Having come to terms with his unusually handling car, Murphy proceeded to extend his lead, right up until SS13 - the penultimate stage – when he collected a puncture and had to drive almost 10 km on a flat tyre. With Murphy losing three minutes in the process, Cumiskey went back into the lead and, after a considered run through the final stage, he crossed the line to become the first ever winner of an Irish Evo Challenge round.
“Its great to be the first ever winner of the Evo Challenge in Ireland”, said Cumiskey. “It just goes to show that when the conditions are as bad as they were a consistent performance pays off. I'm also delighted with the car, as it never missed a beat and I must thank the JFR team for their efforts.”
Cuminsky collected a prize of four Pirelli tyres and was also awarded a voucher for winning the Performance Friction Cup. Murphy was presented with three tyres, the PIAA junior award and the Sunoco spirit award for his performance in a car with a broken shock absorber - both drivers walking away with prizes worth over 875 Euros.
After competing in the UK series last year, Carmichael was delighted to take his first Evo Challenge podium with a fine third and collecting two tyres in the process, even having been chased all day by Curley, who was getting ever more used to his car as the event went on.
Murray's afternoon was the most dramatic of all the Evo Challenge runners, when the car ahead of him spun and, in an attempt to turn round, drove the wrong way down the stage. Although being slowed by spectators, the last thing Murray expected to see as he headed through SS12 was a car coming the other way and, although both drivers took evasive action, the resulting impact almost put the Evo driver out of the event. Shaken, but not stirred, Murray continued and made it back to the finish in Galway.
