By Paul Evans

Andy Davies has re-taken the Group N class lead in the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship after dominating the category and finishing a magnificent ninth overall on the International Rally of the Lakes.

The 31-year old reigning Welsh Road Rally champion from Aberystwyth took the Group N lead on the famous Killarney-based event after a stunning drive through the Ardgroom stage (SS2) in his GAP solutions-backed Subaru Impreza.

Davies had extended his advantage to 41 seconds by the start of the final day, and with the majority of the event still remaining, it was to prove a mentally demanding drive to the finish – driving hard to maintain position, whilst keeping risks to a minimum.

And that’s exactly what Davies did in the Hankook tyres, Ravenol racing lubricants and Speedline wheels supported car – and after an intense battle with the local Irish crews, he and co-driver Michael Gilbey won Group N by an impressive 52.3 seconds.

In only his first season of asphalt stage rallying, Davies – a Swansea University graduate and 2017 Welsh Forest Rally champion – now has his sights firmly set on winning the Irish Group N and ITRC2 titles.

“I’m absolutely elated. Killarney International Rally of the Lakes Group N and ITRC2 overall winners, it really doesn’t get any better than this,” said Davies. “We now re-take the Group N lead in the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship and it’s all to play for.

“We had a cautious run up the opening Moll’s Gap stage, but were still second quickest in Group N. We set fastest Group N time on stage two, Ardgroom, which we had targeted prior to the event, by a massive 27.3 seconds, even with catching a car and getting held up. We ended up leading Group N from there, and through all of the sixteen stages until the end.

“We had a pretty much perfect run with no mistakes and made the correct tyre choice each loop.

“After two hours and twenty-three minutes of rallying, spread over two days and almost 145 miles of competition, we were split from our rivals by 52.3 seconds!

“The best rubber for the job, supplied by Hankook tyres, and a great set of pace notes delivered expertly by Michael Gilbey, made my job pretty easy!

“I’d like to thank all of my sponsors, including Hankook tyres, for providing us with a perfect package and extend a huge thanks to the whole team in service and out managing our event.”

The next round of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship is the Donegal International Rally on 21-23 June.