DUG G AN IS DONE GAL BOUND WITH FIE STAR 5 SWITCH
The 2016 Prestone Motorsport News Junior British Rally champion Rob Duggan will make his R5 debut on next month’s Donegal International Rally, as he is reunited with his championship-winning co-driver Ger Conway.
The deal to drive the Ford Fiesta R5 came together after the Killarney driver’s classwinning performance on the recent Rally of the Lakes in Killarney, where he set a thirdfastest time overall against R5 and WRC cars, in his modified Ford Escort Mk2, on the famous Molls Gap stage.
“After Killarney we had such a good run there, a few sponsors came forward,” said Duggan. “They were willing to support the whole thing.
“We got an entry in, and it all started coming together pretty quickly.
“We didn’t know whether to go in an R5 or an Escort, I wanted to go in an Escort really, I couldn’t get the car I used for the Lakes.”
Duggan is hoping to be on the pace by the end of the weekend, having never driven a fourwheel-drive car in competition.
“I’ve never even sat in one,” he added. “We’ll get a quick test, but whatever we do probably won’t be enough.
“A lot of people will be expecting us to be with the top boys but I don’t think so. “On Friday we’ll get settled in and set-up, Saturday we’ll start building the pace and Sunday I’d be hoping to try and bang in a decent top-three time in the R5s, that’s my aim for the weekend.
“But the guys in Ireland aren’t sitting around, they’re fast and they’ve done 30 or 40 rallies in an R5 car.”
The 2017 JBRC champion Callum Devine will join Duggan in making his asphalt debut in his Fiesta R5, as he looks to defend his strong record on the event having won the R2 class on multiple times.
Exactly 151 cars are set to start the event on June 15-17, in what is the most anticipated event in Irish rallying.