There was a Fermanagh connection on the Circuit of Ireland Rally's podium last Saturday as Dave Moynihan helped navigate Matt Edwards to first overall.
The Cork native, who now lives in Kesh, was in a C&M Motorsport Fiesta Rally2 alongside Edwards while Fermanagh native Brian Hoy claimed fourth overall alongside Cathan McCourt, one place ahead of Garry Jennings who finished fifth on his first outing of the year.
Hoy, navigating for McCourt in a Fiesta, made a cautious start in changeable weather conditions.
The pair posted the eighth fastest time over the opening test of the Dungannon-based event, but after a steady start, they started to climb the leaderboard after the midpoint service.
A fourth-fastest time on Stage Five helped lift them to fifth overall, and a third-fastest time on the next test moved them into the top four where they finished.
Jennings was contesting his first rally since the Donegal International Rally in June, and he was another to start slowly before increasing his pace.
A puncture followed by a spin on Stage Four harmed his chances of making the podium, but he declared himself happy with the result on his return to competitive action.
“We thought if we could get into the top five we would be alright, so we are happy with that,” he said.
“I just went for a bit of fun because I hadn’t been out in almost a year. It was treacherous. I was very slow on the first stage because I hadn’t been out and then we went well on Stage Two and Three. We got a puncture on Stage Four and then spun and hit a telegraph pole. We got a puncture just before coming on a real dirty place.
"When I leant on her she spun round sideways and hit the pole and then I had to drive 7km on the puncture. When we had the puncture my head went down a wee bit, but there was no point in putting on new tyres.
"We were neat and tidy then. We went out and did the second loop and were probably fortunate enough to finish fifth overall.”
The event proved to be a demanding test for Jennings, but he is hoping to be back in action again before too long.
“It’s a pity the rally was so short but it was tough,” he revealed. “People think it is only one day, but it was eight tough stages and we had everything from bone dry to rain to hail to snow. We only had one service so we were on the same tyres the whole way through, but it was good.
"The car went well and we had no drama with it at all. We enjoyed it and there was virtually no damage to the car, so we will probably think about doing a couple more outings now. I am thinking about Killarney but we will see.”
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