The Cork ‘20’ Rally, the deciding round of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship (ITRC), is set to feature a strong contingent of Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy drivers.
While Josh McErlean and James Fulton feature in the headline Rally2 class, other Academy drivers will also be in action across various categories.
McErlean, making his first ITRC appearance since the 2019 West Cork Rally, is eager to see how his recent World Rally Championship experience stacks up against the ITRC regulars as well as gaining tarmac mileage ahead of the WRC Central European Rally.
"I'm really excited to be heading for Cork and competing at home once again," McErlean said.
"It feels like a lifetime since we were last rallying on those classic roads. To be there in the Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 provided by C&M Motorsport is very special."
"There has been a great battle between the likes of Callum Devine, Keith Cronin, and Matt Edwards this year. But we do have a goal here of getting valuable seat time on asphalt, it would be a tough ask to turn up at the Central European Rally with no understanding of the Fabia on tar. So, we will be there to do a job, but also to have fun and it will be great getting back amongst the Irish rallying fraternity again.”
In the Stellantis Cup category, Keelan Grogan, the championship leader, and third-placed Kyle McBride are set to go head-to-head in their Peugeot 208 Rally4s.
“A big weekend ahead as the Stellantis Cup is now down to the final two rounds. Happy to be back on to some Irish tarmac and what look to be some really fast stages” said Grogan who will be co-driven by Ayrton Sherlock.
“After a poor result at Rali Ceredigion, we have refocused and are looking forward to pushing on for a good result.”
As it stands Grogan leads the one-make championship by just one point from Welsh visitor and Rali Ceredigion winner Ioan Lloyd.
McBride and co-driver Darragh are 24 points behind Grogan but with 25 available for the win, one round remaining and dropped scores yet to come into play the championship is wide open.
“We need a solid weekend as we need to get some really good points to keep the championship alive,” said McBride who is competing in the Cork ‘20’ for the first time.
They will drive their usual Peugeot 208 Rally4 this weekend after entering Rali Ceredigion in Opel Corsa Rally4.
Cian Caldwell and Liam Egan are the third Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy crew contesting Class 2 and the Stellantis Cup section of the rally. They have reverted to their Peugeot 208 Rally4 for the event after driving a Ford Fiesta Rally4 on recent tarmac rallies in Ulster and Wales.
Eurol Hellendoorn Rally
Donegal's Eamonn Kelly and Rory Kennedy secured a huge victory in the Historic category at the Eurol Hellendoorn Rally in the Netherlands over the weekend.
The 40 participants in the Eurol Hellendoorn Historic Rally only competed on the Saturday stages, Local hero Antoine Biesheuvel was the big favourite but lost ground due to a spin.
Kelly and Kennedy took the lead on stage five and maintained their advantage throughout the remaining stages in their first outing in a BMW E30 M3 loaned to them by Michael Cullen.
Bushwhacker Rally
Craig Rahill and Killian McArdle secured a dominant victory in Class 2 at the Bushwhacker Rally, on Saturday cementing their position as Class 2 frontrunners in the 2024 Sligo Pallets Forest Rally Championship.
Rahill just needs to finish the season finale in Clare in two weeks to secure both the Forest Rally Championship and the Motorsport Ireland Junior Rally Series and a coveted Billy Coleman Award Young Driver of the Year nomination.
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Close behind Rahill and McArdle were Ryan McHugh and Declan Boyle, who put up a spirited fight in another Ford Fiesta Rally4.
The Donegal pair led the class at the halfway point but they were unable to match the pace of Rahill and McArdle in the afternoon, ultimately finishing 7.9 seconds behind.
Cian Caldwell, who had Shane Byrnes on the notes for the first time, was third in Class 2 in a Ford Fiesta Rally2.
Jack Harris and Ben Thompson, the MIJRS Class 2A champions were fourth in the combined Rally4 class in Omagh in their older Ford Fiesta R2T. Harris will become a member of the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy next season as a result of his 2024 championship success.
Ryan Caldwell and Sean Feris finished fifth overall in their Skoda Fabia R5.
Text By Sean Moriarty / Pics by MIRallyAcademy
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