Donagh Kelly seizes the day in Killarney to take Rally of the Lakes victory

DONAGH KELLY RETAINED his cartel.ie International Rally of the Lakes crown in Killarney this afternoon.

Kelly and co-driver Conor Foley started today in third position, but they really made hay when Garry Jennings and Rory Kennedy crashed out.

They had overhauled Alastair Fisher and Gordon Noble to win with 49.6 seconds to spare in the WRC Ford Focus.

The current Irish Tarmac champion Kelly, who hails from Frosses, won this event last year too.

He started the day 2.2 seconds behind Fisher, who was 26.8 seconds in arrears of Jennings and Kennedy.

They had some problems yesterday in the Impreza and saw Kelly take a whopping 16 seconds off their time on the opening stage today, Molls Gap.

On Stage 10, Ballyaghbeama, the second stage of this morning, Jennings and Kennedy, last year’s Donegal International Rally winners, crashed out and, from there, there was no question that Kelly would pop the champagne.

“I didn’t expect to win today. It was a great rally and I’m delighted with the win,” he said.

“In the fog we just followed the white line. We had a real good run,”

The win means that Foley continues his superb record calling notes for Kelly. The pair have never lost a rally together.

There was joy, too, for Kilmacrennan co-driver Paddy Robinson. On board with David Guest, they won Group N in the Lancer and the pair lead that section of the Irish Tarmac Championship.