Manus Kelly and Donall Barrett won the Rally of the Lakes in Killarney after a stunning drive today.
Back in the Melvyn Evans WRC Impreza after 11 months out of action since winning the Donegal International Rally last June, the Donegal pair showed little cobwebs.
Kelly and Barrett overturned a 15.3 second deficit following yesterday’s action to win by 24.3 seconds from Robert Barrable and Damien Connolly.
Kelly and Barret chipped at the lad and, after SS14, hit the front for the first time.
At service today, Kelly and Barrett were just 0.1 seconds behind and it wasn’t long before they had command.
Kelly and Barrett trailed by 15.3 seconds yesterday after the opening day.
The Glenswilly-Milford duo had eaten into Barrable’s advantage and headed for the hay in good stead on Saturday night.
With a 25-second gap to Desi Henry in third overnight, Kelly and Barrett were able to attack from the get go this morning.
For Kelly and Barrett, this serves as a serious boost just over a month out from their next assault on the Donegal International Rally.
The Impreza was sporting the new Applegreen livery for the first time after their recent major sponsorship tie-up with the petrol forecourt retailers.
Dungloe’s John Bonner came fourth overall in the national rally and won class 14, while John O’Donnell was second in class 13 and sixth overall in the national.
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