JOSH Moffett and Andy Hayes have secured their second Irish Tarmac Rally Championship title after finishing fourth on the Ulster Rally behind title rivals Meirion Evans and Jonathan Jackson.
Four rally wins through the 2022 Acesigns Irish Tarmac season put the 2018 champions in a strong position heading into the championship's final round, the seventh and final points-scoring round of the ITRC. Evans and Jackson were the only crew that could take the title from them.
The Welsh duo duly won the Modern Tyres Ulster Rally in a Volkswagen Polo R5, their first-ever international victory, but it still wasn't enough to usurp Monaghan man Moffett and Hayes from the top of the championship in their Hyundai i20 R5.
"We are over the moon," said Moffett at the end of Ulster's final stage around Newry. "It has been a tough weekend, we've had to take things back a few gears, but to get here at the end - it is brilliant.
"We have been listening for any noise or rattle in the car over the two days but to be fair the car has been faultless all year. It is a credit to Tom [Gahan] and the boys."
Reigning Northern Ireland Rally champion Jonathan Greer had been expected to challenge for the win but an overshoot early on Saturday effectively killed off any prospect of that happening and so holding on to second place became the priority for the Carryduff man. Rally newcomer Jason Mitchell did not make life easy for him, however, as he steadily grew in confidence with every passing mile sitting alongside Paddy McCrudden.
A slow puncture three stages from the end – which Greer and Niall Burns elected to continue driving on rather than stop and change – briefly elevated Mitchell into the runner-up spot only for Greer's experience of competing at the sport's sharp end helping him to wrestle it back.
Stuart Biggerstaff – the son of Denis and himself a former Northern Ireland Rally Championship title holder – bagged fifth from the fresher Ford Fiesta R5 entered by Niall Henry. Another surname well-known in local motorsport circles graced the top 10 as Michael McGarrity safely brought his father Derek's Skoda Fabia R5 home in seventh from Marty Toner (BMW 1 Series) in eighth and the two Ford Escort Mk2s of John Devlin and Camillus Bradley in ninth and tenth.
Desi Henry started the 2022 Ulster Rally the brightest in his Ford Fiesta Rally2, building an 18.5-second advantage after three stages on Friday evening. Unfortunately for Henry, who was looking for his first international win, slippery conditions on Saturday brought his rally to an early end.
Henry's Rally2 Fiesta slid into a gate post on Saturday's opening Tyrone's Ditches test. A narrow muck-ridden lane was the scene of the incident with Henry first to tackle the treacherous conditions as he ran first on the road.
That handed the Ulster Rally lead to Evans, who won the wet stage by 17.1 seconds. Evans had been locked in a battle with Jonny Greer but the Welshman's fastest time gave him a 23.3-second lead.
Just behind, Jason Mitchell was revelling in the mucky conditions. The Strabane-based farmer slipped ahead of Moffett and into the top three as the latter continued to focus on surviving the challenging championship decider.
Evans and Jackson extended their lead on the next two stages despite completing Mount Pleasant with an odd slick tyre paired with three wets. A puncture on the road section to stage six forced the Welsh crew into running the unusual tyre combination.
A puncture spoiled Greer's hopes of a final loop fight with Evans on stage seven and dropped the Northern Ireland Rally Champion to third. Evans sealed his fourth stage win in a row on Tyrone's Ditches and now held a two-minute and sixteen-second lead with two tests remaining.
As it turned out, it was a lead Evans was able to manage perfectly to clinch a popular maiden international rally win and first overall victory in Ireland.
"It was been a long time coming," said Evans. "This is only our second year doing the [Irish Tarmac] championship so I think it makes sense to come back. There isn't anything I would rather do instead, to be honest."
A brace of fastest times for Greer and co-driver Niall Burns secured second place for their Citroen C3 Rally just ahead of Mitchell and Paddy McCrudden.
Stuart Biggerstaff and Anthony Nestor completed Ulster Rally's top five, the Fiesta crew's best Irish Tarmac finish of the year.
In addition to Desi Henry, Alan Carmichael (Hyundai i20 R5) and modified driver Damian Toner (Ford Escort Mk2) were among the big names who failed in their efforts to make it to the finish ramp at Modern Tyres' state-of-the-art facilities at Carnbane Industrial Estate. Toner had been on course for a top five result but a crash on the very last stage put paid to that.
Event Director Philip Murray said: "Once again, the team at Northern Ireland Motor Club have pulled off another fantastic Ulster Rally. My congratulations go to them and also rally winners Meirion Evans and Jonathan Jackson, and new Irish Tarmac champions Josh Moffett and Andy Hayes.
"I must also say a special thanks to our sponsors – Modern Tyres – and the tireless band of volunteers and marshals, without whom running the Ulster Rally would not be possible," added Murray. "It was great to see so many fans out on the stages, in and around the service park, and at town centre regroups across both days. We look forward to seeing them again in 2023."
ITRC 3
Jason Dickson and Dylan Doonan produced a perfect performance in their Ford Fiesta Rally4 to seal a one minute and 13-second class victory and Dickson's fourth top-points finish in a row.
Joseph Kelly and Ronan Comerford finished second after battling through Ulster's demanding roads.
Third place went to Ryan Caldwell and Grace O'Brien who were managing their pace knowing that podium points were all they needed to clinch the ITRC 3 title. In the end, Dickson finished the seven-round series just one point shy of Caldwell's winning tally.
Modified
Marty Toner and Ben Teggart picked up a surprise two-wheel-drive win on the Ulster Rally after Marty's brother Damian suffered a bruising crash on the final stage.
Simon Reid finished fourth in modifieds, crucially ahead of Colin Byrne, to seal the Modified Irish Tarmac Rally Championship with co-driver John Murphy.
Damian Toner and Denver Rafferty were Ulster's star attractions on Friday night when they set a series of giant-killing times in their Ford Escort Mk2.
Toner rounded out the opening day's action with a second-fastest time overall on Slieve Gullion's night-time pass, beating eventual rally winner Meirion Evans and Irish Tarmac Champion Josh Moffett on the mountain epic.
Toner was untouchable in two-wheel-drive and led the Ulster National Rally right up to the final stage. The County Armagh driver looked set to finish fifth overall and net second in ITRC's modified championship but a heavy collision with a bridge on Mount Pleasant instead added them to the retirements list with just six kilometres to go.
Marty Toner lost one minute on Ulster's opening stage after power steering issues but fought back straightaway, eventually finishing eighth overall and top modified crew.
Damian Toner's final stage accident allowed Colin Byrne and Gareth Black to collect an extra couple of ITRC points that had them and their co-drivers, Stephen Quin and Connor Dunlop, finish second and third in the series' final modified standings.
Historic
Another maximum haul of points secured the Historic Irish Tarmac Rally Championship for Neil Williams and Anthony O'Sullivan on the Ulster Rally.
The Ford Escort Mk2 crew led four title protagonists into the eight-round series' final round.
Duncan Williams, Berian Richards, and Craig MacWilliam were all in contention for the drivers' championship while Ashley Trimble and Guy MacWilliam still stood a chance of winning the co-drivers' title.
Luke McCarthy and Brian Duggan, who were second in the standings unfortunately had to withdraw from the finale in the Ulster's preceding week.
Ulster's demanding stages took an early toll on the title contenders. Trimble looked to have made the perfect start alongside David Armstrong in their Mk2 Escort. The local crew were within touching distance of Williams and O'Sullivan with one Friday night stage to go.
Unfortunately, Armstrong and Trimble's rally ended on stage three which was run in darkness through Slieve Gullion. The Father-Son partnership of Craig and Guy MacWilliam also had their championship hopes dampened when they stopped on Gullion's first hairpin.
Richards finished Friday with third-place points but with Neil Williams securing a maximum score of 17 points after day one, Duncan Williams was the only other driver who could snatch the title from him.
Neil Williams and Anthony O'Sullivan's typically fast start to the rally ensured the West Cork co-driver would bring ITRC's Historic Co-Driver's crown to Clonakilty.
Heavy rain and mucky farmland stages greeted the remaining crews on Saturday morning. Duncan Williams and Guy Weaver went on a charge to set the fastest historic time on Tyrone Ditches' opener.
Their rallying rollercoaster took a tough blow on the road section to the next stage, however, when clutch failure left them stranded.
Neil Williams now held a cushion of points that meant he was ITRC's 2022 Historic Champion. Williams and O'Sullivan cruised home to survive the remaining Ulster stages and win the Ulster Historic Rally, successfully completing a hat-trick of top achievements over the two-day rally.
Local crew Trevor Wilson and Paul Mulholland set three fastest times on Saturday to finish second in the Ulster Historic Rally - a great result for Wilson who was debuting his Porsche 911.
Berian Richards and Frank Curtin completed the top three in their Mk2 Escort.
Despite the MacWilliams' best efforts, scoring maximum class points on their return for Sunday's six stages, Philip McKibbon and Tommy Commane did enough to claim the championship's Category 2 honours.
Iarla Carty won the Category 4 title while Luke McCarthy and Brian Duggan had already secured Appendix K ahead of the Ulster.
Modern Tyres Ulster Rally – Top 10 results:
1 Meirion Evans / Jonathan Jackson (Volkswagen Polo GTI R5) 1h 30m 17.5s;
2 Jonathan Greer / Niall Burns (Citroen C3 Rally2) + 2m 5.3s;
3 Jason Mitchell / Paddy McCrudden (Ford Fiesta Rally2);
4 Josh Moffett / Andy Hayes (Hyundai i20 R5);
5 Stuart Biggerstaff / Anthony Nestor (Ford Fiesta R5);
6 Niall Henry / Barney Mitchell (Ford Fiesta R5);
7 Michael McGarrity / Damian Garvey (Skoda Fabia R5);
8 Marty Toner / Ben Teggart (BMW 1 Series);
9 John Devlin / John McCarthy (Ford Escort Mk2);
10 Camillus Bradley / Crawford Henderson (Ford Escort Mk2).
