Kelly shines on Lakeland Rally
Eamonn Kelly and co-driver Conor Mohan turned heads at Saturday’s Lakeland Rally, delivering an impressive performance.
The Sligo Pallets Forest Rally Championship headed to Enniskillen for its fourth stop of the season
The ever-exciting Lakeland Stages Rally featured six stages including a daunting blast over the full 26km Ballintempo test on both loops.
Kelly, driving a Ford Fiesta Rally3 with co-driver Conor Mohan, achieved a remarkable second-place overall finish. This feat was reminiscent of his father Donagh’s legendary performances in the Mitsubishi Lancer E9.
“It was nice to compete in the Lakeland’s for the first time, I spent years watching mydad race there but never actually got to do the stages myself. Fair play to Enniskillen Motor Club for a great event,” said Kelly.
“It was nice to show the capabilities of the rally car at home. I definitely think there is more in it too, they’re an extremely capable machine despite not having the legs of the Rally2 cars. Hopefull, we can do a bit more at home towards the end of the year and see if we can push up that leaderboard again.”
In Class 2, a trio of young and talented drivers, including Craig Rahill, Ryan MacHugh, and Cian Caldwell, competed in Ford Fiesta Rally4s.
Rahill, partnered with Conor Smith secured a third-place finish in the 2WD category and 10th overall.
It was the perfect way to bounce back after the disappointment of retiring from the previous weekend’s Rali Ceredigion with mechanical issues.
“I’m thrilled to finish third in two-wheel-drive and tenth overall,” Rahill said. “That 26-kilometre stage is something else – pure commitment. I really enjoyed it and am happy to bounce back from last weekend’s result.”
The result puts Rahill in the Class 2 lead with just two rounds of the 2024 Forest Rally Championship left to run.
There was disappointment for Ryan MacHugh, who unfortunately slipped off the road while in contention for class honours.
“We were quickest on the first stage but were off the road on stage three,” MacHugh said. “I got to the end of the stage but we were over time so had to retire.”
Caldwell and stand-in co-driver Calum Maguire finished fifth in the Rally4 class in their Fiesta.
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