KELLY CONSIDERS R5 MOVE WITH GRIZEDALE ENTRY says...

Last year’s Tarmac and National champion to run M-sport Ford Fiesta

Big names to R5 would be a boost

This is a huge scalp for the Irish Tarmac Championship. Or it could be, if Kelly converts to R5 formula.

We’ve already seen long term WRC man Garry Jennings experiment with a Mitsubishi Mirage R5 this year, and if he or Kelly could be persuaded over to R5, it’s a big boost for the organisers of the ITRC.

There was some discontent over the segregation of WRC cars into a ‘cup’ and out of the running for the ITRC title. Most were upset with the speed at which the organisers did it. When I first heard the news, I was sad that there was likely to be fewer WRC cars in the series. I hold Andrew Nesbitt, Bertie Fisher, James Cullen and Eugene Donnelly in very high esteem as any, and was upset fans wouldn’t see as much of the WRCS.

What no one could predict was how many R5s there were in the series, and the speed at which they’ve been driven. Five drivers entered the last stage of the last rally with a chance to win the title. And if that’s not entertaining I don’t know what is.