Unfortunately, it was a weekend to forget for Ballinode man Conor Mohan as he and his Donegal driver Eamonn Kelly suffered recurring engine problems throughout Rally Croatia.
An issue which eventually forced them into retirement. The event was a counting round of the Junior World Championship. A non-finish has put a big dent in their championship hopes.
Stage 1 of the event turned out to be the only stage that went without hassle; finishing the stage in sixth place.
On SS2 their Ford Fiesta Rally3 suffered coil pack failure. Luckily, carrying a spare coil pack for the car which they managed to replace on the road section to SS3.
On SS3 the pair suffered a puncture. For the rest of Friday's stages their engine once again started acting up which forced them to retire for the first time on the day's final stage.
Their service team managed to repair the car in service and they re-joined the event under super rally rules.
Amazingly, their engine gremlins returned on the very first stage of Saturday. This time it was terminal so they had to retire permanently as the engine was beyond repair.
Understandably the two lads were bitterly disappointed at the outcome as they had put in so much effort getting set up of the event that they won last year.
Their Junior World Championship charge will restart with Rally Italia Sardegna, which takes place between 30 May and 2 June.
