The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Breen and Nagle back on track
CRAIG Breen and Paul Nagle will return to the World Rally Championship for the first time since February when they contest September’s Rally Estonia.
The Kerry/ Waterford pairing will form part of a three-car team for Hyundai Motorsport which includes Ott Tänak and Thierry Neuville. The WRC’s restart event is a new addition to the series after several other rallies were cancelled as a result of the pandemic.
Breen and Nagle’s last WRC outing was on Rally Sweden in February where they finished seventh for the Korean manufacturer. They were due to contest Rally Finland – which should have taken place this weekend – but that event got cancelled and Estonia has been drafted in as a replacement round.
Breen and Nagle tackled Rally Estonia last year when it was run as an official WRC promotional event. They finished fifth in what was their first event with the team and their experience of the 2019 event should stand to them in September.
Meanwhile, they got their European Rally Championship bid off to a better than expected start after finishing fourth on last weekend’ Rally di Roma Capital.
As well as their World Championship commitments with Hyundai, the Irish team is also contesting the ERC with MRF Tyres in a Hyundai i20 R5. Their prime focus is developing the Indian tyre brand’s products for motorsport use and they were not expected to be competitive against their Pirelli shod rivals.
The finished sixth after Saturday’s opening leg but, following a tight battle with four-time Romanian rally champion Simone Tempestin in a Skoda Fabia. Breen and Nagle eventually finished 1.3 seconds ahead of their rival to claim an unexpected fourth sport.
“To be completely honest we are dealing with tyres that are so new in our development. We are competing against tyres with years and years of development and these are new. Fair play, the tyres have done well. We have work to do but the tyres have been great and we should feel happy with the progress,” said Breen.
Motorcycle racing
KEVIN Coyne prepared for his British Super Bike Championship debut next month with a series of fifth places in the Thundersport GP2 Cup series at Donington
Park last weekend. The Faranfore-based rider will make his BSB debut at the same track on August 7-9.
He entered last weekend’s Thundersport meeting to gain valuable track experience ahead of the BSB season opener. The Kawasaki rider took part in four races over the weekend – his first time competing overseas – and netted fifth place in his class in each event.
Porsche Carrera Cup GB
LORCAN Hanafin prepared for his debut in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB by taking second in championship’s official test session at Brands Hatch last Thursday.
Hannifan, who has strong Tralee connections – his father Dermot was raised in Ballinorig where his grandfather Dermot Sr and other family members still live- will contest the 16-round series at the wheel of a Joe Tandy Racing prepared race car
The opening round is set for this weekend at Donington Park and the eight double-header rounds follow the British Touring Car Championship’s Calendar. The Leeds-based-driver previously raced in the Junior Clio Cup in 2017 before moving into Ginetta Junior Championship for the 2018 and 2019 seasons.