Niall clinches Fivemiletown victory after last stage dash

NIALL McGonigle capped two weekends to remember on Saturday when he produced a stunning last stage run to win the Omagh Motor Club Samsonas Fivemiletown Rally for the first time.

The Clady man, who is more likely to be found on the sidelines at events, helping organise them or managing crews, proved he has plenty of talent behind the wheel in each of the last two weekends during which he finished third overall at the opening round of the Irish Forest Rally Championship in Killarney six days before he sped to victory in the forests of Fivemiletown.

“We just had a good feeling in the car, which is working unbelievable. Everything just clicked,” beamed McGonigle, who was one of the driving forces behind the resurrection of the Fivemiletown Rally.

“It was a good feeling to win in Fivemiletown because I never thought I’d have that chance. It’s two years since I had anything to do with the rally, but I always wanted to have a go at the stages and it was brilliant.”

On each of the last two weekends, McGonigle battled with Ballygawley’s Vivian Hamill, who had to settle for the runners-up spot on both occasions in his R5 Volkswagen Polo GTi, with Jordan and Paul Hone clinching the win in Killarney.

While the experienced Hamill, who had Lorcan Moore on the notes, held the upper hand on Sunday week ago, it was McGonigle who edged the verdict in Fivemiletown, producing a blistering last stage run over Crocknagrally to turn a 0.2 second deficit into a 2.8 second triumph.

Hamill and McGonigle, who was assisted in his Rally2 Ford Fiesta by Caolan McKenna, went toe-to-toe throughout Saturday’s thrilling event with the latter building a 6.2 second lead after the first three stages before the former reigned him back over the next three stages.

Going into the penultimate test of the day, the third run over Jenkin, Hamill trailed by 3.3 seconds but he produced a stunning drive to engineer the narrowest of advantages going into the third run over Crocknagrally, which ended with the roles being reversed and McGonigle pleased, if not a little surprised, by his speed.

“Vivian pushed me to the end and I’d say for anyone watching, the pace was mental! It felt mental inside the car anyway. The last stage was just nuts!,” he exclaimed.

“We were at the last stage early and everyone got out of their cars, but we didn’t get out. I stayed in, didn’t speak to anyone and just let it go. At the start line I just said [to co-driver Caolan McKenna] I’ll just drive as hard as I can and be comfortable and that’s what we did and it worked.

“On that second last stage when Vivian took the lead off us, I drove that stage as hard as I could, we were maxing and I had nothing left.

“But Jenkin is a power stage and the Polo had that advantage over us and when we went into the last stage we were the hound, not the hare, and we just went at it.”

With McGonigle and Hamill finishing first and second, Derek Mackarel and Darren Curran completed the podium from Strabane’s reigning Irish Forest Rally champion, Ryan Caldwell, who had Shane Byrne on the notes.

Omagh’s Gareth Mimnagh and J Barry McCarney were next home in fifth, ahead of James McCarville and Conal McNulty, with Shane Murray and Ben Teggart seventh, Dunamanagh’s Paul Britton and Graham Henderson eighth, Dromore’s Hugh McQuaid and Martin Byrne, who won the two-wheel-drive battle and class six, were ninth in their Mk II Ford Escort RS1800, while Dominic Leonard and Martin Baxter completed the top 10 in their Mitsubishi Evo VIII.

In the class battles, Simon Woodside and Terry Walkingshaw beat Aughnacloy’s Bryan Jardine and Declan McKenna in their MK I Ford Escort 1600, to the class one title, while Ruan McHugh and Declan Boyle drove their Rally4 Ford Fiesta to the class two crown.

Dromore’s Ciaran McCanney and co-driver Emmet Quinn won class three in their Vauxhall Nova from Ballinamallard’s Ben Fallis and Omagh’s Louise McBarron in a Suzuki Swift. Stewart McClean won class four alongside Gerard Neeson in another Nova from Dromore’s Ruairi Maguire and Grace O’Brien’s Corsa, while Andy Magee and Michael Johnston won class five from Fintona’s Tony McKenna and Karl Fallis.

Britton and Henderson won class eight in their Subaru Impreza, while Mackarel and Curran won class 10.

Full results available via rallyscore.net.