COUNTY Derry driver Callum Devine has spoken of his delight at equalling a Rally of the Lakes record previously shared by Billy Coleman and the late Bertie Fisher – two of Irish motorsport’s star names.
Devine raced to a 7.9-second victory from triple-British champion Matt Edwards on the two-day event, which was the fourth points-scoring round of this season’s Irish Tarmac Rally Championship.
It was Devine’s third straight win in ‘the Kingdom’ – a feat achieved by Coleman in the period from 1983 to 1985.
Fermanagh man Fisher repeated the feat from 1990 to 1992 and extended his run of visits to the top step of the podium to five in a Subaru Legacy RS and Subaru Impreza respectively.
“It is absolutely fantastic to win it three times running,” said Devine. “I wasn’t actually aware of it until the week of the rally and it is crazy to think I am emulating the people I grew up watching as a kid. You think these people are untouchable, so to have won it for a third time, I am delighted.”
A maximum score on Sunday – the first of the season for Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 driver Devine – also helps kickstart the defence of his Irish Tarmac title with team-mate Noel O’Sullivan having retired from rounds two and three, the Saint Patrick’s weekend West Cork Rally and Easter’s Circuit of Ireland.
His cause was helped by Keith Cronin finishing in fourth position in Killarney after a puncture on the penultimate Saturday test dropped him from first to sixth prior to him clawing back two places.
“We knew we needed a win coming here, we definitely did, and it wasn’t easy as we decided to sample different tyres over the weekend. It is also the first win of the year for Michelin in the Irish Tarmac Championship as well, so it’s nice to finally get that on the board for them,” said Devine.
“Going to the next round in Donegal I know Keith is going to make things very difficult for us. He was unfortunate to get a puncture here but look, we have all been there. I got one in West Cork and it meant a DNF [Did Not Finish] for us. That’s the way your luck goes sometimes in this sport.”
Meanwhile, Kesh’s Jon Armstrong ended Rally Islas Canarias – round two of the FIA European Rally Championship – seventh overall in his Motorsport Ireland-backed Ford Fiesta Rally2 with Eoin Treacy on Saturday. The result came despite Armstrong having limited experience of driving the M-Sport-developed car on asphalt.