Defending champion Devine heads up 200-strong Rally of the Lakes field

The magic of the Killarney event is just another fascinating element over the weekend, it has the capacity to spring a surprise, possibly even provide a fourth different winner in as many rounds of the ITRC.

TOP SEED: Derry’s Callum Devine and Killarney’s Noel O’Sullivan (VW Polo GTi R5) seeking back to back wins in the Rally of the Lakes in Killarney. Pic: Martin Walsh.

There is probably no greater challenge for rally crews than classic stages such as Moll’s Gap, Ballaghbeama coupled with the renowned classics within the Beara Peninsula that, for decades, have been acclaimed by generations of rallying’s elite.

This weekend’s Assess Ireland Rally of the Lakes in Killarney, round four of the Samdec Securities Irish Tarmac Rally Championship, is set to provide another thrilling instalment in a year where the pace of the series is at an all-time high. With no room for error and no time to adopt a wait-and-see strategy, all the top crews will need to be on the button from the first of the event’s sixteen stages, Moll’s Gap, early on Saturday morning.