‘I’m now more comfortable competing in the top ten,’ says Cal McCarthy ahead of Clare Rally

THE transformation in Cal McCarthy’s pace as the season progresses is a welcome boost to the Clonakilty driver, who is using Sunday’s Clare Rally as a shakedown for the Fastnet Rally in five weeks’ time.

At the beginning of July, McCarthy posted his first-ever fastest stage time in a national rally, a watershed moment. It’s one that has given him a new perspective.

‘I’m now more comfortable competing in the top ten compared to the start of the year when I had to push hard to stay up there,’ he said.

‘I suppose it’s all down to seat-time but I also learned a lot from the fact that this year we have gone back to writing our own pacenotes. It took three or four events to get confident with them and I think that the three days in Donegal made a big difference to us.

‘We probably started the year slowly making sure we finished events and as we built up, it started to work.’

Campaigning the ex-Jonny Greer Citroen C3 Rally2 car, McCarthy and his Rosscarbery co-driver Eric Calnan are also aware it’s a team effort.

‘DGM (David Greer Motorsport) do a great job,’ he said.

Incidentally, David Greer won the Marine Hotel Fastnet Rally in a Toyota Celica in 1998.

McCarthy, who competes against David’s son Jonny on rounds of the Tarmac Championship added. ‘Jonny is always there for advice, the gap between us is closing now, in terms of tyres and suspension, he is great to give his opinion. He is very open and encouraging.’

Like many other local drivers, McCarthy is eagerly awaiting the Fastnet Rally and nine stages in County Clare is perfect preparation.

‘Seat-time is so important now, one needs to be out every month or six weeks,’ he said. ‘It’s too big of a time gap from the Cork 20 to the Fastnet so that is the main reason why we are doing Clare and it will be important to get to the finish.’

But there is a strong sense of realism too.

‘The level that Callum Devine and Josh Moffett are at is extremely quick,’ McCarthy said.

‘I would be hoping that we will be able to match the times of the second tier as it were. Our times in Donegal and on the Raven’s Rock were there or thereabouts with that second tier.’

To get into that second bunch, he added: ‘Your pacenotes, tyres all need to be right. With a wrong tyre call you can easily go from that second bunch to the back of the third tier, the margins at the top are very small.’

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The Skibbereen and District Car Club, organisers of the Fastnet Rally, will be hoping that the Sunday’s Clare Rally will not decide the outcome of the series.

Championship leader Monaghan’s Josh Moffett could take back-to-back titles but only if he takes top championship points (21) and also wins the Power Stage in Clare, any other permutation will result in a Fastnet Rally title decider.

Other local interest in Clare includes Dunmanway’s Conor McCarthy and Dripsey’s Gavin Sheehan (Mitsubishi Lancer E9); Ballylickey’s Shane Casey (Ford Fiesta Rally4), Dunmanway’s Gerard O’Connell (Ford Escort) while Barryroe co-driver Dylan Doonan calls the notes for Tyrone’s Barry Morris (Darrian T90 GTR).