Declan Boyle . . . crashed out on first stage.
Peadar Hurson and Damien Connolly in a Fiesta WRC have won today’s Donegal Harvest Rally.
The Down crew came home first at the end of the nine stages ahead of the all-Donegal crew of Joseph McGonigle from Muff and Paul Geaney from Falcarragh in a Skoda Fabia R5.
The Hurson/Connolly combination led from the first stage after the defending champions Declan and Brian Boyle dropped out of the rally, in the very first stage. The Boyles, in their Fiesta WRC, had an off on SS one which ended their rally and a bid for an unprecedented four in-a-row.
The Tyrone combination of Ryan Loughran and Brendan McElhinney in a Escort Mk 2 were in third place.
The next highest placed Donegal finishers were Brian Brogan and Damien McGettigan in an Escort, finishing in fifth place.
And the Dungloe/Letterkenny combination of John Bonner and Rory Kennedy, also in Escort, had a good rally and ended up in eighth place.
The Shandon Hotel Donegal Harvest Rally was run over nine stages around the Creeslough, Dunfanaghy, Falcarragh and Gortahork area in north Donegal.
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