Buckley and Kelly throw Irish Tarmac title race wide open with Circuit win

Buckley and Kelly throw Irish Tarmac title race wide open with Circuit win

POINTS:

Josh Moffett 52

Callum Devine 48

David Kelly 44

Eddie Doherty 43

Sam Touzel 25

The NAPA Auto Parts Irish Tarmac Rally Championship has been blown wide open following a landmark victory for Killarney co-driver Shane Buckley and Donegal’s David Kelly at the Circuit of Ireland.

The result means the series has seen three different winners in the opening three rounds. With the championship now heading for Buckley’s home turf at the Rally of the Lakes in May, the title race is wide open.

Kelly and Buckley claimed the win after a demanding two-day encounter in Tyrone, marking a career-first ITRC overall victory for both.

The result continues a fantastic run for Kelly, coming just weeks after his maiden national win in Mayo.

 For Rockfield native Buckley, the win ends a long wait for the top step of a podium, with his last overall victory dating back to the 2018 Carrick-on-Suir Forestry Rally alongside Daniel Cronin.

The pair first teamed up last season at the Sligo Rally, an event they led before a late retirement. They secured their first podium together with a second-place finish at the Donegal Forestry Rally last November, but this Easter win marks their arrival as genuine Tarmac title contenders.

By winning the famous Easter classic, Buckley joins an illustrious list of Kerry navigators to have conquered the Circuit of Ireland. Noel O’Sullivan holds two previous wins from 2025 and 2023, while Paul Nagle took the honours alongside the late Craig Breen in 2019. Tralee resident and Athlone native Dermot O’Gorman remains a three-time winner of the event, having guided Derek McGarrity to victory in 2004 and 2005, following an earlier win with Austin MacHale in 1993.

The championship leaderboard have taken a fresh look as the crews prepare for the May Bank Holiday weekend in Killarney.

Moffett and Hayes brought their Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 home in second place to add to their West Cork win, with just half a second separating the crews at the finish. Kelly inherited the lead after an off-road excursion for early leaders Callum Devine and Noel O’Sullivan.

Moffett’s challenge was hampered by a puncture a stage later, allowing Kelly and Buckley into the lead but Moffett kept the pressure on and only 0.5 of a second separated the crews at the finish,

Devine and Muckross man O’Sullivan eventually recovered to eighth overall. The result leaves them with a point to prove as they chase a fifth consecutive Rally of the Lakes win next month.

The Kerry success in Dungannon was not limited to the overall standings. Lissivgeen schoolteacher Elaine Ní Shé secured a class victory, guiding Richard O’Lone to the top of the Rally3 field. The pair campaigned their Ford Fiesta Rally3 through the demanding stages to claim the win in the category.

Castleisland’s Denny Greaney guided Ronan Campbell to fifth in the Historic category in their Ford Escort RS1800

Kelly and Buckley have little time to celebrate, as they are entered in this weekend’s Monaghan Stages Rally, round three of the Triton Showers Motorsport Ireland National Rally Championship.

Meanwhile the official launch of the 2026 Assess Ireland Rally of the Lakes takes place at 5pm on Saturday  at Gleneagle Hotel.

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