Killarney Glory for McNulty and Moynihan
May 5th 2009
Brilliant sunshine, great stages, a nail biting contest and dramatic changes at the top of the leader board combined to ensure that the 2009 OSI Rally of the Lakes will be remembered as one of the most successful in the thirty year history of the event.
Tim McNulty set the pace on the opening stage at Molls Gap, with Gareth McHale 7sec slower and the Tarmac Championship leader Eugene Donnelly as further 8.5sec in arrears.
The stage was due to be repeated at SS2 but an emergency involving a spectator at Molls Gap meant an Ambulance and Doctor had to be sent into the stage and the first car Eamonn Boland, having left the line had to be flagged down midway thereby preventing the opportunity to restart the stage once the emergency was dealt with.
Throughout Saturday the top crews swapped seconds over stages at Gortnagane, Banard, Knockacullig and overnight Gareth McHale held a slender lead of 2.2sec from Eugene Donnelly with Eamonn Boland a further 7.6sec behind.
Tim McNulty who had damaged his suspension on SS4 was back in 4th place almost 35sec behind the leader.
By the end of SS10 Healy Pass, McHales lead had been reduced to 1.1sec but by this time it was Boland who had regained the runner spot from Donnelly.
Then on SS12 Cods Head the whole leader board changed dramatically when McHale and Donnelly both crashed out on the classic stage and at the same time Boland suffered a puncture early in the test and was passed by McNulty who suddenly found himself in the lead, a prospect which had appeared impossible overnight. He went on to build on that lead and eventually ran out winner by 36sec from last years winner Eamonn Boland with Aaron McHale taking the final spot on the podium.
McNulty now joins the late Bertie Fisher, Billy Coleman, Austin McHale and Andrew Nesbitt in a select group who have won the Lakes more than once.
McNulty last won in 2006 while for co-driver David Moynihan this was his first International win.
Alan Ring led Group N from start to finish eventually finishing 5th overall just over two minutes ahead of former Group N champion Colm Murphy who was making his first rally appearance this year and who struggled throughout much of the Sunday stages when power steering failed on his Subaru.
For Eamonn Boland there was the added consolation of taking the Bertie Fisher Cup for the fastest time on Molls Gap which he secured with a stunning time of 8.18.8 on stage 9 on Sunday morning, adding another new name to the drivers who have been fastest on the Gap.
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