Nutt takes Historic race

Dessie Nutt and Elkin Robinson beat fellow Ulster crew John Keatley and Maurice Beckett, both in Porsche 911s, in yesterday's Finol ELF Killarney Historic Car Rally. However, the performance of the eight-stage event was that of Wicklow crew Lloyd Hutchinson and Kevin Flanagan, third overall in a Mini-Cooper.

Nutt set the pace over the storm-lashed Molls Gap stage out of Killarney, beating fellow Porsche 911 driver Keatley by 14 seconds, with Hutchinson doing a David versus Goliath act in third overall in his Mini, 12 seconds down on Keatley and 10 seconds quicker than Drew Wylie in a Lotus Elan.

After the second stage Keatley had closed to six seconds on Nutt as Wylie moved up to third while Hutchinson led the post-historics by almost half a minute.

Nutt was fastest on the Tim Healy Pass but Hutchinson was nothing short of amazing in the Mini-Cooper, only two seconds slower than Nutt and three seconds clear of Keatley.

Nutt led Keatley by 17 seconds after five stages and Hutchinson was third, six seconds in front of Wylie, with Stephan Hall, in a Triumph TR4, and Ian Corkhill, in an Escort, in close pursuit. Frank Fennell was only seventh in his Porsche 911.

The top positions remained unchanged with Nutt totally dominant and enjoying himself in the treacherous conditions. At the finish he commented: "It was a great rally, I really enjoyed it. Of course John (Keatley) put me under pressure for a while, but I managed to shake him off."

Keatley, winner of the inaugural Finol Elf Killarney event last year, had a different story to tell: "It was a tough rally, I'm sore all over, it was hard going."

Cathal Rodgers beat Joe McGurk and Pat Mullane in a Ford Escort clean-sweep of the classics section, as Hutchinson took the post-historics division.

Killarney Historic Rally - Final Overall: 1, D Nutt and E Robinson (Prsche 911) 1 hr 13 mins 32 secs; 2, J Keatley and M Beckett (Porsche 911) 1:14:43; 3, L Hutchinson and K Flanagan (Mini-Cooper) 1:15:28; 4, S Hall and G McBride (Triumph TR4) 1:15:45; 5, D Wylie and G Jennings (Lotus Elan) 1:16:02; 6, I Corkhill and H Allison (Ford Escort RS) 1:16:50; 7, F Fennell and F Hussey (Porsche 911) 1:17:13; 8, P Wylie and J Howe (MGB) 1:17:39; 9, T Falvey and D Barry (Escort) 1:18:08; 10, R McGimpsey and B Gray (Reliant) 1:18:51. Historics: 1, D Nutt and E Hutchinson; 2, J Keatley and M Beckett; 3, S Hall and G McBride. Post-historics: 1, L Hutchinson and K Flanagan; 2, 1 Corkhill and H Allison; 3, T Felvey and D Barry. Classics: 1, C Rodgers and E Donnelly (Ford Escort RS) 1:09:48; 2, J McGurk and A Kierns (Escort RS) 1:10:24; 3, P Mullane and S Mullane (Escort RS) 1:11:59.