New Motorsport Ireland president Aiden Harper excited for the future 

Aiden Harper wants to explore the huge potential in Irish motorsport and is looking forward to the task following his unopposed appointment last week

Newly elected president of Motorsport Ireland Aiden Harper wants to explore the huge potential in Irish motorsport and is looking forward to the task following his unopposed appointment last week. The Longford native occupied the role of vice-president for the last two years and succeeds John Naylor, who completed his second term in office.

Best known in rallying circles and particularly in relation to safety, he has vowed to look at all aspects of the sport.

He told the Irish Examiner: “There is huge potential in Irish motorsport from every angle. On the WRC scene, we have Craig (Breen) and Paul (Nagle) representing Ireland. There are many young people coming up through the ranks from karting and also through the other disciplines. Not only for competitors, there is also potential for people to develop within our sport and move into senior positions within it. It’s about people officiating within the sport too.”

Last year Harper headed the Safety Commission within MI and also sat on the FIA Road Closed Commission. He’s signalled involvement with the various stakeholders as one of his goals but his immediate priority is the appointment of a senior person to manage the Motorsport Ireland office to replace the position of chief executive officer that was vacated last April.

Adding that karting and the J1000 category within rallying must be fostered, he said: “I believe we have the ability and the will to do it.”

Meanwhile, the Irish crew of Craig Breen/Paul Nagle escaped unhurt when their M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 hybrid crashed during a test on Wednesday. Images of the accident on social media showed the car resting on its roof on a steep embankment in France after it clipped a bridge post that flipped the car off the road. The M-Sport team are working to repair the car to allow its other drivers Sebastien Loeb and Gus Greensmith time behind the wheel prior to next week’s World Rally Championship opener in Monte Carlo.

Cork firm Acesigns is the new title sponsor of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championshi.

Three-time British Rally champion Matt Edwards (VW Polo GTi) is the latest high profile entry for next month’s Galway International Rally, the ITRC opening round.