Cartell wishes to extend it’s sympathies to the family of Thomas Maguire of Longwood Co. Meath, who was killed on the 19^th June 2010 at the Topaz Donegal Rally. The competitor was killed when the car he was co-driving went off the road during the Knockalla Stage south of Portsalon just after 3pm on Saturday.

The driver of the car, Shane Buckley is in a critical condition at Letterkenny General Hospital and we all wish him a full and speedy recovery.

There is little doubt that motorsport is dangerous. However sobering this is, we must remember that the place for high speed driving is indeed at marshalled events and competitions. As the main title sponsor of the Cartell.ie Rally of the Lakes, we know that driver and spectator safety is at the heart of the Rally. The class 3 event has many entrants and Shane Buckley was one of the leaders in the Citroen Racing Trophy.

Event results were declared final after stage 10, with Gareth MacHale and Brian Murphy claiming maximum championship points in their Ford Focus WRC.

MacHale finished just over one minute ahead of Tim McNulty and Paul Kiely, with Daragh O’Riordan and Tony McDaid third. Aaron MacHale and Eugene O’Donnell were next in line ahead of Seamus Leonard and John McCafferty, while sixth for Alastair Fisher and Rory Kennedy was enough to maintain their slender championship advantage.

Fisher leads the Citroën backed series by one point, with Gareth MacHale holding second, two points ahead of his brother, Aaron. Craig Breen, who crashed out of the rally during the opening leg is fourth, ahead of Daragh O’Riordan.

Robert Barrable and Damien Connolly headed home the Citroën Racing Trophy crews, with Mark Donnelly and Aidan Friel in second.

Finally, the Modified Trophy leader board was topped by Daniel McKenna and Andrew Grennan, with Rodney Wilton and Connor McMahon second.

However, competitors were unanimous in that there were no winners in these tragic circumstances. The thoughts of all competitors, officials, spectators and the Tarmac Rally Organisers Association are with the friends and family of both crew members.

Citroën ITRC Standings (after round four)

1 Alastair Fisher 45pts
2 Gareth MacHale 44pts
3 Aaron MacHale 42pts
4 Craig Breen 30pts
5 Daragh O’Riordan 18pts
6 Robert Barrable 17pts