The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Duggan has one hand on British crown
THIS weekend’s Ulster International Rally could play a significant role in the destination of the British Junior Rally Championship.
The series is currently being led by Killarney duo, Rob Duggan and Ger Conway, and a class victory in their Vauxhall Adam will put the title beyond the reach of their rivals, even with the final round, Rally Isle of Man, still to run next month.
The British championship operates a joker round system, where each registered competitor can pick one round during the season where they can score double championship points.
Duggan and Conway have elected to play their joker on the Ulster International which gets underway from Derry on Friday.
The Killarney and District Motor Club crew currently lead the title race by 20 points over Norwegian Sindre Furuseth and their Vauxhall Sport team mate, Swede, Mattias Addielson (26 points adrift). Both rivals have used up their joker on earlier rounds. With 25 points available for a class win, 50 in Duggan’s case, victory next weekend will ensure he will leave Northern Ireland as champion.
However, nothing in rallying is simple. With double points on offer to all competitors on the Isle of Man next month, a retirement for the local crew would blow the title race wide open.
Duggan told The Kerryman: “We are going there for the win as we do at every rally. But it will be a controlled drive with the championship at the back of the mind. If we win, the championship is ours but we know if we only finish second or third , then a third place would do on the Isle of Man. It won’t be easy, the boys will be pushing hard but the mind-set is to go to the Isle of Man without having the championship to worry about.
Killarney co-driver Mikie Galvin will be hoping to improve on his current third place in the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship in Derry.
Currently third in the series, Galvin and his driver Keith Cronin, driving a Citroen DS3 R5, will be up against it as championship leader, Alastair Fisher, is very much on home ground.
Co-driver Diarmuid Falvey is another Kerry man on the entry list. The Beaufort man is alongside Derek McGarrity and are chasing Northern Irish Rally Championships points in their Ford Fiesta World Rally Car.
Alan Ring’s appearance in Derry remains up in the air. The former Circuit of Kerry winner’s Ford Fiesta R5 was badly damaged in a crash on The Stonethrowers Rally in Clonmel two weeks ago and It is unlikely he will make the start line.
Meanwhile, the World Rally Championship resumes in Germany this weekend. Noel O’Sullivan Jr, along with driver Jon Armstrong have their Fiesta repaired since its Finland crash and are ready to tackle the fourth round of the Drive D-Mack junior series.
Paul Nagle and Kris Meeke are pushing Citroen bosses into a Rally GB entry at the end of October. The British round of the WRC was never in their 2016 programme. Just China and Corsica remain for the Kerry/Tyrone pair.
The Citroen squad will enter three cars in Wales and Meeke has raised concerns that the gap between Corsica in mid-October and the 2017 season-opener in Monte Carlo in January is too much and is hoping he can convince team bosses to give him a run on the rally where they finished third last year.