Kelly tops Rally3 class on Rali Terras d’Abodoreira

Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy driver Eamonn Kelly topped a competitive field of Rally3 cars on Portugal’s two-day Rali Terras d’Abodoreira, sealing an impressive ninth overall finish in the process.

Kelly, and co-driver Conor Mohan, were using the national event to prepare for round two of the Junior World Rally Championship - Rally Portugal. The Irish crew wasted no time in asserting their strength over the Rally3 pack, taking a 4.3-second fastest time on the opening 7.7-kilometre Amarante stage.

A hat-trick of stage wins on Friday gave Kelly an 18.8-second lead over Turkey’s Kerem Kazaz, with Rally Sweden Junior WRC winner Taylor Gill a further 4.6 seconds back.

Another five fastest times from six on Saturday reiterated Kelly’s gravel-driving skills as he secured a one-minute, 21.3-second victory on his first gravel rally using Hankook tyres.

“Rali Terras d’Abodoreira was great preparation for our next Junior WRC event,” said Kelly. It turned out to be a wet rally, so that may or may not be helpful when it comes to Rally Portugal in a couple of weeks."

“It was nice to get an accurate feeling of how the Ford Fiesta Rally3 feels on this terrain and how I need to drive. Everything worked well from the start, thanks to PT Racing, who were faultless in preparing the car. It was nice to have guys from Junior WRC there as a benchmark but we know Rally Portugal will be another challenge."

“We feel as prepared as we can be, and we know that when we are driving well, then our pace is there, which is a good confidence boost. All-in-all, it was just a really good weekend and a top-class event.

“A huge thanks to my sponsors and the MI Rally Academy, who make doing these events possible. These preparation events are such a big help and can make the difference when it comes to the bigger rallies.”

Closer to home, Ryan MacHugh and Declan Boyle successfully completed their Ford Fiesta Rally2 debut, setting solid times over the two-day event to finish 12th overall, nine seconds ahead of Jason McSweeney.

MacHugh built up his pace through the 15-stage event, taking a pair of top ten times on Sunday’s famous Ballaghbeama test.

“The weekend went very well for us,” reflected MacHugh. “The plan was to get two full days in the car and try to get faster as the rally went on. We improved through the rally and had a good second day after making set-up changes to the car to suit my driving style."

“We can take a lot away from the weekend with more work to do on pacenotes and improving braking points in the correct areas. I'm looking forward now to the Cavan Stages Rally in a few weeks time.”

Meanwhile, Kyle McBride and Darragh Mullen had a tough start to their Rally of the Lakes assault. McBride’s Peugeot 208 Rally4 was forced into retirement on Killarney’s opening Headford test, but the mechanical issue was resolved to allow the Stellantis Motorsport Rally Cup contender to return under super-rally regulations.

McBride made the most of his return to action, setting five fastest times from six on Sunday to overhaul fourth-placed David Herbert and secure crucial points for his Stellantis Cup campaign.

MI Rally Academy co-driver Killian McArdle had a weekend to remember in Killarney, taking a Rally4 and Stellantis Cup victory alongside Joseph Kelly. The 208 Rally4 crew led from the start to secure a well-deserved one-minute, 9.2-second category win.

Conor Smith swapped cars for the weekend, jumping from Craig Rahill’s 208 Rally4 to fellow Cavan driver Gary Kiernan’s Ford Fiesta Rally2. The new pairing was working a treat as they climbed from 12th to 7th through Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning but, unfortunately, Kiernan and Smith retired from seventh with two stages remaining.