Mayo's McHale Fusion 4 Plus crew wrap up top 10 result in Carlow

JOHN Warren produced a stunning late charge to secure 10th place overall on the final loop of the Carlow Stages Rally as the Triton Showers National Rally Championship delivered another compelling day in Irish rallying.

In a contest shaped by monsoon rain fall between sunny spells that delivered treacherous conditions, the overall rally lead changed hands five times over nine demanding stages which seen the McHale Fusion 4 Plus Rally2 Fiesta husband and wife crew keep the best 'til last. Despite an imponderable tyre choice decision at service, Warren went seventh fastest on the last stage to climb into the top 10 overall leader-board from the 169 cars that started the event.

Co-driver Ruthann said afterwards: “It was a challenging event for us as we haven’t competed for almost four months due to other commitments but it’s good to see that John’s muscle memory is on point when he hops back into the car! We didn’t get to have a test before the event so a massive thanks to Niall and the team at IN Sport for preparing a flawless car.”

The event was won by the Donegal duo of Michael Boyle and his co-driver Dermot McCafferty, who finished 4.5 seconds ahead of Tyrone’s Cathan McCourt, both in Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 cars. Monaghan’s Josh Moffett ended the rally in third spot in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2.

To keep up to date with the McHale rally team and check out some of the amazing footage from the weekend follow ‘McHale Rallying’ on TikTok.