Donegal Rally: British Rally champion Matt Edwards says 'Donegal has everything'

Matt Edwards, a three-time British Rally champion, had a glint in the eye on Thursday evening when someone asked how Donegal compared to previous rallies.

The Welshman was getting ready to take the VW Polo GTI R5 through the ceremonial start on Lower Main Street.

“Just look around you, it says it all,” Edwards smiled. “The stages are brilliant in Donegal. You can go places with good stages, but no atmosphere. Donegal has everything really.”

From 2019-21, Edwards landed three consecutive BRC titles.

Donegal Rally: South Donegal drivers braced for home roads

For the first time since 1984, a portion of the Donegal International Rally is going south of Barnesmore Gap

Last year, in a Citroen C3, Edwards looked on course for victory in Donegal.

After Callum Devine's exit when whacking a hay bale, Edwards had a 19.2 second lead on Josh Moffett heading for SS17, Atlantic Drive.

Around the Drive, Edwards clipped a kerb and hit a bale that was covering a concrete block. The stage was cancelled and Edwards and David Moynihan, his navigator, spent a couple of nights in Letterkenny University Hospital.

Now he's back in a Melvyn Evans-prepared Polo.

He said: “I'm glad to be back. It's taken a lot of work from a lot of people to make it happen.

“It was great last year up until we crashed out. We enjoyed the car, we enjoyed the atmosphere. We had ourselves in a good position and the stages were immense. It was just unfortunate how it ended. I saw enough to want to come back.

“I've only done one rally since last year in an R5 so it might take a little bit of time to get used to the speed. I've a great car and a great team so I have no excuses.”