Boyle and Kelly let Moffet in for lakes victory

The third round of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship, the Cartell.ie Rally of the Lakes, had a dramatic conclusion on Sunday with Sam Moffett taking his first international win of the year.
Overnight leaders  Declan and BrianBoyle looked set to continue their winning ways as he led overnight and stretched his lead after the first Molls Gap stage, but after Donagh Kelly had closed the gap again on Borlin, Boyle went off the road and out of the rally on Stage 10, Lough Allua.
This left his fellow Donegal man Donagh Kelly in line to take his first ever international victory as he held a 48 second lead over Sam Moffett. However Moffett began to exert pressure and by stage 13 the gap had closed to just 26 seconds with just two stages remaining. It all went wrong for Kelly who rolled into a bog on Fuhiry and his dreams went up in smoke leaving Moffett in pole position with just one run over Molls Gap to be completed, and he didn’t disappoint.
In the Modified Championship Wesley Patterson  with Letterkenny’s Johnny Baird on board took a fine second place behind Roy Whites MG to stop Declan Gallagher’s run of maximum points in the three rounds before this weekend. Gallagher though still managed to take third place and is still strongly positioned to take the title as he holds a 20 point lead over Patterson in the category.
There is now a six week break before the next round of the championship, the Donegal International Rally in the middle of June and the championship has now been opened up. It promises to be a fantastic event and all of the championship regulars should be there to try to further their prospects this season.