“Ulster Rally has shown it can be a force for good”

The customer is always right. Right? Well, that theory was put to the test in the run up to this week’s Ulster Rally, as for a time it appeared as though the number of A-list drivers from both the British Rally and Irish Tarmac championships would be thin on the ground.

Last year the event was dealt a hammer blow by several withdrawals, including Keith Cronin and Sam Moffett, to leave the field looking rather sorry for itself.

It appeared as though history was going to repeat itself in 2019 despite significant changes from a crack new team led by Richard Swanston, including a new base, a one-day format instead of two and new stages.

Organisers had listened and acted on the feedback tabled by a fair few leading lights in the wake of last year’s event.

As reported in last week’s Motorsport News, road miles to stage miles proved a real talking point and action has been taken. In 2018 road miles totalled 384 compared to just 68 this time while stages miles have been trimmed by a more modest 10 to 94.

Surely with tweaks made to suit competitors they would respond in kind with an entry? But it wasn’t until the 11th hour that the picture started to improve.

Craig Breen’s navigator, Paul Nagle, made the call from Rally Finland to say that they would be in Newry, with submissions received from Josh Moffett, Callum Devine, Jonathan Greer, Marty Mccormack and Desi Henry.

With that, numbers swelled to where they should be for one of the province’s most highprofile sporting occasions.

In the current climate it appears as though oneday rallies are now the norm. You can look at that as being a negative, but I for one prefer to look at the positives. Perhaps the biggest is the speed.

With so much at stake for the likes of Breen,

Matt Edwards and Tom Cave, they cannot afford to bed themselves in. Instead, they have to be on it right from the off and this speed, car control and talent is sure to resonate with those people lining the ditches to catch a glimpse of these three.

Change for the sake of change is not always good, but the Ulster Rally has shown that it can be a force for good. Even if there were a few sleepless nights as the deadline for entries approached.