Keith will be contesting the West Cork Hotel Fastnet Rally this weekend in his 2009 BRC winning Mitsubishi Evo 9, as he decided at the last minute, that he would like to do his local event for 'a bit of fun'.

He is of course, always conscious of the fact that the vast majority of the membership of his supporters club is resident in the West Cork area and this will give them an opportunity to see him in action.

Keith will be navigated by long time friend and supporter, Conor O'Neill from Dunmanway and although running with 131 on the door, they will start 5th on the road, as the first Group N runner. Keith has not driven this car since the Galway International Rally and Conor O'Neill has never before co-driven for him so they will use the early stages to familiarise themselves with their surroundings and hope to set competitive times on the second loop of stages.

The PROTON R3 Rally Team will return to the scene of its strongest outing to date: the penultimate round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, the Rally of Scotland, next week.

In preparation for the Perth-based event, PROTON drivers Alister McRae and Keith Cronin will conduct a day-long test in Scotland on Tuesday. With further development testing completed in Wales this week, Alister and Keith will focus their attentions on completing the vital final set-up work on their cars. The pre-event test is even more important than usual, in the absence of a shakedown stage. And it’s double important for Keith, given that the double British Rally Champion has never driven the Satria Neo S2000 on gravel previously.

After writing himself into the record books last year when he became only the second Irish driver to become British Rally Champion, Keith Cronin has this year written a new chapter as he has retained his Championship Title in fine style on the final round in Scarborough in Yorkshire.

Normally known for his outright speed, this time a slower steady approach was what was required as it was necessary to finish just 7^th or higher in order to be crowned 2010 British Rally Champion.

In September 2008 Keith Cronin embarked on his very first International Rally on the British Mainland when he tackled the ‘Trackrod’ International Rally of Yorkshire and did not fail to impress, taking 3^rd overall, beaten only by two former British Rally Champions!

On that occasion the rally was undertaken primarily as a testing session to gauge his pace against the British Rally Championship regulars and to gain experience in writing his own pacenotes. 

Last year he made a very famous and memorable return to the Yorkshire Forests as he won both the event and the British Rally Championship, becoming only the second Irishman ever to win that championship.

This year, the Yorkshire event is again the final round of the British Rally Championship and there are just 85 miles of Yorkshire Forest track between the 24year old and his second British Championship Title.