Callum Devine tops the standings after Donegal International Rally day one
The Derry man is in search of a third victory in a row in Donegal
Callum Devine has a twelve-second lead after the first day of the 2025 Wilton Recycling Donegal International Rally.
The Derry native leads after the six Inishowen stages, with Noel O’Sullivan on the notes, ending with a time of 41:18.2 at the end of the day.
The pair have led outright since the third stage after Jon Armstrong had a mechanical issue in the first running of the Coolcross stage.
Devine and Armstrong posted identical times in stage one, Malin Head, but Armstrong went 1.2 seconds clear through Mamore Gap before the spin, leaving Devine 12.5 seconds clear in the Skoda Fabia RS Rally2.
And after the six stages on Friday, the gap stayed consistent as the three-in-a-row hopeful ended the day 12.4 seconds clear of New Zealand’s Hayden Paddon and David Moynihan.
Paddon is just 2.8 seconds ahead of Meirion Evans and Ger Conway, while William Creighton and Liam Regan are just 0.2 seconds behind the Welshman in the battle for the podium.
Armstrong posted the fastest times on stages four and five, making up almost nine seconds on everyone, but Paddon went fastest in the final stage in the Hyundai I20 RALLY2.
2022 winner Josh Moffett sits in sixth behind Armstrong, while Donegal Town’s David Kelly is seventh.
Lettermacaward father and son Declan Boyle and Michael Boyle are eighth and ninth, respectively, separated by 8.8 seconds, with Michael the final competitor inside a minute behind Devine, 53.7 seconds back, with Pettigo’s Kevin Eves rounding out the top ten.
In the modified section, Kevin Gallagher is impressing once again in the Darrian T90 GTR with Ryan Moore on the notes, and, despite a spin, leads after a time of 43:53.7 on day one.
Martin McCormack and Barney Mitchell are second, 21.2 seconds behind in their BMW M3.
There are eight stages tomorrow, with the first four stages being run at High Glen and Lough Keel twice, scheduled to start at 9.45am.
The final four stages will be run at Knockalla and Garrygort, with the first Knockalla stage scheduled for 2.41pm.