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Picture: Martin Walsh
A tactical tyre strategy on the part of Matt Edwards and David Moynihan helped them to victory in today’s Circuit of Ireland Rally in their Ford Fiesta Rally 2.
They finished the event with a 14.4 second margin over Keith Cronin and Killarney’s Mikie Galvin in their Fiesta.
It is Cronin and Galvin who retain the lead of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship, however, for the next round, the Killarney International Rally of the Lakes at the beginning of May.
The event saw the lead change over between the two top crews a couple of times during the course of the day. Edwards and Moynihan headed the field after the opening stage but only by .4 of a second from Cronin and Galvin, with Callum Devine and Noel O’Sullivan in third, seven seconds off the lead.
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Devine reported that his Volkswagen Polo cut out briefly on the stage but was more concerned about his suspension set-up which he found to be too soft.
Cronin and Galvin went fastest on the second stage, by one second, to lead Edwards and Moynihan by .6.
The Killarney and District Motor Club crew added 1.3 seconds to their advantage on the next, while their rivals took back 1.7 on the fourth to leave the gap at just .2 of a second heading to the mid-rally service in Dungannon.
Devine and O’Sullivan crashed out on a stage three, seriously denting the reigning Tarmac champions’ hopes of retaining their crown. This left Josh Moffett and Andy Hayes third on the leaderboard, despite a half minute time loss when they encountered cattle on the same stage.
With rain forecast for the afternoon, Edwards opted to suffer the additional weight of carrying two spare wet tyres for the second loop of stages. While Cronin was to add 4.5 seconds to his lead on stage five, Edwards’ decision proved to be the correct one when the rain arrived ahead of stage six – the Welshman fitted the wets and went 10 seconds faster than Cronin, to move into a lead he would not relinquish
Moffett and Hayes finished in third place in their Citroen, off the pace of the leading duo but comfortably ahead of Cathan McCourt and Brian Hoy, who finished fourth in a Fiesta.
Cronin now heads the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship standings with 61 points, Edwards is second on 41.5, and Moffett third on 39.
The attention of Cronin and Galvin now switches to the second round of the British Rally Championship, the Severn Valley Rally, which takes place in two weeks’ time.
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