DANIEL Cronin competes in the ALMC Hellfire Rally in Oldcastle, the sixth round of the Triton Showers National Rally Championship next Sunday.
The Ballylickey native will drive the Citroen C3 Rally2 that he campaigned last time out in the Waterford based Raven’s Rock Rally with East Cork’ s Padraig O’Donovan on co-driving duties.
Cronin hasn’t enjoyed the best of seasons and a top three championship like he attained in the last few seasons is now out of reach.
‘I just need to get going again and build up the confidence,’ Cronin said.
‘The target is the Fastnet Rally now so I need to build up a bit of speed for that, I will probably compete in a few other events like Clare, maybe Wexford and the Cork ‘20’.
‘It’s all about seat time to get the confidence back. We will play it by ear and see how things pan out.’
Kilkenny’s Eddie Doherty (Skoda Fabia R5) is the top seed and championship leader with Donegal’s Declan Boyle (Skoda Fabia Rally2), Derry’s Desi Henry (Ford Fiesta Rally2) and Monaghan’s Josh Moffett (Hyundai i20 R5) all still in the title equation with the series set to conclude on the Westlodge Hotel Fastnet Rally on the October bank-holiday weekend.
66 points are still available so the Skibbereen organisers will be hoping for a back-to-back title decider on the Fastnet.
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The NAPAAuto Parts Irish Tarmac Rally and Triton Showers National Rally Championships are the highlights of a busy upcoming weekend.
Several local competitors will be involved with implications for both the Skibbereen and District Car and Munster Car Clubs.
First up is the Newry based Modern Tyres Ulster Rally, the penultimate round of the ITRC that gets underway on Friday afternoon at 3:33pm with the first of six stages.
Saturday’s second leg starts at 10:22am and also features six stages before the 4:45pm finish at the Modern Tyres complex.
It’s been a difficult season for the Tarmac Rally Organisers Association (TROA) with both Keith Cronin abandoning his bid for back-to-back titles after crashing out of the Assess Ireland Rally of the Lakes and Welsh driver Matt Edwards making an announcement, prior to the Donegal International, that he was taking a break from the sport.
Both decisions robbed the ITRC of two of the best talents that have elevated the profile of the series.
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Derry driver Callum Devine, who missed the Clonakilty Park Hotel West Cork Rally (the opening round following the then postponement of the Galway International Rally) has since won the Circuit of Ireland, the Rally of the Lakes and the Donegal International, currently leads the series by twenty points.
Remarkably, he can clinch the title by taking maximum points from the Ulster, an event that he has yet to win.
Understandably, the Munster Car Club will be hoping that the title will go down to the wire for their event. For whatever reason, Devine’s Killarney co-driver Noel O’Sullivan didn’t register for this year’s campaign leaving Welsh ace Patrick Walsh and Wexford’s Andy Hayes vying for the co-driver’s title.
Devine is the top seed with Welsh driver Osian Pryce (Hyundai i20 Rally2) - the 2022 British Rally Champion - returning to the Newry event after a lapse of four years, he will be co-driven by Andy Hayes.
Donegal’s David Kelly (VW Polo GTi R5), Declan Boyle and Michael Boyle, both in Skoda Fabia RS
Rally2 cars, are still in the hunt for the Tarmac title but will need to beat Devine to keep their hopes alive.
The top ten also features Donegal’s Kevin Eves (Ford Fiesta Rally2), Armagh’s Darren Gass (VW Polo GTi R5), Preston’s James Ford (Citroen C3 Rally2), Donegal’s Matthew Boyle (Ford Fiesta Rally2) and British driver Mark Kelly (VW Polo GTi R5).
