Meirion Evans came to within 20.5 seconds of winning the Wilton Donegal International Rally (19-22 June) after a sensational drive in his Castrol MEM Rally Team Toyota GR Yaris Rally2. He eventually equalled last year’s result by finishing second, while team-mate William Creighton retired from second position, just 4.9 seconds behind and closing in on the leader, two-thirds of the way through the iconic Irish event.
Co-driven by Ger Conway, Meirion moved from fifth to second after the opening two stages before settling into a fast rhythm that would see him challenge for victory throughout the three day, 20 stage and 170.25 stage mile event.
The 29-year old Welshman held third place at the end of day one, just 15.2 seconds off the lead and 0.2 seconds ahead of his team-mate after a fast and controlled drive.
Meirion held that position for much of day two, despite losing time with a puncture on SS9. Equal fastest time on the final stage of the day (SS14) moved him up to second, just 21.8 seconds behind the leader.
Meirion then fought back from a small overshoot at the start of the third and final day to record two fastest, two second fastest and one third fastest time on the final five stages to reduce the gap to the leader from 30.1 seconds (after SS15) to just 20.5 seconds at the finish, to finish runner-up (behind Callum Devine/Noel O’Sullivan) for the second time on one of the Irish Tarmac Championship’s most demanding events.
William powered his way from seventh to fourth on his first day on the Donegal Rally as a driver since 2017, as he quickly got into a groove in only his second asphalt rally in his Castrol Toyota GR Yaris Rally2.
Co-driven by Liam Regan, the 27-year old Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy driver was on breathtaking form on day two – setting five fastest times in six stages to reduce the gap to the leader from 17.7 seconds to just 4.9 seconds.
Unfortunately, a slow puncture on the day’s final stage (SS14) caused the car to understeer off the road. Although there was no damage, over seven minutes were lost and it was decided to retire and save the Yaris Rally2 for the next event – the Nicky Grist Stages (12 July), which the team will contest as preparation for the next round of the Probite British Rally Championship (the Voyonic Grampian Forest Rally on 8/9 August).
Meirion Evans said: “Overall, we have to be happy with our performance in Donegal.
“The level from the start of the event was so high, you had to be on the pace from the word go.
“We had a pretty smooth event with no mistakes. The car worked well throughout and despite a puncture on the second pass of the Glen stage on Saturday morning we still held third position and ended up second overnight.
“It was always going to be difficult to catch Callum [Devine] on Sunday and it didn’t help that we had a slight overshoot on the first stage of the day. We took some time back over the rest of the day, but not quite enough.
“Overall, it was a very positive weekend. We kept on the lead pace over the three days and never put a mark on the car, which is good.
“Thanks to Castrol, the boys in the team and everyone who helped get us to Donegal and thanks to Ger [Conway] who did an exceptional job on the notes. It’s nice when a long rally goes without any hiccups. It would have been nice to win, but considering the high quality entry it wasn’t going to be easy and I think we did a good job.
“Moving forward, this and other recent performances puts us in good shape for the upcoming asphalt rallies. But now the focus turns back to the British Rally Championship and gravel, with a test event on the Nicky Grist Stages in a few weeks ahead of the Grampian Rally in August. It will be nice to go back to some gravel rallies that I’ve done before in a four-wheel drive car.”
William Creighton said: “Of course we’re disappointed with the outcome, but looking back on the weekend we take a lot of positives from it. It’s not often you find yourself heading into the final day of the Donegal International Rally with a chance of fighting for the win, but that’s the nature of the sport, sometimes it just doesn’t go your way.
“I think our performance up until Saturday evening was very strong. As we predicted, we were learning so much with every passing stage. It was clear our pace was building, the stage times were improving, and we were starting to find a good rhythm.
“After Friday, we focused on refining what we were doing inside the car, working to improve stage by stage. Winning stages wasn’t really part of the plan for the weekend, but the fact that we managed to do that, even while feeling there was still more to come, shows how comfortable we were getting.
“I definitely think there was more performance to be unlocked, and that’s a huge positive to take forward into our next asphalt event. I believe we achieved almost everything we set out to do in Donegal. It was never about trying to win the rally outright; we knew there were things we needed to work on first before we could aim that high. But of course, it’s always in the back of your mind.
“A huge thanks to the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy and all of our partners who helped get us to the start line, and to the Melvyn Evans Motorsport team for their hard work in helping to get the best out of the car. If you’d told me before the event that by Saturday evening we’d be less than five seconds off the lead and hunting down Callum [Devine], I would’ve gladly taken it.
“It was also incredible to see so many spectators out on the stages. I’ve never done a rally in Ireland with such a huge number of fans; the support and the atmosphere were unbelievable.
“I’d love to return to Donegal again in the future. But for now our focus turns back to the British Rally Championship as we begin our preparations for the next round.”
All pictures supplied by David Harrigan, D Harrigan Images
