Boland and Morrissey aiming to excel in the snow

FOLLOWING last evening’s Super Special in Oslo, Rally Norway begins in earnest today.

Irish interest centres on the Wexford/Waterford combination of Eamonn Boland and Mickey Joe Morrissey (Subaru WRC), who are seeded at 21. Boland, the reigning Irish Tarmac champion, was the top Irish driver in the recent Rally Ireland, the opening round of the World Rally Championship. The Wexford man plans a few more forays into the WR series later in the season.

Meanwhile, Rally Norway is the first of two snow rallies in the WRC. The Ford outfit will try to repeat its performance in Rally Norway’s debut in the WRC in 2007 when they claimed a clean sweep of the podium.

Tyres dominated Rally Ireland and this weekend, Pirelli will provide a new version of its Sottozero winter tyre. It will be available with 7mm studs to penetrate the snow and bite into the ice beneath. The tyre has been designed in a wider format than usual for a winter pattern to enable teams to use it with the standard 15-inch wheel rims used on all other loose surface rounds of the championship.

Mikko Hirvonen, who was third in Rally Ireland, said, “I scored solid points on the first round in Ireland earlier this month and now I really want to get down to business on a rally and in conditions that I enjoy. Ireland was a difficult start to the year because of heavy rain and I’m sure I’ll feel more comfortable in Norway’s snow — conditions in which we know the Focus excels.”

Details of this year’s Larsen Circuit of Ireland Rally (April 11/12) were announced yesterday. The rally will be based at the Park Inn, Dundalk with the stages in south Down and south Armagh. The ceremonial start will take place in Banbridge town centre and servicing on the first leg will be located at The Outlet shopping complex in Banbridge and on the second day at Newry.

Clerk of the Course, Nigel Hughes said: “This year’s event will be a two-day rally, covering a total of some 130-stage miles. With an entry fee of £700 (e776) equating to just £5.40 per stage mile, this helps to provide excellent value for money for all competitors. Rallying can be a massive attraction that helps boost the economy in the area and it’s fantastic that the councils recognise this. Over the years, we’ve received support from many councils, including Banbridge, Newry, Down, Louth, as well as Bord Failte, we’re indebted to all of them.”

The Carlow Car Club has attracted over 80 entries for its re-scheduled Rallycross in Mondello Park on Sunday. Drivers for this, the fifth round of the 08/09 championship include former champion Derrick Jobb (Escort Cosworth), Eddie Kinirons (Ford Focus WRC), Andrew Morris (Toyota Celica) and Michael Morris (Subaru Impreza).

The first of the three heats begin at 10.15am with the finals scheduled for 3.30pm.