With maximum points from the Prestone British Rally championship category of the Renties Ypres Rally in view, there was final stage agony for the Cork-Kerry duo of Keith Cronin/Mikie Galvin (Hyundai i20 R5) — a puncture that relegated them to third of the BRC contenders.

Punching in the best times on every stage Ballylickey’s Keith Cronin and his Killarney co-driver Mikie Galvin took their new Hyundai i20 R5 to victory in the Rathkeale House Hotel Circuit of Munster Rally.

Although second spot was snatched away on the final stage, Ballylickey’s Keith Cronin was satisfied with third place on his debut in the PCRS Hyundai i20 R5 on the Pirelli Rally, the opening round of the Prestone MSA British Rally Championship in Carlisle.

Cork’s Keith Cronin will debut a different car in the British Rally Championship as he bids to equal the legendary Jimmy McCrae as a five-time winner of the series.

Cork driver and four-time British Rally Champion Keith Cronin will campaign the new generation Hyundai i20 R5-N in this year’s British Rally Championship that includes rounds of the World Rally Championship (Wales Rally GB) and the European Rally Championship (Rally Ypres).

Promising motorsport starlets Derry’s Callum Devine, 23, and Mullingar’s Jordan Dempsey, 17, scooped the main prizes at the Beta Tools Motorsport Ireland awards ceremony at Dublin’s

Cork driver Keith Cronin in the M-Sport Ford Fiesta R5 faces a difficult task in winning a fourth British Rally Championship crown that will be decided over the two-leg 138.com Rally Isle of Man that began last night.

Contenders for the Clonakilty Blackpudding Irish Tarmac Championship and the Prestone British Rally Championship go head to head for the only time this season on the John Mulholland Ulster Rally starting in Derry this afternoon.

With his sixth victory of the season Monaghan’s Sam Moffett (27) clinched the Triton Showers National Rally Championship with a comfortable victory in the FAAC Simply Automatic/Sligo Park Hotel Rally.

Triple British rally champion Keith Cronin from Ballylickey, with co-driver Killarney’s Mikie Galvin, are back into contention for this season’s Prestone MSA British Rally Championship (BRC) as they annexed top points in the Ypres Rally in Belgium, the first overseas round in the 59-year history of the BRC.

With four rounds completed Sam Moffett (Ford Focus WRC) is marching towards success in the Triton National Rally Championship.

Cork racer Matt Griffin and team mate Duncan Cameron took their Spirit of Race Ferrari 488 GTE to third place in the Silverstone 500, round six of the British GT Championship. 

Monaghan’s Sam Moffett (Ford Fiesta WRC) strengthened his grip on the Triton Showers National Rally Championship when claiming the Rathkeale House Hotel Circuit of Munster Rally, round four of the campaign.

The Rathkeale House Hotel Circuit of Munster on Sunday marks the halfway point of the eight round Triton Showers National Rally Championship. However, it also contains several subplots including preparation for the next rounds of the British and Irish Tarmac Championships and also forms part of the Top Part West Coast regional series.

There are certain similarities between Kris Meeke and Keith Cronin - both of whom need a strong result in their respective outings in this weekend’s rounds of the World Rally Championship and the British Rally Championship.

There was late drama in the Cartell.ie Rally of the Lakes in Killarney, where Monaghan’s Sam Moffett (Fiesta R5) and his Bandon co-driver Karl Atkinson took victory after long-time leaders, Roy White and co-driver James O’Brien, clattered their Fiesta WRC against a chicane bale on SS 13 and limped to the stage finish before retiring.

This weekend is likely to be a defining moment in the annals of the Cartell.ie Rally of the Lakes in Killarney. A glance through the list of previous winners reveal that drivers of World Rally Cars have triumphed since the Millennium, but that thread is tenuous as the new breed of R5 cars is set to bring the sequence to an end.

Although victory in the Abbey Hotel Munster Moonraker Rally wasn’t the ultimate goal for Ballylickey’s Keith Cronin and his Killarney co-driver Mikie Galvin (Ford Fiesta R5), they secured a fine win with a measured and composed drive that provided the perfect preparation for their next outing in the British Rally Championship in three weeks time.

Rallying across the three Irish championships is a rare feat but one Monaghan’s Sam Moffett is accomplishing.

Donegal’s Donagh Kelly (Ford Focus WRC) netted his fourth straight win in the Quality Hotel West Cork Rally, the second round of the Clonakilty Blackpudding Irish Tarmac Rally Championship.

Donegal’s Donagh Kelly bids for a fourth successive victory at the Quality Hotel West Cork Rally this weekend - a feat that has never been achieved in the 40-year history of the Clonakilty event.

A case of third time lucky and with it the luck of the Irish as Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle took their Citroen C3 WRC to victory in Rally Mexico, round three of the World Rally Championship. 

Having failed to go the full distance in the opening two rounds of the World Rally Championship, the Irish duo of Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle (Citroen DS3 WRC) seek better fortune on this weekend’s Rally Mexico, the first gravel event of the year. 

Cork driver Keith Cronin has penned a deal that will see him and Killarney co-driver Mikie Galvin contest this season’s Prestone British Rally Championship with M-Sport and the Ecoboost-powered Ford Fiesta R5.

For the second time in succession, Craig Breen/Scott Martin were the top finishers for the Citroen Total Abu Dhabi WRT as they brought their Citroen C3 WRC to fifth spot at the end of Rally Sweden, the second round of the World Rally Championship.

Following a winter of uncertainty, Irish rallying springs into action tomorrow with the Corrib Oil Galway International Rally, the opening round of the Clonakilty Blackpudding Irish Tarmac Championship.

The two most prestigious awards within Irish motorsport were presented to the sport’s brightest talents last evening as Monaghan’s Josh Moffett, 24, scooped the Billy Coleman Award for the Young Rally Driver of the Year while Ciaran Carey, 22, from Rathoath, Co Meath, won the Sexton Trophy for the Young Racing Driver of the Year.

Few issues within Irish motorsport generate discussion as much as the Billy Coleman Young Rally Driver of the Year award. 

Good performances don’t always guarantee good results according to Cork racing ace Matt Griffin, who competes in the penultimate round of the European Le Mans Series at Spa Francorchamps in Belgium this weekend. 

Donegal’s Donagh Kelly (Ford Focus WRC) would happily trade all his rally wins and even his Clonakilty Blackpudding Irish Tarmac Championship and the Triton Showers National Rally Championship titles for success in the Joule Donegal International Rally that gets underway today.

Having built his racing career in Northampton and within earshot of Silverstone, Matt Griffin is content with life following his decision to return to his native Leeside from where he continues his globetrotting motorsport career as a professional Ferrari factory-racing driver.

Circuit of Ireland.

The best young drivers line up to contest the Circuit of Ireland that gets underway today in Antrim.

Waterford’s Craig Breen (26) will defend his Circuit of Ireland title against opposition that includes European Rally Champion and last year’s event runner-up Kajetan Kajetanowicz along with former triple British rally champion Keith Cronin and Ulster driver Alastair Fisher.

Donegal’s Donagh Kelly made history in the Quality Hotel West Cork Rally by becoming the first driver to win the event three years in succession.