Ryan shines in Class 2 amid daunting Donegal Harvest conditions

Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy crew Ross Ryan and James Deane were in the hunt for their maiden Class 2 victory on Saturday's Donegal Harvest Rally but became one of several crews to fall on the wrong side of difficult October conditions on the slippery stages.

Three stage wins put the duo just 0.7 seconds behind leader Ben McFall with three stages to go. Despite their stage seven drama, the crew still reached the finish, and the points they collected secured third in the MIJRS Class 2 standings.

"Nice to be in the battle for the lead all day," said Ryan.

"We won three stages out of nine and headed into the last loop 0.7 of a second off Ben McFall. Unfortunately, whilst pushing on in stage seven, we understeered off the road and got stuck for ten minutes. Still, we got to the finish and claimed third in the MIJRS championship.”

The Peugeot 208 Rally4 crew of Jack Kennedy and Dylan Harrington climbed from ninth to fifth in Class 2 across the nine-stage event, sealing another Stellantis Rally Cup podium.

The crew only secured a late entry on Thursday evening and found the demanding conditions made it difficult to settle into a rhythm.

"Despite the challenges, we came away with another Stellantis Rally Cup podium, which was a positive result from a difficult weekend," said Kennedy. 

"The event provided valuable experience and highlighted areas where we can improve, particularly in adapting to changing road conditions and maintaining consistency.”

Stage seven also caught out two crews featuring Academy co-drivers. Darragh Mullen was back in Oran England’s passenger seat and they had challenged for the Class 2 lead early on, setting the fastest Class 2 time on the opening stage.

They were one of many crews caught out by the mucky conditions when they slid off the road after a jump and became stuck in a dyke.

"We got off to a great start and built our confidence throughout the first loop," said Mullen.

"It was disappointing to end the rally on stage seven, especially after the effort that went into getting us back out for the event following our mishap in Ceredigion. A massive thanks to everyone who helped make it possible... we'll be back!”

Fellow Academy co-driver Declan Boyle was in the overall podium hunt alongside Matthew Boyle. They started well, carrying the momentum of their win on the Isle of Man the previous weekend, and were fighting for a podium finish when their Skoda slid into a hedge on the slippery stage seven.

In the modified field, Killian McArdle delivered a drama-free run alongside Michael Cahill in their Ford Escort Mk2 to finish inside the top 30 on a tricky event.

"Happy to be at the finish after a tricky rally with the conditions," said McArdle.

"It was Michael's first time out in the car since Galway International, so it was a lot of getting settled back into the pace. Overall, happy to get a finish and build up his confidence going into the last part of the year with Baltinglass Mini Stages and the Killarney Historic Rally."