Motorsport: Devine within grasp of Rally of the Lakes three-peat

QUALITY TRIO: The Tarmac Championship trio of (left to right) Ballylickey’s Keith Cronin, Derry’s Callum Devine and Welshman Matt Edwards should serve up a thrilling battle in the Assess Ireland Rally of the Lakes in Killarney. Pic: Martin Walsh.

The combination of iconic stages and the presence of the principal combatants within the Samdec Securities Irish Tarmac Championship make this weekend’s Assess Ireland Rally of the Lakes in Killarney another exciting chapter in Irish rallying. 

For decades, stages like Moll’s Gap, Tim Healy Pass, Cod’s Head and Ardgroom have served up some classic contests, the quality of the stages acknowledged by so many different genres of drivers.

It's all of thirty years since the late Bertie Fisher completed five straight wins on “The Lakes”. 

Not since, has any driver managed three in a row, a rare feat but within the cusp of reigning Irish Tarmac champions Derry’s Callum Devine and his Killarney co-driver Noel O’Sullivan.

It may well be that it will provide them with the motivation to match the dual threat of the leading pair in the series.

There’s no doubt that the decision of Ballylickey’s Keith Cronin and his Killarney co-driver Mikie Galvin along with Welsh ace Matt Edwards and his Mallow-born co-driver David Moynihan to contest the current series has raised the bar to an even higher level. 

Only Cronin has managed to finish all three events so far - an impressive haul of sixty-one championship points has made him the target of his rivals led by Edwards.

Rallying is a fickle sport, just ask Devine, who no longer has a safety net due to non-finishes in the West Cork Rally and the Circuit of Ireland, ironically, both with wheel damage. 

He knows it’s all about fine margins but cutting corners, particularly on the Beara peninsula terrain can have consequences, it will be a balance of power and precision.

The experience of former British champions Cronin and Edwards, neither of whom has Devine’s knowledge of the Cork/Kerry stages, will make for a thrilling encounter.

The Killarney and District Motor Club have a rich network of roads that is a test of both man and machine with the aforementioned quartet of stages the envy of most, if not every other club, in Ireland.

Cronin will have a special reason to succeed as he’s a member of the organising club and one of his first motorsport events was the club’s autocross in Doyle's Quarry as a teenager. 

The perception he’s on familiar territory is somewhat misleading, his last competitive experience of the event was in 2016, the year he went on to win the Irish Tarmac Championship series - the first of the R5 era, since rebranded to Rally2. 

“I can't say I will know the stages any better than any other driver. It'll be a tough rally for everybody.” 

Cronin reckons weather conditions could be key. 

“If it's extremely wet or very dry, then it's usually straightforward in terms of tyre choice, if it's in between or mixed, as we saw on the Circuit of Ireland, then things become more challenging.” 

For Edwards, it’s a maiden voyage, his vastly experienced co-driver David Moynihan is a winner in Killarney - guiding Tim McNulty (Subaru WRC) to victory all of fifteen years ago.

Behind the top trio are Jonathan Greer (Citroen C3 Rally2), Cathan McCourt (Ford Fiesta Rally2), Declan Boyle (Citroen C3 Rally2) and David Kelly (VW Polo GTi R5).

The Historic category is spearheaded by Duncan Williams (Ford Escort RS1800), Alan Ring (BMW M3) and Ray Breen (Subaru Legacy RS). 

The ceremonial start is at 6.45pm on Friday evening. 

Saturday’s opening stage (Moll’s Gap) starts at 8.20am. The first of Sunday’s six stages begins at 10.20am and finishes at the Gleneagle Hotel, Killarney is at 4.00pm.

Meanwhile, in Rally Islas Canarias, the second round of the European Rally Championship, the Irish crew of Jon Armstrong/Eoin Treacy (Ford Fiesta Rally2) are seeded at eight while Aoife Raftery and Jack Brennan in a pair of Peugeot 208 Rally4 cars compete in the ERC4 category.