Rory Kennedy at the car in which he and the late Mark Fisher competed in the RAC Rally.
ONE of Donegal greatest rally drivers, Rosses man Vincent Bonner was honoured at a very special ‘This is your life’ on Saturday night at The Stables, Motorsport Museum in Frosses.
Donnagh Kelly hosted a brilliant night for one of his rallying heroes at his private motorsport museum located in the hills of Donegal.
Kevin Glendinning was the MC for the evening as the packed attendance were treated to a very special nugget of Irish rallying as Vincent told the story of his road trip through rallying and all the cars that he piloted over the years.
From Jimmy McRae’s DTV Vauxhall Frienza to Derek McMahon’s Sunbeam right through to the famous Monte Carlo RS 1800 Mk 2 Ford Escort of the late Bertie Fisher that Vincent Bonner went on to become the first ever Donegal man to win the Donegal International Rally 40 years ago back in 1983.
Letterkenny’s Seamus McGettigan was his navigator.
The Lancia Stratos Winner in the 1970s driven by Billy Coleman, alongside Manus Kelly’s three-in-a-row winning Subaru.
Bonner recalled the magic of what it was like driving through the streets of Letterkenny with thousands of spectators cheering him on – something that nearly got the better of him at the foot of the town when he let his escort drift out a bit too far and it clipped the kerb of a traffic island outside the Tin Tai Restaurant as he headed up the Back Road.
Rory Kennedy recalled the excitement of when Bonner asked him to navigate in the Opel Ascona and Manta days. Robbie McGurke and Kevin Harley were just two that recalled servicing for Bonner as a part of Sydney Meeke’s service crew.
Double Donegal winner James Cullen who also was the Clerk of the Course the year Bonner won Donegal, talked about buying the famous Monte Carlo Escort and in later years Cullen also bought Vincent Bonner’s Opel Ascona which is pride of place in the Donagh Kelly motor museum.
The rallying yarns went on long late into the night and heroes and friends that are no longer with us were recalled on a very special night in the hills of Donegal.
Double Donegal winner James Cullen and his brother Joe at the special function.
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