Josh Moffett Takes Maiden Win In Sligo

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It was a day to remember for Josh Moffett and the Combilift rallying team as the young Monaghan driver took his first overall rally win in Sligo. Co-driven by John Rowan the crew won eight of the nine stages to take victory by over three minutes. When it was announced mid - week that Josh would be taking the Fiesta WRC from his brother Sam for the event everyone was keen to see how his transferal from Group N to WRC machinery would go.

Josh Moffett and John Rowan on their way to victory

Trevor Bustard John McCafferty - Group N Winners

 The day didn't start well for some of the top competitors with Frank Wray retiring after stage 1 with brake issues. Paddy McVeigh led the event after stage 1 by 4.9 seconds but a spin on stage 2 left him with light damage and cost him the lead. Sam Moffett was out in a brand new class 20 Mitsubishi Evo 9 and lay 3rd after the opening loop. A fantastic battle between the Evo 9s of Martin Doherty, Pat Kirk and Trevor Bustard was brewing and it was Kirk who who led Group N going into the first service by 14 seconds from Doherty with Bustard a further 6 seconds behind. More drama was to follow mid way through the second loop as gearbox issues on the road section between stage four and five forced Paddy McVeigh into retirement and elevated Sam Moffett into second. Pat Kirk was promoted to third but the battle between the Group N trio was still very much alive with the gap to Doherty now just under nine seconds after the second loop with Bustard a further 13 seconds behind. Into the final loop and drama was about to hit yet again as Sam Moffett retired on stage 8 with a broken wishbone, denying the team a famous Combilift Rallying 1-2. That development should have promoted Pat Kirk to second but Martin Doherty was on a charge and heading into the final stage he found himself 11 seconds ahead of Kirk and second overall. After McVeigh's retirement Josh Moffett had the breathing space to get to grips with his Fiesta and it became very clear he was learning fast. His times improved noticeably throughout the day and the size of his winning margin is a testament to that. It was Martin Doherty and Kevin Flannagan that took the runners up spot after a fantastic final loop. Pat Kirk and John McElhinney were 25 seconds behind in third. This meant that Group N went to Trevor Bustard and John McCafferty who took the class by over two minutes from Sean and Claire Gallagher. The win was especially pleasing for Bustard after a big accident during this event two years ago had a big impact on their rallying.The modified section was won by Gary Kiernan and Niall Tierney. The Cavan crew dominated in their class 13R Escort from start to finish and came home over a minute and a half ahead of his nearest rivals Brian Armstrong and Mark Tierney in their class 12 Escort. Kiernan put in an excellent performance and came home 4th overall.

Gary Kiernan and Niall Tierney took the modified honours

In class 2 it was another win for David Keller. Co-driven by Dean O'Suillivan the Donegal crew beat class 2 championship leaders Brian Quigley and Seamus McTigue by just over a minute and 19 seconds. In class 3 Mark Ewing and John Egan ran out comprehensive winners over Raymond Gilleece and Anthony Gilligan. In class 5 Eamon McCafferty and Michael Donnellan were the sole entrants and got their Ford Puma to the finish. In class 6 a close battle for the win saw Calvin Beattie and Emmett Sherry take the win by 37.9 seconds from Cormac Phelan and Katya Auhl. Roger Kennedy and Wendy Blackledge were the sole entrants in class 7 and got their Peugeot 306 to the finish. Damien O'Reilly and Martin Byrne ran out clear winners in class 9 beating their nearest rivals by over four minutes. Mark and James Ewing took class 10 by over four minutes in their Peugeot 205. In class 11F Alan Smyth and Martin Swinburne took a narrow 5.3 seconds win over Alan Lawson and Sean Harte. Class 11R went to David Moffett and Fintan Sherry winning the class by almost two minutes. Class 12 honours went to Brian Armstrong and Mark Tierney beating Martin Toner and Gary McCrudden by just under 10 seconds. Shane Buckley and Keefe Kilcoyne were the sole entry in class 13F and got their Honda Civic to the finish. Class 14 went to David Quinn and Enda McGonigle who were the sole survivors of the class. Anthony Cairns and Mark Preston dominated class 15 winning by well over 11 minutes. The junior rally went to Niall O'Sullivan and Sean O'Crowley who managed to battle mechanical issues to win by 46 seconds. Michael Carbin and Emmett McCooey were the sole survivors of class 20.


So with round 4 over us there is only one round of the Sligo Pallets Border Rally Championship left. October 11 will see the Donegal Harvest Stages Rally host the final round of the championship and no doubt many of the championship competitors will make the trip up to the North West once again.


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