Local trio primed for Bantry finale
Essentially, it will be a battle between popular Welsh ace, Mel Evans (Subaru WRC), the triple local challenge featuring Denis Cronin, Daragh O’Riordan and Brian O’Mahony, all in Subaru WRCs and the Toyota Corolla of five-time Irish Tarmac champion, Eugene Donnelly.
It’s a new beginning for the event with its new base in Bantry, the service park adjacent to the town square is set to bring a unique atmosphere to the rally. It is also a counting round of the Windscreen Company Southern Four Championship and the TMC Skibbereen and District Car Club Championship.
Outgoing Dunlop champion, Evans, who won last year’s Fastnet, faces a tough challenge in recording back to back victories.
With just one outing in the current Dunlop campaign, when he took second to eventual champion Tim McNulty in Abbeyleix, Evans will have to be at his very best to fend off the opposition. His liking for the west Cork region will be an advantage.
Local ace and former double winner, Denis Cronin, appears to the driver to beat.
With the stages on his back door he will be a formidable opponent as he tries to add to his Fastnet wins of 1994 and 2009. “You always want to do well in your local event and I suppose there is that extra bit of pressure,” said Cronin.
Meanwhile, with wins in the Rally of the Lakes in Killarney and the Cork 20 International Rally, O’Riordan will not lack the confidence. Third on last year’s Fastnet will certainly be improved upon.
Having made a strong debut in the recent Cork 20, Carrigaline’s Brian O’Mahony in the McKinstry Subaru WRC is probably still an unknown quantity in a WRC. Leading the 20 for a few stages showed that the former Irish and British S1600 champion had no real issues in acclimatising to the more powerful WRC.
A collapsed suspension early in the second leg brought an end to a promising drive.
The addition of Eugene Donnelly, who will be reunited with his famous Toyota Corolla WRC, the car that provided him with nine of his 18 wins in rounds of the Irish Tarmac Championship, will be a big attraction.
“I want to see if the two year lay-off makes any difference. The car won’t have the pace of the Subaru S12s but my pace should be much better on the repeat loops.”
Limerick’s Colm Murphy (Subaru) is the leading Group N driver while overseas drivers James Belton, Steve Simpson in Subaru WRCs and Tommy Doyle (Renault Clio R3) are all in the starting top ten.
In the Modified category, the rally.ie award within the Dunlop series is a battle between Wesley Paterson, Frank Kelly and Banteer’s Barry Meade in a group that also features the Darrian duo of Washington James and Tom Stafford along with local ace, Damien McCarthy. Sunday’s opening stage at Kealkill starts at 9.13am.
Waterford’s, Craig Breen (21) is one of 30 drivers selected by the FIA from the world’s best young drivers to compete for a place at their Young Driver Excellence Academy for 2012. The four-day shoot-out in Melk, Austria takes place from November 15 to 18 to decide on the 18 will make the final selection.
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