By Paul Evans

Steve Wood won the Wexford Volkswagen Stages Rally for a third time in a row, leading home a magnificent 1-2-3 podium lockout for Welsh drivers on the popular Irish event.

Co-driven by Keith Moriarty, Wood won the two-day, 15 stage, rally by 41.7 seconds after an impressive drive in his Subaru Impreza WRC S11.

Meirion Evans/Jonathan Jackson had a superb run to second in their first event in the Melvyn Evans Motorsport Hyundai i20 R5, while John Dalton/Gwynfor Jones secured a comfortable third in their Darrian T90 GTR.

Only 0.6 seconds separated Llyr Jones/Sion Jones and Gareth Lloyd/David Byrne after a great battle in their Ford Escorts, finishing 14th and 15th respectively. Tony Rees/Geraint Thomas were just eight seconds further behind, finishing 16th in their Darrian T90 GTR+.

Having blown the engine on their BMW on the recent Stonethrower’s Rally in Tipperary, which spun them into a hedge at high speed, Ian Davies/Ryland James started the Wexford Rally after an incredible repair job restored their Pencnwc Holiday Park-backed M3 to its former glory. Unfortunately an early oil leak forced them out of the event.

The report from the Wexford Rally will be broadcast on S4C’s Ralio programme on Monday 24 September.

Wexford Rally – top 10 finishers
1. Steve Wood/Keith Moriarty (Subaru Impreza S11)….1hr 43mins 30.2secs
2. Meirion Evans/Jonathan Jackson (Hyundai i20 R5)….1hr 44mins 11.9secs
3. John Dalton/Gwynfor Jones (Darrian T90 GTR)….1hr 45mins 57.5secs
4. Frank Kelly/John McGrath (Ford Escort)….1hr 47mins 35.4secs
5. Richard Moore/Brian Halligan (Ford Escort Mk2)….1hr 48mins 30.7secs
6. Wesley Patterson/Johnny Baird (Ford Escort RS Mk2)….1hr 48mins 35.5secs
7. Paul Rowley/Daragh Mullen (Ford Fiesta R5)….1hr 49mins 25.5secs
8. Patrick McHugh/Pauric O’Donnell (Ford Escort Mk2)….1hr 49mins 47.5secs
9. Richard Cleary/Niamh Holland (Ford Escort)….1hr 50mins 20.1secs
10. Brendan McDaid/Damien McGettigan (Ford Escort)….1hr 52mins 01.8secs