Motorsport: Roy White looks the man to beat as action moves to Cavan

The Triton Showers National Rally Championship reaches its midpoint on Sunday with the Hotel Kilmore Cavan Rally, the fourth round of the campaign that allows competitors pick their best six from eight events.

It’s far too early to predict who will become champion, however, with consistency being the hallmark of recent seasons, Clonmel’s Roy White (Ford Fiesta WRC) is currently the favourite for the honour. Two season’s ago he lost the title by a point as Declan Boyle staged a tremendous recovery to win the series. The Donegal driver is involved again as are former champions Peadar Hurson and Niall Maguire. It’s likely the champion will come from this quartet although Daragh O’Riordan’s late bid could also be ominous.

Last year’s Cavan winner Peadar Hurson, a national title winner back in 1992 in an Opel Ascona, is 36 points adrift of White following his retirement from the last round in Carlow when he crashed his S10 Subaru WRC. That transpired to be his final outing in the car as the Warrenpoint driver will debut the ex-Chris Atkinson S12B Subaru WRC on the nine stage Cavan event. There’s no doubt that the acquisition of the car Atkinson drove in Rally Ireland in 2007 will ramp up Hurson’s title bid and performance. It is something that series leader White is acutely aware.