Brendan Cumiskey battled through treacherous conditions to win the very first round of the Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge Ireland, the Safety Direct Galway International Rally on Sunday.
After a near-faultless performance he crossed the line 2 minutes 38.4 seconds ahead of the previous leader Owen Murphy, who was slowed by a puncture in the final loop of stages.
About to start its eighth season in the UK, the high-profile one-make series for Group N Mitsubishi Lancers was launched in Ireland last weekend, when eight of the 12 registered Irish Evo Challenge crews lined-up in Galway for the two-day event, which also hosted the opening round of the Global Group Irish Tarmac Rally Championship.
Featuring a total of 211 competitive kilometres, split into eight stages on Saturday and a further six on Sunday, competitors faced a real test of their abilities, as the overnight snow-fall on Friday created highly slippery conditions for the first loop of three stages. This was followed by the imminent thaw, coupled with heavy rain which resulted in large amounts of standing water later in the day.
However, the demanding conditions didn't stop the initial Evolution Challenge leader and reigning Group N Irish Tarmac Rally champion Colm Murphy. He not only blasted into the Evo Challenge lead by 20 seconds on the opening stage, but also recorded a time that was good enough to put him into second place overall, ahead of a host of more powerful World Rally Cars.
What made Murphy's time even more impressive was that this was his very first outing in a Mitsubishi, the Subaru convert adapting to his Lancer immediately, even though he had only previously driven the car a few miles from the start ramp to the stage arrival control.
Following the cancellation of SS3 due to the wintry conditions, teams were relieved to get to the first service halt of the day where results showed Murphy now in third place overall and 32 seconds ahead of second-placed Evo Challenge runner Cumiskey, who was a further 29 seconds ahead of Darren Caldwell.
