Cronin: Galway rally will be all about getting up to speed

KEITH Cronin returns to the cut and thrust of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship on this weekend’s Corrib Oil Galway International Rally where he will renew acquaintances with some former rivals and also encounter new rivals. 

The first Irish driver to win the series onboard an R5 car in 2016, Cronin switches from the VW Polo GTi R5 he campaigned in last year’s aborted British Rally Championship to an M-Sport built Ford Fiesta Rally2. Killarney’s Mikie Galvin will co-drive.  

Clonakilty’s Cal McCarthy and his Rosscarbery co-driver Eric Calnan are also on the 130-plus entry list along with Kilcrohane’s Jer O’Donovan and Rosscarbery’s Alistair Wyllie (Ford Fiesta R5) while a number of local co-drivers are also competing.

The 37-year-old Ballylickey ace had his last competitive outing at the Jim Clark Rally in Scotland last May. He explained the decision to plump for the ITRC.

‘With everything going on in the family business it was the most logical thing to do. It’s less pressure as I won’t have to travel as much and won’t be away for days on end,’ he said. In terms of another attempt to equal Jimmy McRae’s all-time record of five British Rally Championship wins, Cronin said: ‘As of now, I don’t really know. Yes, we’re working on a few things but our main focus is on Galway; we will see.’

At the beginning of the week Cronin was still awaiting his new car and will have little time to acquaint himself with the Ford Fiesta Rally2 car. The last time he drove a Fiesta was at the 2021 British Rally Championship where Welsh ace Matt Edwards (VW Polo GTi R5) clinched a third British Rally Championship title on the Ulster Rally. Ironically, Edwards is also amongst the Galway entry, also onboard a Ford Fiesta Rally2.  

Reigning champion Derry’s Callum Devine heads the entry in his VW Polo GTi R5 followed by Monaghan’s Josh Moffett, who will debut a Citroen C3 Rally2. Cronin occupies the number three berth followed by Monaghan’s Sam Moffett (Hyundai i20 Rally2), Belfast’s Jonny Greer (Citroen C3 Rally2) and Edwards.

Cronin told The Southern Star he would be very happy with a top-four finish in Galway.

‘Callum and Josh showed great pace in 2023, they were pushing each other all year. I haven’t been around in terms of testing or anything like that so Galway will be all about getting up to speed. I would imagine I will be quite slow to start with but we (along with co-driver Mikie Galvin) should get our pace up over the weekend and go from there,’ he said.

Returning to his own bid, Cronin added, ‘In one sense it’s a step into the unknown insofar as I haven’t done the Irish Tarmac Championship since 2016 when I drove a Citroen DS3 R5. With work, it’s harder to get time to do some training but I try and do as much as I can to stay fit.’  

Back in 2013, Cronin won the Galway International Rally when he campaigned an S11 Subaru WRC to a 13.8s victory over the Mini Cooper WRC of five-time Irish Tarmac champion Eugene Donnelly.

Cronin’s campaign is supported by Lyons Motor Group, Shane Casey Electrical Services, M O'Brien Group of Companies, Pirelli Tyres, Keohane Seafoods, Cremin Coach & Mini Bus Hire, Cronin’s Homevalue Hardware, Cronin’s Centra (Ballylickey, Leap, Union Hall, Millstreet and Dundrum), Westlink Service Station, EARS Motorsport Ireland and M-Sport.  

Clonakilty’s Cal McCarthy is also looking forward to the season opener in his Clonakilty Park Hotel/Carbery Plastics liveried Citroen C3 Rally2. 

‘Yes, it’s different territory, away from stages like the Black Road that can be very slippery and unforgiving. It’s a competitor-friendly rally with five stages to recce. Given that it is probably around half the stage mileage of the West Cork it’s a nice warm-up for the championship,’ McCarthy said.

His last outing in Galway was in 2020 where he finished 16th overall.

‘If we (with co-driver Eric Calnan) can pick up where we left off on the Fastnet Rally, hopefully we can finish inside the top ten.’ On his preferred conditions, ‘Probably wet and damp, I don’t seem to have the commitment level in dry conditions at the moment.’

Kilcrohane’s Jer O’Donovan (Ford Fiesta R5) and Rosscarbery’s Alistair Wyllie will start from No. 48 while West Cork co-drivers Kilnamartyra’s JJ Cremin will partner Limerick’s Keith Lyons (Ford Fiesta Rally2); Ardfield’s Anthony O’Sullivan competes with Welshman Meirion Evans (Ford Escort RS1800) and Clondrohid’s Iarla McCarthy sits with English driver Tom Clark (Ford Escort), both are in the Historic category of the event.

The rally features eight stages on Saturday and six on Sunday with the former Galway Airport complex as the service park. The ceremonial start in Eyre Square is at 7.30pm this Friday evening with Saturday’s opening stage (Kilcoona) starting at 8.54am. The other stage locations are at Caherlistrane and Kilbeg.  Sunday’s first stage (SS9) near Monivea starts at 8.55am with the next stage at Colmanstown, both of which are repeated three times. The first car is due at the finish ramp at the Connacht Hotel on Sunday afternoon at 4.30pm.