Gass gears up for Kerry Rally bid
He joins top seeds Kevin Barrett and Niall Maguire, also in Subaru WRCs, in the quest for victory in one of the most popular events in Irish rallying. All three know what it’s like to lead the Circuit of Kerry but only Maguire has tasted outright victory in Tralee in a tie-break situation.
Gass has a fine turn of speed but needs consistency if he is to triumph in the nine-stage rally that includes the classic Minard Castle stage. Barrett and Maguire shape up to each other for the third time this season, with the former the most recent victor when he claimed victory at the Mayo Rally.
Barrett may feel he has unfinished business in Kerry as he lost on a tie-break with Derek McGarrity some 12 months ago, but sentiment counts for nothing in a sport that’s both fickle, unpredictable and doesn’t always reward effort.
The Group N trio of Alan Ring, Thomas Fitzmaurice and Shane Maguire will also have high ambitions, particularly the Kerry duo of Ring and Fitzmaurice who’ll be on home roads.
Ring won the Group N category last year and will be aiming to deny the WRC trio of a podium lock-out. Fitzmaurice will also push hard to achieve a top result.
Meanwhile, Shane Maguire (Subaru), the reigning Top Part West Coast champion, will be hard pressed to match the more experienced Group N competitors that also features Eamonn Daly (Mitsubishi).
Another of the locals aiming to impress is Mike Quinn (Ford Escort), the leading entry in the Modified category.
Limerick’s Ed O’Callaghan (FordEscort) provides formidable opposition and is seeded directly behind while late entry, Kevin O’Donoghue (Ford Escort) is another major contender.
There are places in the top 10 for Alan O’Callaghan (Subaru) and Vincent O’Shea (Escort Cosworth). The event starts at 8.50am and finishes at 5pm with the service park adjacent to rally headquarters, the Carlton Hotel.
Even though the rally is not a round of the Dunlop series this year, the organising Kerry Motor Club’s decision to introduce attractive packages and awards, has ensured a good response with almost 120 seeded entries.
The format of the junior and historic categories has been changed from previous years.
Both categories compete over the first six stages of the rally and areintegrated with the main field. The winners of both categories will also be brought over the finish ramp before the main field.
The event is being filmed by On the Limit Sports for transmission on TG4, Motors TV and Sky Sports.
Meanwhile, Derry’s Marty McCormack and his Cork co-driver, David Moynihan are the top seeds for tomorrow’s Bulldog International Rally North Wales, the second round of the Dulux Trade British Rally Championship.
McCormack has landed a drive in a Citroen DS3 that will be backed by Citroen France. They compete in the R3 category that also includes the Irish duo of Mark Donnelly/Barry McNulty (Renault Clio).
Craig Breen (Ford Fiesta R2), back from the disappointment of his Academy WRC outing in Portugal, will have Siim Plangi (Renault Twingo), Mikko Pajunen (Renault Twingo), John MacCrone (Ford Fiesta), Joseph McGonigle (Citroen C2R2) and Molly Taylor (Ford Fiesta) as his R2 rivals.
It is anticipated that the winner will come from the R4 category where Scotland’s David Bogie (Mitsubishi Lancer) – the current championship leader, Tom Cave (Mitsubishi), Adam Gould (Subaru), Elfyn Evans (Subaru), Jason Pritchard (Subaru) and Irish pair, Jonny Greer (Skoda Fabia S2000) and Danny Barry (Mitsubishi) are the chief protagonists. West Cork Rally winner, Robert Barrable is a late withdrawal, his Skoda Fabia S2000 engine developed a serious problem during a test on Wednesday last.
“I was looking forward to my second event on gravel in the car. We have tried everything to get an engine, but there was not enough time to turn it around,” said Barrable.
Next week’s Moonraker Forest Rally, the third round of the Valvoline Irish Forest Championship, will be co-sponsored by the Lismore House Hotel and Monplate. The Lismore based event features stages near Tallow and Cappoquin.
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