Rovanperä backs World Rally bid

Rovanperä backs World Rally bid

Two-time world champion Kalle Rovanperä has thrown his weight behind Kerry’s  bid to host a round of the World Rally Championship after making his Irish debut at the Killarney Historic Rally.

The Finnish rally star, who competed in a Toyota Starlet alongside co-driver Jonne Halttunen, was impressed by the challenging roads and the enthusiastic fan base.

“At least the roads are difficult enough for the World Championship, and it’s clear that the fans are actually ready for it,” Rovanperä said at the finish in Killarney on Saturday evening.

Despite an early electrical issue that hampered their progress, Rovanperä and Halttunen still managed to set some impressive stage times, including the fastest time on the second run over the iconic Moll’s Gap stage.

Local hero Rob Duggan’s Ford Escort was just 1.5 seconds down on the factory Toyota driver over the famous stage.

“I wanted that one,” said Rovanperä. “Everybody had talked about Moll’s Gap being special and it was probably my favourite stage. I knew nobody had beaten Rob Duggan in this one, so it was nice to do. I think he lives at one end of the stage and goes to work at the other end, so he knows the road quite well. I have to say, he was quick – the other drivers were really fast on this event.”

Duggan won the modified class for the second time in a row, taking the win by 18.6s from Declan Gallagher’s Starlet.

“It took a two-time world champion to beat me up the Gap. I’m OK with that,” said Duggan at the finish ramp on Saturday evening.

Gallagher was co-driven by Kilcummin’s John McCarthy.

Colin O’Donoghue and Kieran O’Donoghue were third on the category despite an overheating engine in their Ford Escort.

The rally also saw a dominant performance from Donagh Kelly, who secured the overall Historic Rally victory in his BMW M3.

Second in the historic category went to Welsh visitor Tomas Davies and his London-based Killarney co-driver Shane Buckley.

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