Gass closes in on Tarmac title finish line

Local hero Darragh O’Riordan (Subaru WRC) bids to record back-to-back wins in this weekend’s Orchard Motorsport Cork ‘20’ International Rally as Armagh’s Darren Gass (Subaru WRC) aims to seal his inaugural Irish Tarmac title with Fermanagh’s Garry Jennings, the only other driver that can win the title, a doubtful starter.

In terms of the three Cork rallies and the Rally of the Lakes in Killarney, O’Riordan is in a rich vein of form. Since he won in Killarney in 2011, he has racked up wins in last year’s Cork ‘20’, the Fastnet, this year’s West Cork and Killarney once more.

“I had a test in the car on Wednesday and all went well,” said O’Riordan, who outlined his strategy. “I’ll drive my own rally, I’m out of the Tarmac Championship title equation so I can enjoy the event. Winning any rally is a challenge, my confidence isn’t great as I didn’t have a good run in Donegal or Ulster.”