Cathan McCourt and Barry McNulty (Ford Fiesta R5) won the Abbey Hotel Moonraker Forest Rally, the third round of the Valvoline Motorsport Ireland National Forest Rally Championship.

McCourt took his first ever win in the series with over a minute to spare over the Citroen DS3 R5 of Niall Henry and Damien Duffin.

The eight stage event based in Ballyvourney Co. Cork proved to be a strong test and there were several high profile retirements during the day. Barry McKenna (Ford Fiesta R5) led after the opening stage but retired on the second stage, which moved McCourt into a lead he was to hold until the end.

Patrick O’Brien (Mitsubishi Lancer) and Garry Jennings (Impreza WRC) both held second place at various times but neither made the finish. Donall Sweeney and Dean O’Sullivan had an excellent drive to take third overall in their Mitsubishi Lancer. Two more Mitsubishis were in fourth and fifth in the hands of Joe Hegarty / David Turkington and Michael Carbin / Conor Mohan respectively.

David Crossen and Aileen Kelly took a magnificent sixth place overall to finish top 2WD crew after a typically tough battle with Shane McGirr and Liam McIntyre’s Toyota Starlet.

The top junior points went to Derek Mackarel and Muireann Hayes who finished 11th overall and almost four minutes clear of nearest rival Kyle White in a Peugeot 208. Kieran Lynch (Honda Civic) was the third junior home.