Fears over viability of top Championships after Circuit of Ireland call-off

THE cancellation of the Circuit of Ireland has thrown up new question marks over this year’s British and Irish Tarmac Rally Championships.

The Easter Circuit was scheduled to be a round of both Championships, but earlier this week the organising Ulster Automobile Club made the decision to call it off in the face of the restrictions imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

It was listed to be round one of a British series which had already seen the cancellation of round three, the Jim Clark Rally in Scotland, even though it was not due to take place until June.

No decision has been taken regarding the Tendring and Clacton Rally, scheduled for late

April, and although BRC manager Iain Campbell remains optimistic, saying they are “actively pursuing opportunities to secure a full calendar in 2021”, the prospects of stage rallying returning before the summer are remote.

The Irish series has already lost the Galway International (February), the West Cork Rally (March) and now the Circuit of Ireland (April) and, of course, the

Ulster Rally (August) had been dropped from the calendar to make way for a proposed Northern Ireland round of the World Championship which now won’t take place either.

And with only the Rally of the Lakes(may),thedonegalinternational (June) and the Cork ‘20’ (October) of the regular rounds remaining, it seems certain the Tarmac series will have to be cancelled for a second year in a row.

Meanwhile, former Ulster Rally winner Elfyn Evans headed into today’s third leg of Rally Monte Carlo with a narrow lead over his Toyota team-mate Sebastien Ogier.

The seven-time Monte winner, who denied Welshman Evans a first world title at the end of last season, had dominated yesterday’s stages until a puncture dropped him back into third place and promoted Evans into the lead.

But Ogier fought back on the final stage of the day, leapfrogging the Hyundai of Ott Tanak and cutting the gap to Evans from 20 to seven seconds.

Behind Tanak, Toyota’s Kalle Rovanpera was fourth ahead of the Hyundais of Thierry Neuville and Dani Sordo.