Donagh Kelly and Rory Kennedy sealed a memorable victory on the Killarney Historic Rally, finishing one place better than their result 12 months earlier.
The BMW M3 crew finished 23.7 seconds ahead of Tomas Davies and Shane Buckley’s Ford Escort RS1800. It was a perfect start to the defense of Davies’ Wales Motorsport Fabrication Historic Irish Tarmac Rally Championship crown as he picked up top points on the first round of the 2025 NAPA Auto Parts Irish Tarmac Championship.
John O’Donnell completed the Killarney Historic Rally podium on his first visit to Killarney since switching to the increasingly popular BMW M3. The Donegal driver found a great turn of pace as the single-day event progressed, climbing from ninth after the opening stage. O’Donnell’s co-driver Paddy Robinson secured top co-drivers’ points in the Wales Motorsport Historic ITRC opener.
Junior WRC crew, Eamonn Kelly and Conor Mohan, took the early Killarney Historic lead after a mighty sunrise effort through Moll’s Gap. Kelly went eight seconds faster than Davies through Killarney’s opener but his run at the front ended after falling off the road on Caragh Lake.
His father Donagh inherited the lead on stage three, controlling it until the rally’s close in darkness on Saturday evening.
Davies, meanwhile, slipped 16.5 seconds behind Kelly and his focus turned to 2022 Historic Irish Tarmac Rally Champions Neil Williams and Anthony O’Sullivan.
Williams finished stage three 12.5 seconds off Davies’ pace with Denis Moynihan a further 7.6 seconds back in fourth.
A spin on stage four, Moll’s Gap, cost Moynihan a bundle of time as he slipped back to 10th. That opened up a three-way fight for fourth spot. It was three BMW M3s fighting for position with Fergus O’Meara enjoying his M3 debut to grab fourth on Moll’s Gap. 5.6 seconds covered O’Meara, O’Donnell, and Alan Ring at Killarney’s halfway point.
Their fight for fourth became a fight for third when Williams and O’Sullivan were left stranded on Caragh Lake with a broken timing belt.
O’Meara’s positive M3 debut ran into trouble on Killarney’s penultimate test, a wet Kilcummin. A spin cost O’Meara the guts of 30 seconds, leaving him fifth overall with one stage to go.
Meanwhile, O’Donnell was going from strength to strength and caught O’Meara through the same stage. The Donegal driver’s push gave him his first stage win of the day, putting him into the podium places.
O’Donnell held onto his podium spot with a strong time through Killarney’s finale. His effort was only bettered by Cathan McCourt who was charging back from mechanical woes on Saturday morning. McCourt’s stage win propelled him ahead of Ring and O’Meara to finish fourth.
Ring and Adrian Deasy rounded out the top five, 22.1 seconds ahead of Mark Falvey and James O’Brien.
O’Meara fell out of the top five in Killarney’s final night-stage. A hard-charging Greer nipped ahead of him by two seconds on the decisive test, leaving O’Meara eighth. The local pilot has many positives from his M3 debut, including third-placed Wales Motorsport Historic ITRC points.
Peadar and Grace Walsh increased their speed through Killarney’s eight stages to take top points in Category 2. The Ford Escort RS1600 crew’s fight back to 22nd overall was enough to give Grace second-placed points in Historic ITRC’s co-drivers’ championship.
Less than five seconds behind, Alan Watkins was delighted to claim a class win aboard his Ford Escort RS1800. Watkins and Eoghan McCarthy sealed maximum points in Category 3.
Top points in ITRC’s Class H4 went to Endaf Owens and Tommy Commane while Declan Jackson and James McCarney sealed ITRC’s Class H6 honours.
Killarney Historic Rally top five
1 Kelly / Kennedy (BMW M3) 1:02:06.4s
2 Davies / Buckley (Ford Escort RS1800) +23.7s
3 O’Donnell / Robinson (M3) +44.2
4 McCourt / McNulty (Escort RS1800) +1:15.0
5 Ring / Deasy (M3) +1:20.1
Words: ADAM HALL/ITRC Press Officer | Photos: DAVID HARRIGAN [Images must not be used in any way without prior written consent of the photographer]
