Eddie Doherty and his Limerick co-driver Tom Murphy were crowned Triton Showers Motorsport Ireland National Rally Champions after taking victory on Sunday’s Loughrea Plant & Tool Hire Clare Stages Rally.
The Skoda Fabia crew started and finished the rally in front, and with main rival Josh Moffett sidelined early, their maiden national crown was secured with one round still to go.
The Ennis-based event, organised by Clare Motor Club, marked the penultimate round of the championship and featured nine stages around Ruan and Ballinruan. Changing weather throughout the day kept crews guessing, but Doherty’s cautious approach paid off.
Reigning champion Josh Moffett, partnered by Keith Moriarty, had to retire after the morning loop when his Hyundai i20 R5 suffered a broken front hub. That mechanical issue not only ended his challenge in Clare but effectively handed the title to Doherty, as Moffett could no longer close the gap before the Bantry finale.
Declan Boyle had been second for most of the day in his Skoda Fabia RS Rally2. A puncture on one of the afternoon stages cost him over 20 seconds, but he held on to secure another podium in second place.
Behind him, his son Michael Boyle delivered one of the best drives of his career. With Stephen Joyce on the notes for the first time, he steered another Fabia RS Rally2 to third overall. Joyce, who was making his debut alongside the young Donegal driver, marked the day with his own maiden trip to the overall rostrum.
Further back, class leaders Barry McLaughlin and Barry McBride overcame alternator and battery problems in their Ford Escort Mk1 to complete the top eight overall.
Navan’s Cian Caldwell and Ballinode’s Paul McPhillips not only won Class 2 in their Peugeot 208 Rally4 but also secured a sensational ninth place overall. It marked the first time a Rally4 car has finished inside the top ten of an Irish National Rally.
The result all but sealed the class title for Caldwell and with it a nomination for the Billy Coleman Award.
