Moffett Makes History with fourth consecutive National title

Moffett Makes History with fourth consecutive National title

Josh Moffett and Keith Moriarty etched their names into Irish rallying history on Saturday, securing their fourth consecutive Triton Showers Motorsport Ireland National Rally Championship title.

Their dominant performance on the Donegal Harvest Rally ensured Moffett claimed his fourth driver’s title and Moriarty his third co-driver championship.

Moffett’s achievement is unprecedented, as no other driver has won the national title four times in a row.

Niall Maguire’s previous three wins came in 1999, 2002, and 2004 while Declan Boyle won in 2013, 2014, and 2019.

Moriarty’s victory also makes him the second co-driver to win the title three times, but the first to do so consecutively.

Moriarty’s Limerick Motor Club colleague Anthony Nestor’s three titles happened in 1994, 1995 and 1999.

While Callum Devine, co-driven by Noel O’Sullivan, claimed the overall rally win for the fourth time in their Skoda Fabia, their victory did not count towards the championship points. Therefore, all eyes were on the title battle behind them.

Heading into Donegal, four drivers had a realistic chance of securing the championship. Daniel Cronin and Eddie Doherty shared the championship lead, closely followed by Josh Moffett and Sam Moffett. With 22 points on offer to the winner, including a bonus point for winning the PowerStage, the Donegal Harvest Rally would likely decide the title.

Cronin initially took the lead, setting the second-fastest time on stage one. However, as the rally progressed, Josh Moffett and Moriarty made a strong charge, overtaking all their title rivals and taking the lead in the championship standings. Sam Moffett and James O’Reilly followed closely behind, just 2.4 seconds adrift of his sibling.

Doherty lost time with a puncture and Cronin’s rally ended prematurely after a collision on stage seven, while Sam Moffett also suffered a puncture and dropped well down the order on stage 8.

These setbacks paved the way for Josh Moffett to clinch his fourth consecutive title.

“We worked hard for it, we were not fast this morning, but we had a very strong afternoon,” said Moffett at the finish ramp. “We are over the moon, the National Championship has always been good to us, it is a great championship, the dropped score rule keeps it open for everyone and it certainly helped us this year.”

As a result of all the dramas suffered by Cronin, Murphy and Sam Moffett, there was a three-way tie for third place.

Once the count back rules were applied Moffett Senior took second place, Cronin third and Doherty fourth.

It was equally tight in the co-driver’s championship, with O’Reilly taking second, Burke third and Murphy fourth.

Michael Boyle and Dermot McCafferty secured a strong third-place rally finish overall in their Volkswagen Polo R5. The Citroen C3 Rally 2 crew of Desi Henry and Shane Byrne were fourth.

In an unprecedented situation, both Boyle and Henry shared equal time on the final PowerStage and were both awarded the bonus point.

Modified Masters

Kevin Gallagher and Ryan Moore’s impressive seventh-place finish in their Darrian T90 GTR secured the overall Modified category championship title. 

Michael Carbin and Dean O’Sullivan claimed the MKll challenge title, adding to their Class 20 award from 2023.

Carbin switched from his former Mitsubishi Lancer E9 to a Ford Escort earlier this season and, surprisingly, said that the Donegal Harvest Rally was his first wet rally in the car.

Junior Rally

The Junior Rally was filled with both heartbreak and elation. Kyle McDaid led early on but was forced to retire due to a mechanical issue.

Jordan Jervis and James McBrearty finished third on the day to secure the Triton Showers National Junior Championship.

“It has been a long year but we are delighted to get the championship,” said Jervis. “I am going to enjoy this day.”

Jason Wilkinson and Ciaran McGinley won the Junior Rally itself.

Championship Prizegiving

The Triton Showers National Rally Championship prizegiving will take place in Athlone on November 16.