WHITE WINS IT IN CORK
Daniel cronin collects maximum tarmac points.
Overall victory in the Cork ‘20’ International Rally went the way of Roy White, while Daniel Cronin left with R5 honours, as the leading crews were absent after the title had already been decided.
The traditional Irish Tarmac season-closer was once again based in Macroom and featured 16 tough tests for the 88 starting crews. With the Tarmac title decided in Josh Moffett’s favour prior to the event due to brother Sam electing not to take the start, the International regulars were somewhat thin on the ground. Jonny Greer and Kirsty Riddick were top of the list in their regular Ford Fiesta R5, followed by Roy White in a Wrc-specification Fiesta and Tarmac returnee Cronin. Meirion Evans also made the trip across the pond with the Hyundai i20 R5 that he debuted in Wexford earlier in September.
All of the above had yet to take a Tarmac win, and White was undoubtedly the favourite with his superior machinery.
White was fastest out of the traps on the first two tests by a tiny margin, though the Tipperary man felt that the cold temperatures were making it tricky to get heat into the tyres; the result being that his Tom Gahan-run Ford Fiesta WRC was moving around quite a bit. He was lucky not to lose time when second gear broke, though this was rectified in first service.
Things were close just behind, as Cronin and Evans swapped tenths of seconds, though Greer started to get into the swing of things during the day as the stages seemed to suit the R5 cars better than the morning loops. Greer took 10 seconds out of White after the latter had a moment on the fifth test, and things were starting to look interesting. White took time back on the following Lough Allua stage, and that pattern continued for the last loop, the net result being that White led by 8.9 seconds overnight. Cronin lay third ahead of Evans, while David Guest sat in fifth position in his Skoda Fabia S2000.
Damp roads on Sunday morning made the going very slippery, and Greer put in a cracking time to leapfrog White. That lead was to be shortlived though, as Greer put his Fiesta off and out of the rally on the very next test. It was a case of what could have been for the Carryduff man, as prior to his retirement it seemed that he nearly had the measure of White.
White and co-driver James O’brien were therefore able to manage the gap to Cronin for the remainder of the event, with some set-up changes on the Fiesta WRC increasing their confidence. While O’brien is a previous winner of the event with Andrew Nesbitt, this was White’s first International victory, and after a few years of consistent results in the Fiesta the Cork ‘20’ trophy is a nice addition to the cabinet.
Cronin ended up in second ahead of Evans, and the Welshman is starting to get used to the Hyundai now after another good run.
Cronin has had a mixed year, showing flashes of pace interspersed with issues, and if he can pull things together in a more consistent fashion he may be a dark horse for next year’s crown.
It’s unfortunate that the rally attracted a less than stellar entry due to the championship situation, and credit must be given to the organisers for an extremely well-run event that encompassed some very challenging stages. Being the final round of the series means there’s always an element of risk that standings will have been decided beforehand and, with the dropped score points system, there is often little incentive for many crews to attend.
In any case, the Moffett brothers are the form men in Irish rallying of late, and one wonders who can truly challenge them in 2019. It’s been a difficult year for the Irish Tarmac series overall, what with Galway’s cancellation, insurance worries, the sponsorship and TV coverage debacle prior to West Cork, and the ongoing debate over World Rally Cars should be allowed to score event wins. The championship has gone through peaks and troughs in the past, but with this year being the 40th anniversary of the series, one would have perhaps hoped for more drama and excitement from the island’s premier rally championship. The rule change in 2016 that put R5 cars to the fore appeared to have done the trick for a while, but the desired effect of attracting all leading competitors into a level playing field hasn’t transpired. The series needs a better 2019 – right up to the last round.
Hunter hit the front at halfway