Callum Devine’s pursuit of a third Donegal International Rally win in a row has gotten off to a fine start, as he leads at the halfway point of Day 1’s running.
He provisionally holds a 7.1 second lead over Welshman Meirion Evans after the first three stages according to the event’s live timing.
Devine has won two of the first three stages today, having the joint-fastest time along with Jon Armstrong on Stage 1 at Malin Head before taking the Stage 3 win at Coolcross by half a second.
The Derry man’s consistent pace has helped him start to eek out a gap on a packed Rally 2 field.
Fermanagh man Armstrong won Stage 2 in his Ford Fiesta R2, but mechanical problems on the third stage of the day saw him drop all the way to ninth overall, losing just over 30 seconds.
That slip saw the aforementioned Evans move into second place, the same position he finished last year’s Donegal Rally in.
Third place is now occupied by former Junior WRC Champion William Creighton in a Toyota Yaris, 10 seconds off of Devine in the lead.
Josh Moffett is an impressive fourth in his Hyundai i20 R2, just ahead of fifth-placed Haydon Padden.
The New Zealander and reigning European Rally Champion has had a solid start on his first foray onto the Donegal stages, and will be happy to be within 12.7 seconds of the lead before the second loop of the day.
Below is the full schedule for today’s remaining three stages:
Malin Head 2 (SS4): 14:25pm
Mamore Gap 2 (SS 5): 15:30pm
Coolcross 2 (SS 6): 16:15pm
