REIGNING Irish Tarmac Rally champion and four-time British Rally champion Keith Cronin is stepping back from rallying for the immediate future due to the expansion of family business interests.
As revealed in The Southern Star a few weeks ago, the Ballylickey driver withdrew his entry from this weekend's Jim Clark Rally, round three of the British Rally Championship, in the aftermath of his accident when in the lead on the Rally of the Lakes in Killarney.
Cronin and co-driver Killarney's Mikie Galvin were seeded at number one for the 14-stage Jim Clark Rally, having won the event 12 months ago.
The decision to withdraw places his participation in the remainder of the BRC as unlikely but he hasn't ruled out appearances in some of its events towards the year end.
Keith Cronin.
Meanwhile, it's a similar situation with regards to the NAPA Irish Tarmac Rally Championship even though Cronin is second in the series, just 12 points behind former champion Callum Devine.
Cronin revealed he didn't place an entry for the forthcoming Donegal International Rally, the fourth round of the series.
The Donegal entry is likely to be one of the most competitive in recent years and along with the ITRC regulars, a number of Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 cars are likely to be involved, one of which is rumoured will be driven by former WRC rally winner Kris Meeke.
There remains the possibility that Cronin could compete in the Ulster Rally (August 15th/16th) or the Cork ‘20’ (October 4th/5th).
'At the moment, business is taking up a lot of my time and the way things are going with rallying, it needs a big commitment and takes so much time. It's very hard to do both,’ Cronin commented. However, the possibility of a return before the end of the season remains.
