There are three Kerry co-drivers in the top for this weekend’s Donegal International Rally.
A maximum entry of rally cars will tackle renowned stages like Malin Head, Knockalla, and Atlantic Drive across the three days of jam-packed action.
Callum Devine and Muckross man Noel O’Sullivan are top seeds and will defend their maiden Donegal victory from 12 months ago.
Their Irish Tarmac Rally Championship campaign suffered blows in West Cork and the Circuit of Ireland but a much-needed win in Killarney has put them back in the mix.
Seeded second, Keith Cronin has been the man on form so far in the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship. The 2016 Irish Tarmac Champion is looking for his third win in this year’s series. He will be co-driven by Mikie Galvin from Aghadoe.
Cronin holds a 13.5-point lead over Matt Edwards in the Irish Tarmac Championship with three rounds still to go with Devine a further 17.5 points back in third.
Cronin’s most recent outing in Donegal was in 2016, the year of his and Galvin’s previous Tarmac Championship victory.
On that occasion, he lost out to the late Manus Kelly by just 0.5 of a second for the rally win, following a final stage showdown, so Cronin could be forgiven for regarding the event as unfinished business, but he is under no illusion regarding the task in hand.
“It’s a long, long, rally up there, 275 stage kilometres, there are so many opportunities for things to go against you, so we may perhaps take a more gradual approach than we have for some of the other rounds so far,” he said. “Matt and Callum, and Josh Moffett, have much more recent experience there, Callum and Josh have won the last three between them, Matt finished second last year and led the year before. It’ll be a tall order to get the best of any of them. Whoever the winners turn out to be, they’ll have a good weekend’s work done.”
Welsh visitor Meirion Evans will make his second Irish appearance of the year in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 and he will be co-driven by Milltown’s. Ger Conway.
There is plenty of Kerry interest in the national section too. Fresh from their recent Garda Rally win, Donegal’s Declan Gallagher and his Aghadoe co-driver John McCarthy will compete in a Toyota Starlet.
Colin O’Donoghue and Kieran O’Donoghue will be hoping to repeat their Killarney Rally of the Lake’s success in their Ford Escort Mk2.
West Kerry’s Elaine NÍ Shé will co-drive for Sean Devine in a Ford Fiesta while Glenflesk-based driver Bob Moran will also compete in an Escort.
Fossa’s Sam Leech will drive a Honda EP3. Father and daughter crew Jason and Megan Costello will make their Donegal debut in the family Ford Escort.
In the historic section, Tommy Commane will co-drive for Craig Macwilliam in a Ford Escort RS1600.
There are three competitors in the Sunday-only Junior Rally
Aaron O’Connor will co-drive for Cork’s Dylan Sheehan and the all-Kerry crew of Keith O’Connor and Nial Myers will compete in a similar Honda Civic.
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