Kubica happy with rally progress

F1 ace turned rally start Robert Kubica is pleased with his performance in his first year of full-time rallying.

"I've been pleased with my pace, I've won stages and I've been able to fight at the top on all three rallies I have done [in the ERC]. To come to these events for the first time and drive at the same pace as the championship contenders gives me a positive to take away from this.” he said.

The Polish driver has lead all three rallies he has competed in in the ERC, but has only finished one (the Rally Azores, finishing in 6^th place after leading for six stages, winning five in a row). He crashed out of the Rally Islas Canarias and suffered fuel pump problems in Corsica.

He also competed in the WRC2 Category on the Rallye de Portugal, running as high as second amongst the established WRC2 runners. He finished in sixth place at the end, after tyre troubles forced him retire. However he rejoined to finish sixth.

Kubica is now focusing on his WRC2 campaign, with the Acropolis Rally up next. The rough , car-breaking gravel encounter will be like nothing he has ever experienced before, the rough gravel will take a careless driver out very quickly. But the Pole will be as well prepared as he can be, completing a test on rough gravel similar to what he'll experience in Greece before he leaves for the rally itself.

"I will have my test and then I will go to Greece on the Monday so there is not a lot of time," he added. I know it's a very specific event and you have to take care of the car. It will be an interesting experience because it's my first time on rough gravel and I know I cannot take big risks because I really want to finish." He added.

Interview: Frank Kelly

Frank Kelly, a man who needs no introduction. Forever spectacular, there isn't one corner he doesn't go all out into. And very sideways out of. Armed with his unique co-driver, Liam Brennan, he goes as fast sideways as he does forwards.

Find GRN's interview with Frank and Liam below.

Profile

Name: Frank Kelly

Hometown: Moy

Job: Alarm Engineer

Road Car: HSV R8

Rally Car: 2.5 Mk2

Co-Driver: Liam Brennan

Sponsors: Bathshack.com, Campbell Contracts, PH Shotblasting, DMS Ireland, 1^st Alert Alarms, Kuhmo, Elite Transmissions, Panta Fuels

Name: Liam Brennan

Hometown: Cork City

Job: Bodyshop Owner

Road Car: Mitsubishi Pajero

Sponsors: I sponsor myself

Global Rally News: When did you first start driving?

Frank Kelly: 7/8 years old. In a mini, round a field

Liam Brennan: 10 or 11 around my father's yard and garage

GRN: What was your first rally car?

FK: Mk2 Fiesta

LB: Vauxhall Nova night nav car

GRN: What was your first event?

FK: Enniskillen Clubman Stages (gravel)

LB: Fastnet Rally 2003

GRN: What is your favourite rally car?

FK: Mk2 (Stupid question!)

LB: Metro 6R4

GRN: Who was your childhood hero in motorsport?

FK: Ari Vatanen

LB: Bertie Fisher

GRN: What are your favourite rallies?

FK: Gravel – Cork Forestry, Bushwhacker, Fivemiletown

Tarmac – Carlow, Ravens Rock, West Cork

LB: Killarney Rally of the Lakes or Bushwhacker Rally

GRN: What was your best drive, to date?

FK: Carlow Mk2 Challenge 2012 or Ulster National 2012

LB: Winning the 2012 Carlow Mk2 Challenge, or maybe Cork Forestry 2011, setting fastest time on the final stage to gain 3rd O/A

GRN: What was your most embarrassing moment on a rally?

FK: Putting my friend's Evo upside down in Fivemiletown this year!

LB: Galloway Hills Rally 2005, giving Raymond Donnelly a wrong note and he wrote off the Mk2!

GRN: What was your biggest accident?

FK: Killing the Fiesta in Antrim 2001, it was a big one!

LB: Hard to pick one...Dogleap 2008 with Frank or maybe Ravens Rock 2005 with my good friend Greg McCarthy in the Nova

GRN: Who would you rate as the top 3 British/Irish drivers today?

FK: Keith Cronin, Daniel McKenna and Amy Cox

LB: Keith Cronin, Kris Meeke and Daniel McKenna...Oops, and Frank Kelly too!

GRN: And in the World Rally Championship?

FK: Sebastian Loeb, Jari-Matti Latvala and Gigi Galli

LB: Sebastien Ogier, Jari-Matti Latvala and Theirry Neuville

GRN: What would you like to change in rallying (rules/admin ect.)?

FK: Ban recce. Save time and money, we are clubmen!

LB: Pretty happy with rallying at the moment. Unhappy about some of the proposed changes in Irish Rallying

GRN: Question for Frank, what was your spin out in the Evo for the Omagh Spring Rally like?

FK: The Evo was a revelation! The drifts you can carry in them is unreal!

GRN: If you were handed £1,000,000 and could only spend it on rallying, what would you do with the money?

FK: Buy an '08 Ford Focus WRC, a state of the art motorhome/mobile workshop and travel the world rallying. Could you make it £2,000,000?

LB: I would buy an '08 Ford Focus WRC for Frank, I think he would like that!

GRN: What are your plans for the 2013 season?

FK: Go as fast as I can for as long as I can, same as usual!

LB: I'm getting married in July 2013 so that had severely restricted my programme but I will be doing selected events with Frank, and the Southern Forestry Championship with James Coleman.

GRN: And finally, what advice would you offer to an upcoming young driver?

FK: Don't buy the fastest car, buy the most reliable one. Then do as many rallies as possible. The speed will come with experience and then you'll be ready for a faster car.

LB: Buy a common car that parts will be readily available and cheaply, because you will need them!

Ulster Rally 2012

All images copyright to GRN, no unauthorised use.

No stopping Jennings in Killarney!

When Garry Jennings moved up to the start line of SS1 on Saturday morning to head up the daunting Molls Gap, he wouldn't have believed that less then 48 hours later he would be standing back at The Gleneage Hotel at as winner of the 2013 Cartell.ie Rally of the Lakes.

It was truly a rally of attrition, with Derek McGarrity falling victim to a puncture on the very first stage. With this he dropped 30 secs, but it was a sign of things to come for the World Rally Car crews.

Darragh O'Riordan flew up the Gap in his Ford Fiesta RS WRC, the new generation 1.6 litre car proving that it can more than hold it's own with the 2 litre cars it replaced, taking the overall lead. This lead was cut to just 0.8 secs by Denis Cronin, armed with his newly-aquired Subaru Impreza S11 WRC, after SS2. But it all went awry for Denis from here, he crashed out on the next stage, wedging the car between two banks and damaging the steering.

Only three seconds down on the flying Fiesta pilot was Thomas Fitzmaurice. Another driver with a new car this year (last year's Rally of the Lakes winning S12C to be precise), Fitzmaurice ran well getting used to the new car in Galway before retiring with mechanical trouble. Now, however, he was within sight of the leaders.

But it was all over after SS6. An off at close to 120mph on the extremely fast Gortnagane stage left Fitzmaurice with a severely damaged ankle. Co-driver Fionn Foley emerged shaken but uninjured, but the Subaru was destroyed, rumoured to be beyond saving but we'll leave this decision up to the team's mechanics and the car-maker's Prodrive. It's testament to the strength and safety of the modern-era WRC cars that Thomas and Fionn survived the impact. It sends a shiver down your spine thinking of the possible outcome of such an accident 10 years ago, never mind during the ruthless Group B era.

Jennings was the only man keeping out of trouble, with O'Riordan spinning on SS4 and Declan Boyle retiring with a damaged gearbox. Derek McGarrity was suffering with steering problems as well, and he didn't have the parts to cure the problem. The problems were forcing him to adapt his driving style, not left-foot braking anymore and this was curbing his effort to regain lost time.

So at the end of Day 1, O'Riordan lead the rally by 7.3 secs over Jennings (who survived a late overheating scare), with Killarney novice Donagh Kelly holding a surprise third and Derek McGarrity fourth. Alan Ring lead Group N in fifth and Eoin Doyle held sixth in his Ford Focus WRC.

Now, outside of a rally car, Darragh O'Riordan is a man who cuts a small, quiet stature. But put him in a rally car and he can make things happen, rapidly. He blew everyone away on Sunday morning's first run up Molls Gap, ripping 18.1 secs out of Jennings in the process. But his Bertie Fisher-esque pace in Killarney all came to nothing on the next stage, crashing out on a fast right-hander. Only slight frontal damage was done, but he was stuck and out of the rally.

With O'Riordan out, Jennings took over a 48 second lead Kelly in second place, who was in turn 38 secs ahead of McGarrity. McGarrity had only six stages left to catch and overhaul the S11 driver to make it a 1-2 for DMG-prepared. Amazingly, he set five fastest times on the bounce to pass Kelly into the final stage and command a 0.8 sec lead in the race for second. The pair of them went all-out over the final stage, and Kelly went fastest overall. But it was only by 0.3 secs meaning McGarrity took second by half a second!

It was only Jennings' second International win, but he can lay claim to winning arguably both of the most important and symbolic rallies in Irish history, the Rally of the Lakes and Donegal International Rally.

Sam Moffett won the Group N battle after early leader Alan Ring went out with mechanical problems. He lead home Stephan Wright by 3 mins 15 secs in a similar Lancer Evo, with brother Josh Moffett in third, 4 mins 19 secs off the pace.

S-WRC Champion Craig Breen lead the National class after Day 1 by 19.7 secs, piloting what else but a Mk2 Escort. An early misfire was sorted and he drove superbly, relishing every stage but admitting coming across the aftermath of Thomas Fitzmaurice's crash shook him. It was looking like a fairytale drive for the young Peugeot works driver, but head gasket failure put paid to that. This set up a battle between Fergus O'Meara and young Paddy Kiernan, National winner last time out in Galway. O'Meara fought back from engine troubles to win the National class by 21.5 secs.

Wesley Patterson showed the European drivers how to tackle the Killarney stages by winning the Historic category by 1 min 32 secs in his FIA Appendix K Ford Escort Mk2 over a sideways Mark Falvey, driving a Mk1 Escort. Andrew Siddall took third but by being over 8 mins back he show just what a pace the Top 2 were on.

Vincent McSweeney won the Junior section of the rally, with Conor Moore and Daniel Cronin (Triple British Champion Keith's younger brother) backing him up on the podium. All three drivers were armed with Honda Civics, what appears to be the tool of choice for up and coming young drivers!

Finally, GRN would like to wish Thomas Fitzmaurice and Fionn Foley a speedy recovery and an equally speedy return to the stages.