Huge entry for Circuit of Kerry

THIS year’s Rose Hotel Circuit of Kerry Rally is shaping up to be one of the most-keenly contested and best supported in years.

Kerry Motor Club launched the April 8 event with a photo-shoot at the Top Part Motor Factors headquarters and a press conference at the Rose Hotel in Tralee on Saturday evening.

Clerk of the course Richard Talbot confirmed over 120 crews had entered the rally with entries coming from all corners of Ireland and a far afield as Scotland, England and Wales.

With the rally forming rounds of three different championships, even more crews are expected to sign up before this weekend’s deadline and although Kerry Motor Club will continue to accept entries right up to the eve of event, late entrants will not be published in the official programme.

So far this year, there has been three Tarmac rallies in Ireland, all won by different drivers and the trio are set to appear in Tralee on the second weekend in April and all three are former national champions.

Already confirmed is the current leader of the Triton Showers National Rally Championship, Declan Boyle from Donegal. Boyle won the opening national round in Mayo in early March in his Ford Fiesta World Rally. His county man, Donagh Kelly won the traditional St Patrick’s weekend West Cork Rally driving his Ford Focus World Rally Car

Roy White from Tipperary is also on the Kerry entry list, the Ford Fiesta driver, like Kelly and Boyle is a former national champion, won the Top Part opener in Nenagh in February.

Local firm Top Part celebrates its 40th anniversary this year and has been the title sponsor of the West Coast Championship since its inception in 1993.

Former Top Part champion and Kerry Winter Rally winner Mike Quin is another top driver on the quality-filled entry list.

New for 2018 is the Moriarty’s Centra Kingdom of Kerry Rally Championship, open to members of Kerry and Killarney and District Motor Club, with Mike Quinn, a former Kerry Winter Rally winner, likely to feature amongst the frontrunners of the new series but as it’s a class-based competition there are a host of other local drivers on the entry list who could take the spoils. Darren Young (Honda Civic); Tadgh O’Sullivan (Ford Escort); John Daly (Honda Type R) and Timmy Enright (Escort) are just a few possibilities of Kingdom of Kerry success.

The Circuit of Kerry is unique in that the rally will be run over 11 classic stages using many roads on the nationally publicised Wild Atlantic Way, and on some roads that have not seen rally action for over 20 years. It is the only rally in Ireland that offer as many tests in a one-day format. A detailed route map will be published in the full-colour official programme which will be on sale in Tralee and surrounding areas a few days after the Easter break.

Local drivers who displayed cars at the launch were David Griffin and Paudie Casey (Toyota) and Ger O’Brien and Eoin Duffin (Ford).

HANAFIN IN ACTION IN UK JUNIOR CUP

TEENAGE racing driver Lorcan Hanafin got his Renault Clio UK Junior Cup campaign off to a great start at Silverstone, the home of the British Grand Prix on Sunday.

The Leeds-based driver, son of Tralee man Dermot, finished fourth and second in the opening two rounds of the 12-race series.

His performance in race two was particularly noteworthy, having started third on the grid, he quickly moved into second and hounded eventual race winner Nicholas Reeve for the 20-lap race.

The youngster, who has many family ties to the Ballinorig area of Tralee, finished second in the series last season. As well as his father, his uncle Noel was also amongst the on-lookers at the world-famous track over the weekend.