IGOE AND O’DONOVAN SET FOR CRC CADWELL SHOWDOWN
Michael Igoe and Will Atkins will aim to complete a perfect season in the Circuit Rally Championship by adding another victory to their tally at Cadwell Park on Easter Sunday.
Igoe and Atkins are already confirmed as 2023-24 champions in the Motorsport News-supported championship with their Citroen C3 Rally2 after scoring six wins from seven events. However, when the championship visited the Lincolnshire circuit for round two in November, they didn’t win after a puncture forced Igoe to stop mid-stage. Having won every other round, Igoe could now complete his season by adding victory at Cadwell Park.
With no chance of catching Igoe, previous champion John Griffiths has decided not to run at Cadwell in his Ford Fiesta R5. However, young rallycross star Patrick O’Donovan, who won the November event on his rallying debut, is back on the CRC schedule with Jack Morton alongside in his Hyundai i20 R5 and will surely be a major threat to Igoe.
Other leading contenders include Ollie O’Donovan, Patrick’s father, in another Hyundai and championship regulars Paul Murro (Ford Fiesta R5) and Tony Robinson (Skoda Fabia R5).
One of the features of the Cadwell event, the penultimate round of the championship, will be the twowheel-drive battle. The Ford Escorts of Martin Hodgson and Alex Stubbs take on the Vauxhall Chevette HSR of Alasdair Stables, the Darrian of James Garner and the Mazda MX-5 of Paul Sheard. With the final Anglesey round to follow two weeks later, the two-wheel-drive battle remains wide open at this point.