The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Kerry rally crews to race in five European countries in October
KERRY rally drivers and co-drivers will tackle events in five different European countries during October.
Competitors from the Kingdom will fly the green and gold flag in Austria, Belgium, France, Italy and Spain in the coming weeks.
Despite the Irish international rally season drawing to a close next weekend with the Fermoy-based Cork “20” Rally set to decide the destination of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship crown, local crews are gearing up for some of the biggest events of their careers.
Killarney co-driver Mikie Galvin is one three navigators on course for the ITRC. He and his West Cork driver Keith Cronin head to Rebel County in second place and victory on the event could ensure that Galvin becomes the first Kerryman to secure the title.
The pair head to Cork in a celebratory mood after being declared the inaugural FIA Celtic Cup aly champions last week. The new series included events in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and The Isle of Man was part of a new concept organised by the sport’s world governing body that also included regional series in Central Europe, The Baltic States and the Iberian Peninsula. Despite skipping Rally Isle of Man two weeks ago Galvin and Cronin were declared the winners as none of their main rivals travelled either. They now have an opportunity to contest Rally Waldvertel in Austria against the other three European regional rally champions but their participation in the event rests on their Cork result.
It is also a huge for Killarney’s world-class co-driver Paul Nagle, his driver Kris Meeke and their Citroen World Rally team. The French squad unveiled its brand new C3 World Rally Car at the Paris Auto Show earlier this week ahead of Meeke and Nagle’s participation Rally Corsica, the French round of the world series, that gets underway on Friday morning.
Meek said: “When I think about the Tour de Corse, it’s the terrible conditions in 2015 that spring to mind: the heavy downpours, the flooding, the shortened or cancelled stages… We were looking to score points for the Manufacturers’ championship and my fourth place helped us to achieve that goal. This year, I hope the conditions are kinder. This rally is absolutely fantastic when the roads are completely dry! In any event, I’m expecting it to be a tough weekend to manage. On Friday morning, we start with a 50km stage (SS1), with no splits… So without overdoing it, we’ll have to find the right pace from the word go because other- wise you could lose a lot of time. Fortunately, Sunday’s test session will give us an opportunity to make adjustments before the rally. As far as my objectives here, it’s difficult to say. Obviously, I won in Portugal and Finland, but I’ve always been quick on those surfaces. In Corsica, I think I would need to step up to another level. The target remains to rack up as many miles as possible to keep improving and be ready for 2017. I would be very happy to finish on the podium, but that’s not the goal in itself.”
This event was due to be the last rally the Kerry/Tyrone pairing contested this term as they concentrated on testing the new car ahead of the 2017 season. However , Citroen have now confirmed that they will also enter Rally Spain two weeks after the French counter and the possibility remains that the Irish crew will drive one of the squad’s three cars on Rally GB at the end of the month.
Citroen team principal Yves Matton, as ever would not be drawn into any discussion about potential driver line-ups. He said: “It will be difficult not to be there [Rally GB], we have British and Irish crews and our company has a British CEO [Linda Jackson]! We will send somebody.”
Killarney’s Noel O’Sullivan Jr is also on the Rally Spain entry list as he and his driver Jon Armstrong finish out their Drive D-Mack Trophy Challenge. The Ford Fiesta crew will be hoping to add to their Rally Poland category victory.
One of the county’s most popular crews, Thomas Fiztmaurice and Fionn Foley return to competition after a long layoff. The Abbeydorney/Blenerville team have had their Subaru Impreza WRC fully restored following a heavy crash during the 2013 Rally of the Lakes. They have decided to showcase the car on Rally of Legends in San Marino in Italy alongside some of the best drivers and cars in the world.
Rally of Legends is an invitation-only demonstration rally that celebrates the history of the sport. Fitzmaurice’s Impreza was originally built by Prodrive and used by Subaru factory driver Chris Atkinson during the early rounds of the 2007 World Rally Championship. The Falvey family from Rathmore are also on the October 6-9 event’s entry list with Conor entering his historic-spec Porsche 911 3.0 RS and Mark driving his ex-works Ford Escort RS1600.
Rounding off an incredible month of International rallying for Kerry competitors, London-based Killarney man Mick Smith is contesting the Hemicuda Rally in Belgium October 9. Smith has recently acquired a historic-spec Chrysler Avenger and used the car for the first time at the RallyDay event at the Castle Combe race track near Bristol on Saturday.