Mayo crew claim hat trick of podiums at Wexford Stages Rally

John Warren and his co-driver Ruthann O’Connor took their McHale Engineering Toyota Corolla to second place in Class 13 and 15th place overall from 140 starters at the Wexford Stages Rally on Sunday.

It's the third event in a row in which they have come away with a podium Class 13 finish.

Heavy overnight rain made for slippery conditions on the event, based in New Ross, but after the first stage, a margin of just four seconds separated Warren and Class 13 winner Chris O’Callaghan from Limerick. The order was unchanged in the next stage despite an overshoot from Warren at a junction.

For the repeat of both stages, Warren gambled on sticking to the same tyre choice, although conditions looked to be improving. This move paid dividends as despite a half-spin on stage three, he improved his times by over 10 seconds per stage.

“It was a tough decision as even though the rain had stopped, a lot of wet patches and shiny tar remained,” said John. “In hindsight, as conditions improved further for the last loop, the tyre choice I felt was too soft, but as we came off the last stage the rain began to fall again. It’s a calculated risk with tyres that is very difficult to get right.”

During the final loop of stages, John and Ruthann kept their composure to claim a podium finish in Class 13.

“It was our first time competing in Wexford,” observed Ruthann afterwards, “and we really enjoyed the stages. The event was a credit to the Wexford Motorclub and mixing it on the stages with the likes of Irish rally driver Craig Breen, who just signed a full-time drive in the World Rally Championship with the M-Sport Ford World Rally, team was a fantastic way to spend a Sunday!”

John finished by again thanking Ruthann for her job on the pacenotes and the C-Sport service crew for their professional set-up.