‘Mandy’ emblazed across the front bumper, that had been in the Garrygort field just 30 hours previously was now being readied for the finish ramp and a triumphant parade back to rally HQ at the Mount Errigal Hotel.
“This is an unbelievable reward for us,” Kelly said.
“This is the cream. I just feel and we just feel so humbled to be here today. We’re lucky and we’re blessed to have the absolute ultimate. We’ll never forget this.”
Barrett, cool as ice all weekend, heaped praise on his driver.
“For him to get into that motor car and be competitive was excellent. To go out and set fastest times in the wet was unbelievable. What a talent,” he said.
On Sunday evening, that same Subaru S12 B – and its crew – sat on top of the world.
Below is a video, captured by Geraldine Diver, of an interview with Manus Kelly and Donall Barrett, done with Charlie Collins of Donegal Sport Hub, at the prizegiving on Sunday night.
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