IT WAS A DAY to savour for Donegal navigators, who corked the champagne at the Corrib Oil Galway International Rally.
At the close of the 15 special stages, Rory Kennedy and Johnny Baird, both from Letterkenny, were victorious.
Kennedy was calling the notes for Garry Jennings who was the winner of the Galway International Rally with the national rally won by Wesley Patterson, who had Baird riding shotgun.
The Jennings-Kennedy Impreza had an overnight lead of 2 minutes 27.7 seconds from Keith Cronin.
By the end, they had 3 minutes and 25.4 seconds to spare and it was a day when the Impreza didn’t have to hit the high notes, although wiper trouble and a differential issue meant that it wasn’t exactly a trouble-free run.
[adrotate group=”11″]Such was the relaxed nature of their lead, Jennings stalled at the first corner of the morning’s action, but he was soon pulling ever further away.
The win ends a period of frustration for Jennings in Galway and for Kennedy the win comes 20 years to the weekend from when he called the notes for Bertie Fisher’s triumph in Galway in 1996.
Jennings profited yesterday when Tim McNulty and Declan Boyle both crashed out and it was just a matter of getting through Sunday’s stages – which he did.
Joseph McGonigle and Ciaran Geaney were the third crew home in class 5, the R5 and S2000 cars. Their S2000 Skoda was seventh in the overall standings and the Donegal pair had some cracking times today.
Marty Gallagher and Dean O’Sullivan from Letterkenny were second in class 2.
Baird and Patterson were just 1.8 seconds behind Eugene Meegan last night and the lead swapped back and forward between them today before Meegan’s BMW left the road on stage 12.
From there, there was only one winner.
The blue Escort of Patterson, with Baird calling the notes, was 1 minute 9.5 seconds ahead of Tom Flaherty and Patrick Curley.
There was success, too, for another Donegal co-driver with Kilmacrennan’s Paddy Robinson on board with Group N victor David Guest.
There was a great weekend for Dungloe’s Patrick McHugh and Pauric O’Donnell who were foirth in the national rally and first in class 13, while Ardara’s John Watters and Shane O’Donnell were second in class 14.
Tags:
