BALLYLICKEY’S Daniel Cronin will begin his tilt at this year's Triton Showers National Rally Championship at the wheel of a state-of-the-art Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 that he will debut on Sunday's Mayo Rally, the first of the eight-round series.

Clonakilty's Cal McCarthy (Citroen C3 Rally2) is also journeying up the west coast where Inchigeelagh's Cyril Casey and his Clondrohid co-driver Eoghan McCarthy compete in Ford Fiesta R2.

It was anticipated that Cronin would begin his assault on the 2026 Triton campaign in the same Citroen he campaigned in the opening rounds of last year's championship. He explained the switch.

‘The car became available and that was it really,’ Cronin said.

‘TGM (Tom Gahan Motorsport) will continue to run the car. The plan is to contest the national series.

‘We (with his east Cork co-driver Padraig O'Donovan) will also compete in the West Cork as well, it will be valuable seat time.’

Cronin finished third overall in the 2023 and 2024 Triton Showers series but last year didn't go according to plan so hopefully this year will see him regain that type of form.

Meanwhile, Cal McCarthy's trip to Mayo, while principally a shakedown for the Clonakilty Park Hotel West Cork Rally, could have another role.

‘We will probably compete in other rounds of the national as well.’ McCarthy explained.

‘In the last few years we competed in the Bishopscourt Rally as the shakedown but that is more circuit related than say the traditional rally. The national suits our situation at present as the Tarmac series is more demanding in terms of time away.

‘On national events it usually only entails one night away, Mayo is one of the exceptions but others we can leave on a Saturday morning and then home on Sunday night.’

Due to the unavailability of his regular co-driver, Rosscarbery's Eric Calnan, Donegal's James McBrearty will deputise.

‘Sunday is about seat time really, the rally has a very strong entry,’ he noted.

McCarthy, like many more, commented on the rally calendar where it is very packed in the opening months particularly March and April and then in July there is a lull.

‘It is very intense right now. Mayo is the one round of the national that I have never contested, it was always too close to the West Cork.’

Jokingly, he concluded, ‘I hope it's not too close this time!’

Reigning national champion Eddie Doherty (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) is the top seed. While he has previously stated he will not defend his title, that could change. He is one of six Skoda mounted drivers in the top ten, along with the Boyle trio of Michael, Declan and Matthew, fellow Donegal driver David Kelly and Tyrone's Cathan McCourt.

Monaghan's Josh Moffett and Daniel Cronin in their Toyota GR Yaris Rally2s are seeded at three and eight respectively in a top ten that also features the Ford Fiesta Rally2 cars of Cavan's Gary Kiernan and Tyrone's Jason Dickson. The first of the day's nine stages will start at 09:04.