Callum Devine seals fifth straight Rally of the Lakes triumph after dramatic duel with Doherty

The reigning champion reclaimed the Irish Tarmac lead in Killarney, while Robert Duggan, John O'Donnell and Darragh Walsh also took category honours.

KILLARNEY - NAPA Auto Parts Irish Tarmac Rally Championship

Callum Devine and Noel O'Sullivan won the Assess Ireland International Rally of the Lakes for a fifth consecutive time after seeing off sustained pressure from Eddie Doherty and Tom Murphy in a gripping two-day contest decided by just 13.2 seconds.

On the fast and unforgiving Kerry stages, the reigning champions reasserted themselves after their Circuit of Ireland disappointment, setting seven fastest times across 14 stages to move back to the top of the championship standings and underline their dominance in Killarney.

Devine's latest success was far from routine. Doherty and Murphy repeatedly threatened to end the winning streak and briefly moved ahead on Saturday, only for Devine to produce the decisive response on Sunday's return to Moll's Gap.

The rally began on Saturday morning with the iconic Moll's Gap stage, where Devine immediately laid down a marker by beating Doherty by 3.9 seconds. Kevin Eves was third quickest, while championship leader Josh Moffett lost 34 seconds after a costly fifth-gear spin.

Doherty hit back on Gortnagane to edge 0.1 seconds in front as the lead changed hands through a fluctuating Saturday morning. Moffett began to recover on Caherbarnagh, but Eves lost time after damaging the front of his Skoda on a chicane bale.

Devine regained the advantage with the fastest time on stage five, only for mixed wet and dry conditions on the afternoon's repeat of Caherbarnagh to help Doherty nose back ahead. Matthew Boyle, meanwhile, stayed fourth despite a spin costing him time on the same test.

Momentum swung again on Doon Bridge before Devine closed Saturday with another stage win on Knockrower to build a 3.5-second overnight lead. Behind the front two, the fight for the podium and the top five tightened as Matthew Boyle and Moffett closed on David Kelly and Shane Buckley, with Michael Boyle also staying in touch.

Devine extended his advantage with the fastest time on Sunday's opening Moll's Gap run, but Doherty refused to yield and cut four seconds from the gap on Ballaghbeama. Devine answered on Shanera to reassert control and carry momentum into the closing tests.

Further back, Moffett and Matthew Boyle were locked in a fierce scrap for fourth, separated by only 1.4 seconds at one stage, while Michael Boyle narrowed the deficit to the top five. Sam Touzel's hopes of a top-10 finish disappeared after a puncture cost him two minutes and dropped him from 10th to 13th.

The decisive moment came on stage 12, when Devine was 8.6 seconds quicker than Doherty through Moll's Gap to open up a commanding cushion. Doherty later said his Skoda's set-up was too soft for the high-speed test, a deficit from which he could not fully recover.

Doherty still fought back on stage 13, but the gap remained more than 13 seconds heading into the finale. In the race for fourth, Matthew Boyle eked out another 0.3 seconds over Moffett on Ballaghbeama, leaving just 1.6 seconds between them before the final showdown on Shanera.

That final stage delivered one last twist. Moffett and Matthew Boyle set the pace through Shanera, with Moffett producing the crucial run to snatch fourth place by 2.2 seconds after a determined recovery from his early setback.

Kelly and Buckley completed the overall podium in third, strengthening their championship campaign with another valuable points haul. Michael Boyle finished sixth, followed by Declan Boyle in seventh and Eamonn Kelly in eighth.

Assess Ireland International Rally of the Lakes top five:

1 Devine/O'Sullivan (Skoda Fabia Rally2) 1:26:58.9s

2 Doherty/Murphy (Fabia) +13.2s

3 Kelly/Buckley (Fabia) +1:13.4

4 Moffett/Hayes (Toyota Yaris Rally2) +1:25.7

5 Boyle/Williams (Fabia) +1:27.9

McEvoy Motorsport & Flat 2 The Hat Modified ITRC

In the modified category, local favourite Robert Duggan starred on home roads to take victory in his Ford Escort Mk2.

Duggan's opening Moll's Gap time was more than 20 seconds faster than nearest two-wheel-drive rival Conor Murphy and good enough for sixth overall, ahead of several Rally2 crews. Even a gearbox issue that left him without fifth gear on Sunday could not prevent him from sealing an emphatic three-and-a-half-minute winning margin.

Murphy had been running second before alternator trouble forced his retirement on stage 13, moving Barry Meade and Colin Fitzgerald into the runner-up spot for the closing stage.

The final Shanera test then produced a frantic finish as John Michael Kennelly and Dylan Harrington, Vincent O'Shea and Rodney Wilton all outpaced Meade on the stage after the order had shifted on the penultimate test.

Meade nevertheless held on to second by just 2.9 seconds from Kennelly, with O'Shea another 2.5 seconds back in fourth. Wilton completed the top five and collected maximum modified championship points after all three crews behind Meade beat his final-stage time.

Rally of the Lakes Modified top five:

1 Duggan/McCarthy (Ford Escort Mk2) 1:31:47.0s

2 Meade/Fitzgerald (Escort Mk2) +3:33.5s

3 Kennelly/Harrington (Escort Mk2) +3:36.4s

4 O'Shea/O'Donoghue (Darrian T90 GTR) +3:38.9s

5 Wilton/Coady (Escort Mk2) +3:42.8s

Wales Motorsport Historic ITRC

John O'Donnell and Paddy Robinson bounced back from their Circuit of Ireland disappointment by taking Historic victory in a BMW M3.

The reigning champions won all but one stage on Saturday to build a 16.6-second overnight lead over Jason McSweeney, whose best response came with the fastest time on stage seven.

O'Donnell controlled the rally through Sunday's stages to secure the win and revive his Irish Tarmac title push.

McSweeney and Liam Brennan finished second in their Ford Escort WRC, 20 seconds clear of local driver Fergus O'Meara, who completed the podium in another BMW M3.

Mark Falvey's Ford Escort RS1600 and Adrian Evans' BMW M3 completed the Historic top five.

Rally of the Lakes Historic top five:

1 O'Donnell/Robinson (BMW M3) 1:36:54.3s

2 McSweeney/Brennan (Ford Escort WRC) +40.3s

3 O'Meara/Duggan (BMW M3) +1:07.3

4 Falvey/O'Brien (Escort RS1600) +3:27.9

5 Evans/Jones (BMW M3) +5:05.2

Paul Browne Plant Hire & Civil Engineering Junior ITRC

Darragh Walsh and Gary Lombard moved into the Junior ITRC lead with a commanding class victory on Saturday's stages.

Walsh set the tone immediately by taking 39 seconds out of the field on the opening Moll's Gap stage and never looked in danger of surrendering that advantage.

Aaron and Caolan Reid held second throughout, keeping title rivals Graham and Trevor Roche at bay until the Roche crew dropped out of third on stage five, opening the door for others to challenge for the podium.

Cian Hynes and Cathal Fallon eventually grabbed third on the final stage with a late charge past Dylan Sheehan, while Catherine Walsh completed the top five.

Assess Ireland International Rally of the Lakes Junior top five:

1 Walsh/Lombard (Honda Civic) 52:10.3s

2 Reid/Reid (Honda Civic) +2:02.8s

3 Hynes/Fallon (Honda Civic) +3:36.8

4 Sheehan/O'Riordan (Honda Civic) +3:43.4

5 Walsh/O'Driscoll (Honda Civic) +4:12.7