Report: Neil McDaid
Photos: David McDaid
DUNGANNON, IRELAND – You can keep your Monte Carlo ice, your Safari mud and dust; for pure, unadulterated drama, nothing touches a rain-lashed Saturday on some of Ireland's classic tarmac stages.
The 2026 Circuit of Ireland Rally didn't just deliver a winner; it delivered a script so packed with tension that even the most seasoned observers were left breathless. At the center of the storm was Donegal’s David Kelly, who snatched his first-ever Irish Tarmac Rally Championship win by a microscopic 0.5 seconds.
Day One: The Devine Dominance
Friday was supposed to be the preamble, but Callum Devine turned it into a statement of intent. Armed with his Skoda Fabia RS Rally2, the Derry man was in a different zip code. He took three fastest times from the opening four stages, carving out a commanding 26.4-second lead by the time the crews reached the overnight halt. Behind him, a trio of heavy hitters—Josh Moffett, David Kelly, and Eddie Doherty—were separated by just a single second, essentially fighting for the privilege of being "best of the rest."
Day Two: The Brantry Lough Blowout
The Saturday morning loop changed everything. As the rain turned the asphalt into a glass-slick nightmare, Devine’s charge ended in a Tyrone hedge. Leading Stage 9 (Brantry Lough II), the reigning champion slid off the road, losing four agonising minutes. While he miraculously recovered to finish 8th, the door was kicked off its hinges.
Josh Moffett, piloting the Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, initially inherited the lead but immediately found himself in the fight in a battle for the top step of the podium. Moffett even lodged a formal appeal at the rally's conclusion, claiming he lost time slowing down to check on the stranded Devine—a testament to the razor-thin margins at play.
The Final Sprint
Kelly, however, refused to blink. He moved into a 4.1-second lead on Stage 10 and, despite a furious late-stage charge from Moffett, managed his gap with the poise of a veteran. Under the most intense pressure, the Donegal man held steady through the final Dungannon tests to secure a career-defining victory.
Position | Driver | Vehicle | Gap |
1st | David Kelly | Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 | Winner |
2nd | Josh Moffett | Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 | +0.5s |
3rd | Eddie Doherty | Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 | +1:00.2s |
This wasn't just a win; it was a shift in the championship gravity. Kelly has arrived. With three rounds of the Championship in the bag, Kelly's victory on the Circuit moves him to third in the standings, just a mere point adrift of Callum Devine, both trailing Josh Moffet who holds the top spot. All crews will head southwest for round 4, the International Rally of the Lakes in Killarney on May 2–3.
If Kelly can maintain this form heading into Killarney, he will have a strong position heading into his home turf for the Donegal International in June.
| Pos | Driver | R1 (Galway) | R2 (West Cork) | R3 (Circuit) | Total Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Josh Moffett | 13 | 22 | 17* | 52 |
| 2 | Callum Devine | 22 | 17 | 6* | 45 |
| 3 | David Kelly | 11 | 11 | 22* | 44 |
| 4 | Eddie Doherty | 17 | 13 | 11* | 41 |
| 5 | Declan Boyle | 9 | 8 | 9* | 26 |
