CRONIN GIVES NEW CAR A DEBUT WIN TO BEAT BROTHER, DANIEL
Organiser: Limerick MC When: June 3 Where: Rathkeale, County Limerick Championship: West Coast Rally Championship Stages: 9 Starters 81. Four-time British Rally champion Keith Cronin and his co-driver Mikie Galvin shook down their new Hyundai i20 R5 with an impressive performance that yielded their expected victory on the Circuit of Munster Rally.
Keith’s younger brother Daniel and his co-driver JJ Cremin (Ford Fiesta R5) finished a minute and 55 seconds behind in second and 33.5 seconds in front of local driver Ed Synan on his debut in a Mckinstry-hired Subaru Impreza WRC. He was co-driven by Tom Collins.
Cronin gained 17.2s from the opening stage where local ace Ed O’callaghan (Ford Escort) was next best; second seed Daniel Cronin overshot and was fortunate to avoid contact with a bridge.
By the end of the loop it was a Cronin 1-2 as Keith led younger sibling Daniel by 40.8s. O’callaghan was in third place but Synan, who stalled on the start line of SS3, was only a fraction of a second adrift.
On the repeat loop, and with a harder compound tyre, Keith sped into the distance and was 1m14.1s in front of Daniel. But they were the only duo to traverse SS5 as O’callaghan crashed heavily and was taken to hospital with suspected leg injuries. SS6 fell by the wayside after the emergency services were dispatched to attend to a stage resident.
Cronin completed the rout with the complete set of fastest stage times. Daniel made contact with a chicane on the final stage that ripped part of the front-left wing.
Synan came home third from an untroubled PJ Mcdermott (Subaru) and top rear-wheel drive exponent Colin Byrne (Escort) survived a massive high-speed moment on the penultimate stage to finish fifth.