First win for McGonigle while Mackarel tops NI Forest Rally Challenge points

Following a final stage shootout Niall McGonigle secured a first career win at the McGrady Insurance Motorsport UK NI Rally Challenge opener in Fivemiletown after a day-long race with Vivian Hamill, writes William Neill.

The IN Sport Ford Fiesta R5 driver held the lead by narrow margins right up to the penultimate stage where Hamill nipped ahead by a mere 0.2 seconds at the Samsonas supported event.

“Let’s go for it” McGonigle said to co-driver Caolan McKenna before the final pass of the three-mile Crocknagrally test in an all-out effort to bag a win from their Volkswagen Polo R5 rival, who had got the better of the Clady man at the previous Killarney outing.

“I don’t think words can describe how winning a rally feels – Fivemiletown being a really special one for me, “said McGonigle. “The pace was hot from the word go and we had no choice other than going flat out to the very end.”

Hamill and Lorcan Moore were 0.8 seconds down on SS1 – the first pass of the longest stage at 6.4-mile. It was the repeat (for SS4) before the eventual runner up stamped a fastest time to go on to do it again three more times before the day was out and create that final victory chase.

^{Derek Mackarel sits at the top of the McGrady Insurance NI Forest Rally Challenge points.}

^{Photo: William Neill}

A podium place finish was enough for Derek Mackarel to now head the McGrady Insurance NI Forest Rally Challenge in a Class 10-spec Fiesta R5, 19 seconds back from Hamill. A second fastest stage time was the best performance of the day to be unmoved from third in the rally standings throughout. Over the weekend busy co-driver Darren Curran also won his class in the Cavan Motor Club night navigation trial.

Despite a boost issue, a pre-rally test had Skoda Fabia R5 mounted Ryan Caldwell in good form with fourth, aided by a misfire problem for Omagh’s Gareth Mimnagh late in the day. Caldwell and Shane Byrne were 21.4 seconds down on Mackarel’s pace but secured their place by 17.4 seconds to have the top five separated by a minute.

James McCarville and Conal McNulty were sixth all day in a Rally2 edition of the Fiesta while Shane Murray started out ninth and crept up to McCarville, by going faster on two stages in the second-half. Murray’s co-driver, Ben Teggart, described the first outing in a Fiesta R5 as “incredible”. The gap was 8.1 seconds.

Heading home with second in the points, and a class winner in eighth overall, was Paul Britton with Graham Henderson on the notes.

TWO-WHEEL-DRIVE

_{Hugh McDaid and Martin Byrne were the fastest two-wheel-drive following a disappointing day for both Shane McGirr and Adrian Hetherington. Photo: William Neill}

Hugh McQuaid, with Martin Byrne, said it was his lucky day to win the two-wheel-drive category in a Ford Escort RS1800 by exactly half a minute.

Co-driven by Alan Johnson, Sam Stewart had a good day with second in class, scoring top class points and third overall of the registered drivers following much misfortune for other front runners.

_{Top two-wheel-drive point scorer in the McGrady Insurance NI Forest Rally Challenge, Sam Stewart slides his Ford Escort Mk2. Photo: William Neill}

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