There was late drama at Sunday’s Raven’s Rock Rally in Waterford as Josh Moffett claimed an unexpected but deserved win after early leader Eddie Doherty hit trouble.
Doherty had led the rally from the start in his Skoda Fabia R5, but a power steering failure before stage seven led to a late arrival at time control. The delay cost him a six-minute penalty, dropping him out of contention and handing the win to Moffett.
Moffett, co-driven by Keith Moriarty in a Hyundai i20 R5, had been struggling with engine problems throughout the day especially on the long third stage. Despite this, he stayed in the mix and was in the right place to capitalise on Doherty’s misfortune.
Desi Henry and Dean O’Sullivan finished second overall in their Ford Fiesta Rally2. They had a clean run and even took a fastest time on stage seven, showing solid pace all day.
Declan Boyle and Patrick Walsh were third and the top crew from the Boyle family. Sam Moffett and Shane Buckley were in the hunt for a podium but dropped time with a spin on stage six. They ended the rally in fourth.
The result means Doherty loses the lead of the Triton Showers Motorsport Ireland National Rally Championship lead.
The Moffett brothers are now tied on points, but when dropped scores are applied, Josh leads the title race as the series enters its second half.
In the Modified class, James Stafford and Richard Cleary were the fastest crew in their Darrian T90 GTR, finishing an impressive ninth overall.
However, as they are not registered for championship points, the class win in terms of the series went to Chris Armstrong and Darren Curran in their Ford Escort Mk2.
