| The Battle Resumes.. |
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| Written by Cronin Motorsport |
| Wednesday, 15 April 2009 12:02 |
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Cronin Motorsport venture across the Irish Sea again this week to compete in the 2nd round of The British Rally Championship, the Carlisle based Pirelli International Rally. This is another trip into un-chartered waters for the team as they have never competed on this event before. They do so, however, in the most enviable of positions as they currently lead the Championship after victory on the first round. Their last two outings in the BRC were also unknown quantities, however, 3rd overall on last years International Rally of Yorkshire (Trackrod Rally) and then an outright victory in North Wales in this years opening round have proved that competing in new terrain is not a problem for West Cork's Keith Cronin and his Limerick navigator, Greg Shinnors.Victory for them on this years opening round, the Bulldog Rally, not only elevated them to the head of the championship, it also awakened the British Rallying public to the precocious young driver from Ballylickey. Even triple British Champion, Mark Higgins, who was second to the Irish Team in Wales, commented that he could not believe the pace of the of the 22year old, former Billy Coleman Award winner. The television commentators that cover the championship, which is broadcast on Sky Sports, were equally impressed at the Irishmen’s pace and openly admitted to being surprised that Higgins did not canter to victory. The Pirelli International, based at Carlisle Racecourse adds an additional flavour to this years championship as Guy Wilks, winner of the last two championships, returns to the British stages, this time in a Proton Satria Super 2000 car which differs from the regular cars on the BRC in that it is not Turbo-Charged. This car has proved to be quite potent on Tarmac, however its potential on the loose tracks of the Kielder Forest wont be known until Sunday evening. Wilks has, however, won this event for the last two years and will be familiar with the territory. Northern Ireland’s Richard Cathcart, who proved to be very fast on last years Evo-Challenge is also on the entry list for the Pirelli as is former Evo-Challenge Champion, Philip Morrow, thus ensuring that the competition will be tougher, but also ensuring the Irish fans will have more to cheer for. The rally begins on Friday at 6pm with 2 evening/night stages before a return to Carlisle for an overnight halt. Ten stages are tackled on Saturday beginning at 8.30am and the cars visit service park 4 times during the day before crossing the Podium, which is scheduled for 7.45pm Saturday. Top 10 International Rally Seeds Join the supporters club for €50 and get text updates at least every second stage! Click on the Link below http://www.croninmotorsport.com/index.php/Cronin-Motorsport/cronin-motorsport-supports-club.html |