Cronin back to winning ways

Keith Cronin showed us why he is a double British Rally Champion last weekend, taking an exciting win in only his second event in the Citroen DS3 R3.

Completing the rally based in the demanding Kielder Forest, Cronin swapped the top spot with team-mate Jarkko Nikara, ultimately winning by 17.2 secs over the Finn.

Nikara took first blood with two stage wins in the first two stages, heading team-mate Cronin by 3 secs at the end of the first day. Elfyn Evans sat second overall, heading the Fiesta Sport Trophy in his slower R2 Fiesta.

Cronin showed his metal on Day 2, waking up with a real fire in his belly. Fastest time over the first two stages of the day sent him into the lead, but Nikara fought back over the next test, re-taking the lead. Cronin went back into the lead on the very next test, but Nikara just about snatched it back after SS8. Cronin went mental over the final four stages, swiping his 17 sec winning margin out of Nikara over the final four stages.

An elated Cronin said at the finish: “It’s been a fantastic battle and a win always feels so much better when you have to fight for it. Once we had settled into the new car and tweaked a few things, we had no problems at all, so it’s been a very enjoyable rally and great to win a round of the British Championship again. Thanks must go to Autosport Technology for getting the car ready, Marshall my co-driver and everyone who has helped me achieve this.”

Such was the pace of the leading pair of Citroen’s, Round 1 winner Mark Donnelly took third nearly two minutes back. Donnelly was still re-building confidence over the rally’s 12 stages after his massive crash last time out in Wales. Elfyn Evans’ slower Fiesta R2 succumbed to the pace of the faster R3 cars, eventually taking fourth, 2 mins 41 secs back. He did, however, have the consolidation of taking the Fiesta Sport Trophy win.

"I am really happy with the result. To be honest I was surprised with our pace and overall position after the Friday night stages. We were able to establish a good lead today [Saturday] and focused on tidying everything up and keeping our position. We had a problem with the gear selector bracket and had to make some roadside repairs to keep going, but thankfully we made it to the end. It feels great to be leading the championship – especially in an R2 specification car! I need to thank the whole team for providing me with a great car and getting me into this position.” said Evans.

Peter Taylor took fifth in the Renault Clio R3, less than 2 secs ahead of Pirelli Star Driver Jukka Korhonen. Armed with a TEG Sport-prepared Skoda Fabia R2, the young Finn is improving his pace rally-by-rally.

"It’s been a really good weekend, and I’ve had no problems. We had some knowledge of the roads from last year and some of the stages are very similar to the nature of the roads back in Finland so that has definitely helped. I’m looking forward to the next round of the championship, we’re not so familiar with driving on asphalt but we’re feeling ready for the challenge.” said Korhonen.

Finnish Ford Junior Team driver Jussi Kumpumaki seventh overall and second in the Fiesta Sport Trophy. He also took the Pirelli star driver award for his efforts.

WRC Academy star Alastair Fisher took eighth overall, losing time when some stones embedded themselves in the rear brakes of Fisher’s Fiesta. Championship leader Tom Cave lost buckets of time in his DS3, as did Jonny Greer in a similar DS3. Both drives were ninth and tenth, respectively.