PURCELL TAKES ON MANX CHALLENGE
Irishman Andrew Purcell says that his first visit to the Isle of Man was a tough experience after he crashed out of the lead on the Chris Kelly Memorial Rally in his Skoda Fabia R5.
Purcell went to the Isle of Man fresh from victory on the Wexford Stages for his first asphalt event outside of Ireland. In his earlier years, Purcell co-drove for Ray and Craig Breen.
Before the start he said: “I’ve never been here before. I would have done a couple of foreign events as a co-driver and have done a lot of work with
Ray and Craig over the years.
“The stages are very, very good. We’ve been a lot of places over the years and these are proper stages. On the long stage past Brandywell cottage you could gain 30 seconds or lose 30s. It’s definitely an experience.”
His wife Sarah was due to use the car a week later on the Donegal Harvest Rally but that rally was cancelled after the explosion is Creeslough. “Sarah is talking about doing the national championship next year so I’ll just do whatever slots in between,” said Purcell.