Derry’s Callum Devine and co-driver Noel O’Sullivan of Kerry lead the Joule Donegal International Rally after day one of the event near (Dooish Hill) Manorcunningham, (An Grianan) Newtowncunningham, and (Mouldy Hill) Bridgend/Buncrana.
They have an unofficial lead of 5.8 seconds in their VW Polo GTI R5 over British Rally champion Matt Edwards and David Moynihan in a Citroen C3 Rally 2.
Alastair Fisher and Gordon Noble in a VW Polo were 29.1 seconds further adrift in third.
Josh Moffett and Andy Hayes were in fourth place in their Ford Fiesta a further 4 seconds behind. Meirion Evans and Jonathan Jackson ended the day in fifth in their VW Polo GTI R5 some 10.9 seconds further back.
Sam Moffett, the 2019 winner, was sixth while the top ten was completed by Declan Boyle, Desi Henry, Gary Jennings, and Kevin Gallagher.
Gallagher and Ryan Moore, in a Darrian T90 GTR, were the class 14 leaders ahead of James Stafford and Thomas Scallan in another Darrian, just 1.7 seconds further back.
Initially the road surface was wet but it dried up quickly as the day wore on.
Divine was quickest over the first three stages before service. Edwards was marginally quicker on stage four but Devine just had the edge on stage 5. However on the final stage of the day Edwards got the best time to cut the deficit to 5.8 seconds.
Top 20 – unofficial
| O/A | Car | Driver/Codriver | Make | Class | Pos | SS6 | Road | Total | Diff 1st | Diff Prev |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (=) | 2 | Callum Devine/Noel O’Sullivan | VW Polo GTI R5 | RC2 | O/A | 7:27.6 | 0:00 | 42:13.1 | ||
| 2 (=) | 5 | Matt Edwards/David Moynihan | Citroen C3 Rally 2 | RC2 | O/A | 7:24.7 | 0:00 | 42:18.9 | 0:05.8 | 0:05.8 |
| 3 (=) | 4 | Alastair Fisher/Gordon Noble | VW Polo | RC2 | O/A | 7:30.6 | 0:00 | 42:48.0 | 0:34.9 | 0:29.1 |
| 4 (=) | 3 | Josh Moffett/Andy Hayes | Hyundai I20 R5 | RC2 | 1 | 7:29.7 | 0:00 | 42:52.0 | 0:38.9 | 0:04.0 |
| 5 (=) | 7 | Meirion Evans/Jonathan Jackson | VW Polo GTI R5 | RC2 | 2 | 7:32.1 | 0:00 | 43:02.9 | 0:49.8 | 0:10.9 |
| 6 (=) | 1 | Sam Moffett/Keith Moriarty | Ford Fiesta | 25 | 1 | 7:35.8 | 0:00 | 43:13.2 | 1:00.1 | 0:10.3 |
| 7 (=) | 8 | Declan Boyle/James O’Reilly | Ford Fiesta | 25 | 2 | 7:38.8 | 0:00 | 43:17.5 | 1:04.4 | 0:04.3 |
| 8 (=) | 11 | Desi Henry/Paddy Robinson | Ford Fiesta | RC2 | 3 | 7:38.5 | 0:00 | 43:35.0 | 1:21.9 | 0:17.5 |
| 9 (+2) | 9 | Garry Jennings/Rory Kennedy | Ford Fiesta | 24 | 1 | 7:43.1 | 0:00 | 43:56.3 | 1:43.2 | 0:21.3 |
| 10 (-1) | 25 | Kevin Gallagher/Ryan Moore | Darrian T90 GTR | 14 | 1 | 7:47.3 | 0:00 | 43:58.0 | 1:44.9 | 0:01.7 |
| 11 (+1) | 22 | James Stafford/Thomas Scallan | Darrian T90 GTR | 14 | 2 | 7:46.1 | 0:00 | 43:59.7 | 1:46.6 | 0:01.7 |
| 12 (-2) | 21 | Damien Tourish/Domhnall McAlaney | Ford Escort | 14 | 3 | 7:50.2 | 0:00 | 44:03.3 | 1:50.2 | 0:03.6 |
| 13 (=) | 17 | David Kelly/Dean O’Sullivan | Ford Fiesta | RC2 | 4 | 7:44.3 | 0:00 | 44:03.9 | 1:50.8 | 0:00.6 |
| 14 (=) | 34 | Enda O’Brien/John Butler | VW Polo GTI R5 | RC2 | 5 | 7:48.1 | 0:00 | 44:18.8 | 2:05.7 | 0:14.9 |
| 15 (+3) | 16 | Joseph McGonigle/Ciaran Geaney | Ford Fiesta R5 MK2 | RC2 | 6 | 7:47.6 | 0:00 | 44:28.6 | 2:15.5 | 0:09.8 |
| 16 (+1) | 23 | Declan Gallagher/Derek Heena | Toyota Starlet RWD | 14 | 4 | 7:47.9 | 0:00 | 44:28.9 | 2:15.8 | 0:00.3 |
| 17 (-2) | 18 | Ryan Loughran/Gareth Doherty | Ford Escort | 14 | 5 | 7:55.3 | 0:00 | 44:30.6 | 2:17.5 | 0:01.7 |
| 18 (+1) | 26 | Gary Kiernan/Daren O’Brien | Ford Escort | 14 | 6 | 7:51.2 | 0:00 | 44:33.5 | 2:20.4 | 0:02.9 |
| 19 (-3) | 12 | Seamus Leonard/John McCaffrey | Ford Fiesta | RC2 | 7 | 7:54.5 | 0:00 | 44:33.8 | 2:20.7 | 0:00.3 |
| 20 (=) | 20 | Daniel McKenna/Andrew Grennan | Ford Escort Mk2 | 14 | 7 | 7:53.4 | 0:00 | 44:39.5 | 2:26.4 | 0:05.7 |
