King Kelly of Clare!

Since acquiring his ex-Mikko Hirvonen Ford Focus RS WRC from John Joe Fleming just before the Donegal International Rally back in June, Donagh Kelly has struggled to get used to the Left Hand Drive Focus. A winner in Right Hand Drive Subaru's, many wondered when (and a small few even wondered if) Kelly would get the hang of the new car.

But today on the Clare Stages Rally, the Donagh of old reappeared. Blindingly fast from the start, he was never troubled once over the six tough stages. It sets him up perfectly for the Cork 20 Rally, the final round of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship in two weeks time.

Clare wasn't a round of the Irish National Rally Championship this year as part of the rotational system employed by the Championship. But it still attracted a massive entry, two stages repeated three times was the order of the day. A titanic scrap for the overall win was maybe lost with the withdrawals of Niall Maguire and Peadar Hurson before the rally, but this can't take away at all from the impressive performance of Donagh Kelly.

After SS1, Kenny McKinstry initially held second place behind Kelly, in his Subaru Impreza WRC S14. Having been involved in rallying for almost 40 years he's certainly showing no signs of slowing up! But it all went sour when a damaged radiator was the result of an overshoot on SS2, putting the Banbridge man out.

Stephen and Susanne Wright brought their ex-Garry Jennings Mitsubishi Lancer Evo home in an impressive second place, almost a minute down on Kelly. Stephen is having a very rewarding full-time switch to Tarmac this year, having almost solely competed on gravel in previous years, with some really spectacular performances in the new car!

Another man with a new car for this year is Kevin Barrett, switching from an S11 Subaru to an S14 model. Kevin is gradually getting to grips with the new car, finishing in third place overall in Clare. Just behind him was the 2WD winner, Edward O'Callaghan in his 2 litre 16v Mk2 Escort. Ed also scoops up the award for Class 13 winners and fourth place overall.

With Stephen Wright forefitting his award for being the fastest Group N car, Shane Maguire takes the Showroom class in his Subaru Impreza N11. Maguire, son of former National Champion Niall Maguire, took fifth place overall by a slender 4 secs over Ed Synan in sixth place, who also won Class 14.

Second in Class 14 was Mike Quinn, also seventh overall. Ninth place went to Jack Maguire, who swapped from a Class 13 Mk2 Escort to a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 during the summer. With Andy Hayes on the notes, the pairing once again won Class 20.

Sandwiched in between these two in eighth place was the mightily impressive Noel Kelleher. Piloting his Honda Civic, Noel hasn't been on the stages for two years but you'd certainly not think it from the times he was putting in! Seeded at Number 91, he certainly proved the surprise of the rally and in GRN's view, was certainly the drive of the rally. Michal Fitzgibbon rounded out the Top 10.

Perhaps the hard luck story of the rally was of Frank Kelly. With 'trainee navigator' (a sticker found on the back window of Frank's car) in the shape of Gary McElhinney in the hot seat for the weekend, the pairing sat third overall for a time. But, a reported fuel pump problem dropped Frank and Gary loads of time, then running repairs gained them massive time penalties, both of which transpired to send them to dead last. As deflating as it was, they still managed to have a “savage days craic”!

Ogier pledges maximum attack

Championship leader Sebastien Ogier has committed himself to pushing for wins on all three of the remaining 2013 WRC rounds.

Having already claimed six wins this season, Ogier has the title all but wrapped up, barring disaster (which, since this is rallying, is entirely possible). So, with three rounds remaining and the chance to beat his arch-rival Sebastian Loeb in their home country, and Loeb's back yard, Ogier will be going on a charge.

Ogier has the possibility of winning the title after SS1 in France. The first stage is nominated as the Power Stage, so Theirry Neuville (the only person mathematically in with a chance of beating Ogier) must win it, otherwise Ogier has the title wrapped up, regardless of who finishes where. Unless, that is, the Frenchman fails to finish.

“If this was to happen [winning the World Title in France], we wouldn’t stop there. Our fans shouldn’t worry, we’re not gonna sit there twiddling our thumbs for the rest of the season! We sure intend to go on winning, if only to help Volkswagen to get the Manufacturers title, which they’re also coming closer to thanks to the points scored in Australia.” he said.

Team Principal, Jost Capito, has granted Ogier permission to go on maximum attack to win in France, since Volkswagen have have such a massive Championship lead.

“To get the manufacturers’ lead by more than 40 points, this allows Seb to really fight in France. The whole team will support him unconditionally. If the gap was smaller, we might have had some tough words [with Ogier], but now he can really go for it. I’m sure he’s happy for this.” said Capito.

In something that might worry his rivals a bit, Ogier says he is now more relaxed now he is on the cusp of a maiden World Title success. Each rally will mean a renewed push for the win, so everyone who thought they might have a chance of beating the Frenchman might just have to think again, or really up their game.

“As for myself, I’ll be a bit more relaxed now that I won’t feel our championship pressure, and I’ll look at each rally as a new chance of victory. The Rallye de France is the perfect occasion to maintain our momentum,” he added.  

Is Meeke still in with a chance?

Kris Meeke's dreams of a full time drive in the WRC might not have come crashing down to earth just yet.

Having replaced Dani Sordo on the event, he was expected by team boss Yves Matton to get a solid finish under his belt, to aid Citroen's fight with VW in the Manufacturer's Championship. Under huge pressure having never competed in Australia and being nominated points scorer for the Works team, he initially won the Qualifying Stage in spectacular fashion and held fourth place up until SS13, poised to hunt down Theirry Neuville on the final day of the event.

Meeke in action in Australia

However, it all ended with a slow roll down a hill into a field halfway through the thirteenth test. This left Meeke despondent, and team principal Matton absolutely fuming.

"At service this afternoon I told Kris to keep the pace, to stay not too far from Thierry [Neuville] and we would see tomorrow whether we try to catch him or not," said Matton. "For sure, I am not happy. He did not do what I asked him. This is just the opposite what I ask him.”

It appeared that Meeke has lost his long awaited chance to shine at World level, two crashes in two successive appearances for Citroen certainly didn't help his cause. But, it would seem that Meeke hasn't blown it completely.

Matton hasn't ruled Meeke out of a hugely popular appearance on Wales Rally GB in one of the team's DS3 WRC's. It was seemingly a pre-arranged agreement, finish Australia and start in Wales. But with the crash complicating matters, the Frenchman refuses to act on his first thoughts, which would most likely be to disregard the possibility of Meeke driving in Wales altogether.

"I told him clearly what I wanted him to do. I told him if he was at the finish here, he would be on the start in GB," said Matton. "Now, I don't know. I have to think about it. It's sure that if I take a decision too close to what happened, then the outcome will not be positive for him - and, of course, what happened when he went off again on the final day of the rally has not helped either.”

"I will not say he won't start in GB, I don't know." he added.

Meeke himself knows his chances are slim, but there is still a glimmer of hope for the 2009 IRC Champion. But he remains philosophical, stating he will respect whatever decision Matton and Citron come to. One massive advantage he has is his ability to jump into the car and be almost on the pace, which could just tip the balance in his favour in Wales.

"I'm massively grateful for the opportunity Yves, Khalid and everybody at Citroen has given me and if that's it, then, that's it. I realise I have made mistakes, but I feel I have also shown I have the speed to fight at the front and there aren't many who can do that now." he said.

"It's incredible to drive one of these cars at any time, but the chance to drive one at home with the home support would be unbelievable." he added.

Photo credit: Citroen WRT

Rally Finland photos

A small selection of photos from this year's Rally Finland, won by Sebastian Ogier/Julien Ingrassia in the VW Polo R WRC. Thanks to Stefan Lassus for the images!

Note: Images copyright to Stefan Lassus Photography and cannot be reused without express permission from the copyright holder.

M-Sport keen to hang onto Neuville

With interests in acquiring the services of Thierry Neuville coming from Hyundai and Citroen, M-Sport have said they are determined to keep the young Belgian in one of their cars for the 2014 season and beyond.

Neuville in Action in Finland, where he finished 2nd

Former IRC front-runner Neuville has been the revelation of this year's WRC season, which is only his second full year in a WRC car in the top flight. To date, after eight rounds, he lies joint second in the overall Driver's table with Jari-Matti Latvala, with four podiums, including two second places, to his credit.

The only downsides in his otherwise excellent year came when he crashed out of Day 1 of the Rallye Monte Carlo, and having to restart in Portugal thanks to damage sustained after hitting a rock.

Even with interest from WRC newcomers Hyundai and his former employer, Citroen, Neuville wants to remain at M-Sport.

"I didn't talk to anybody [else]. I am very happy with M-Sport and I have a lot to focus on for the rest of this season. The Fiesta is a beautiful car to drive, I'm really enjoying myself." he said.

The man responsible for the Qatar tie up, Nasser Al-Attiyah, says he is happy with both the team's main drivers and M-Sport's general performance, appearing keen to hang onto Neuville and Mads Ostberg and to stick with M-Sport for 2014.

"They are both very good drivers and we want to keep them. In Finland, they both did really well, with Thierry making an incredible drive to finish second.”

Al-Attiyah is planning ahead to 2014 as well, aiming to sit down with M-Sport's top brass in Germany to discuss next season and to have everything in place for the new season, insisting he very much wants to continue on the same path as team has done this year so far.

"We will try to fix everything in Germany, it's much better to get everything done early and have everything in place for 2014. We want to carry on in the same way that we have this year.” he added.

Photo credit: M-Sport

Meeke gets factory Citroen seat for Australia

Kris Meeke will get another chance in a Citroen DS3 WRC in a month's time when he takes over Dani Sordo's works car on the Coates hire Rally Australia.

Further drives in a DS3 WRC this year for Meeke were already being rumoured before Khalid Al-Qassimi dropped a rather large hint over Twitter, saying:

Meeke in Finland

“Chances may come & go, yet Kris deserves them - that's how he'll grow. @krismeeke to you and all your fans I'm thinking of another chance.”

Later, speaking to Gulf News, he said: “Kris did an excellent job and I wasn’t surprised. He was up there with Mikko and much quicker than Dani, and he’s given us a lot to think about. Our first priority is to get the best we can out of our drivers for the rest of the season, and we need to be on the podium. But already we’re looking ahead to next season, and Kris could get more chances.”

Al-Qassimi jumped to Meeke's defence on the subject of the Dungannon man rolling the DS3 WRC just two stages from home in Finland. “He’s a very good driver, that’s why we picked him. We considered several drivers, but decided Kris would be the best choice and he proved us right. It was just unfortunate that he didn’t get the finish he deserved. I really felt for him, especially as I rolled in the same car in the Acropolis Rally.” he said.

Kris Meeke

Now Meeke will get another chance, replacing a lackluster Sordo. The Spaniard has been enduring a less than fruitful return to Citroen, after two years away at MINI. He currently lies fifth in the Driver's Championship, only one point ahead of Sebastian Loeb, who has only competed on three events so far this year.

“Kris showed what he could do in Finland with an excellent performance and high motivation levels. So we instinctively turned to him to take over in Australia.” said Managing Director of Citroen Racing, Yves Matton.

Meeke himself added: “For us, this is an incredible opportunity to take part in the rally as part of Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team alongside Mikko [Hirvonen] and Jarmo [Lehtinen], and we are determined to give of our best.”

Photo credit: Citroen WRT

Ogier lands first Finland win

Consolidating his lead in the 2013 World Rally Championship for Drivers, Sebastien Ogier claimed a “dream” victory on the high speed gravel roads of the Neste Oil Rally Finland.

Sebastien Ogier

Claiming twelve stage wins out of a possible twenty three, Ogier wrapped up a 36.6 sec win over the very impressive Theirry Neuville. Neuville himself with locked in a battle for second with team-mate Mads Ostberg, both of whom were unable to stay with Ogier.

Thierry Neuville

“I had a dream about winning here. [We gained] A lot of points for the championship and victory in Finland make it a perfect weekend. We pushed when we had to and backed off when necessary to save the tyres and the car,” said Ogier.

Neuville held the overnight advantage after Day 1, driving tactically over the rough and soggy stages. Ogier held second, 5.2 secs down on the flying Belgian, also driving carefully in the poor conditions. Third was occupied by Mads Ostberg, 8.9 secs down on the leader.

Mads Ostberg

Day 2 was all about Ogier and the VW Polo R WRC. Netting seven fastest stage times from the day's nine stages, he rocketed into a 38.1 sec lead over Neuville. Ostberg was breathing down the Belgian's neck, sitting less than a second behind in third.

All Ogier had to do over the final eight stages was to hang onto his lead, which he his admirably. Dropping only 1.5 secs throughout the day to the chasing pack, Ogier decided to have some fun over both runs of the legendary Ouninpohja stage, breaking the stage record on the second run. The battle between Neuville and Ostberg ended when Ostberg went off and dropped 20 secs avoiding a rather large rock.

Speaking of his second placed result on only his second trip to Finland in a WRC car, Neuville said: “It’s an unbelievable feeling. We did a great job. Yesterday we lost time with a puncture but otherwise it was a smooth, clean run. Before the rally I couldn’t have imagined this result was possible.”

Mads Ostberg has had a season fraught with problems, both mechanical and driver-errors. However he put those issues behind him and, for a time, fought for the rally lead. However a solid third place for the Norwegian could help him back up to consistent rally-leading pace. He might have won the rally, if not for shattering a wheel on Day 2 and the off-road excursion on the final day.

“It’s nice to be here fighting for the whole rally without any problems. We have been leading, we had a safe second and we ended up third. But it’s great to fight for the win again and rebuild my confidence because it was low after the first half of the season.” he said.

Leading Citroen driver Mikko Hirvonen endured a disastrous rally, finishing over 1 min 20 secs behind Ogier in fourth. Almost rolling on two separate occasions, he suffered a large time loss on Thursday evening when heavy rain left the roads in a very poor condition and, running last of the front runners on the road endured the worst of the conditions.

Hirvonen's team-mate Dani Sordo finished fifth, benefiting from Kris Meeke's exit on SS22. Evgney Novikov rounded out the top six in sixth, having completed a very eventful rally, suffering a crash on SS10, which threw the bonnet up over the windscreen.

Jari Ketomaa won WRC2 and finished seventh overall, ahead of PG Andersson who had a relatively quiet rally in eighth. Robert Kubica and Andreas Mikkelsen (who lost a wheel on Day 2 and was forced to restart) rounded out the Top 10.

Jari-Matti Latvala

Jari-Matti Latvala had an even more disastrous rally than compatriot Hirvonen. Initially confident of a good rally, Latvala smashed his suspension to pieces on the first day. Running repairs allowed him to continue for a bit but he eventually admitted defeat. He was later blasted by team director Jost Capito, who said it shouldn't happen happened. But, after reviewing the situation, he changed his tune to “It was not at all his [Latvala's] fault”, acknowledging a weakness in the Polo R WRC's rear supension.

Well worth a mention is the performance of Dungannon's Kris Meeke. Having not competed on a top level rally in 20 months and having not finished Rally Finland since 2005, Meeke faced an uphill struggle when asked to step in for Khalid Al-Qassimi in Finland. However, he silenced the doubters when he kept pace with Citroen star and local hero Mikko Hirvonen over the latter half of the rally, holding an impressive fifth place overall in his first rally in a DS3 WRC. A small mistake on SS22 sent him rolling out of the rally, but it just goes to show that given a decent car Kris Meeke is world class, and very few people can dispute that.

Kris Meeke

Keith Cronin

Keith Cronin also showed his world class pace by dominating the WRC3 category in Finland. Inheriting the lead after early leader Alastair Fisher crashed out (rolling spectacularly on SS8), Cronin was never troubled afterwards. With 1 min 14.5 secs in hand over Sebastian Chardonnet at the end, it's hard to believe this is only Keith's first visit to Finland!




Please note: Images copyright to their respective owners, in no particular order Willy Weyens, Citroen WRT and M-Sport.

Ingrassia passed fit for Finland

Current leader of the FIA Co-Drivers Championship Julien Ingrassia has been passed fit to contest next weekend's Rally Finland alongside regular driver and Driver's Championship leader Sebastien Ogier.

Ogier (R) and Ingrassia (L) winning Rally Portugal

Having broken his collarbone whilst out on his mountain bike in Corsica, it was initially feared he would have to miss Rally Finland, the WRC's fastest rally. Nicolas Klinger, Theirry Neuville's former co-driver, was drafted in to co-drive for Ogier on a recent VW test while Ingrassia recovered.

Although understandably keen to tackle Finland, he admitted he would give the event a miss if it transpired to be “dangerous or stupid” to compete, in order to be able to complete the season.

Even though the Frenchman's collarbone is being held together by a titanium plate and nine screws, he completed a medical examination two weeks ago at the Bad Nauheim Sports Injury Clinic in Germany and also completed a test on Saturday. With this in mind, Ingrassia's team of doctors have passed him fit to compete in Finland.

“I am so relieved that I have managed to get back to full health in time for the Rally Finland. My thanks go out to the doctors for the great job they have done on me and the whole Volkswagen team, who have always supported me and sent me their best wishes. Now, I cannot wait to get back out on the road with Sébastien.” he said.

Ingrassia's team boss Jost Capito was keen to see his Championship leading co-driver return to the #8 Polo R WRC, saying:

“The whole team is very happy that Julien is back to full health and can start racing again. Our main priority is always the well-being of our drivers – we never want to take any risks. In the worst case scenario, it would have been better that Julien sits out one race than risk being out for a long time. You can only start a World Championship rally if you are in good health. That's why in Nicolas Klinger we would have had an excellent replacement.”

Capito thanked Klinger for his “great levels of commitment” in testing with Ogier. It was expected Klinger would co-drive for Ogier in Finland until news of Ingrassia's recovery broke.

“I would like to thank Nicolas for the great levels of commitment he demonstrated in the most recent test runs and for his willingness to step in for Julien in Finland if needed.” he said.

Image credit: Willy Weyens

Strong entry for Rally Finland

Home hero Mikko Hirvonen leads the 101 car strong entry list for the ever popular Rally Finland, again sponsored by Neste Oil.

The 101 crews entered into the rally make it the most popular rally of 2013, sporting fourteen WRC cars. Citroen, M-Sport and Volkswagen are all present with their usual drivers, the only exception being Kris Meeke replacing Khalid Al-Qassimi, who will be absent due to other commitments.

Meeke's last WRC rally was in 2011 on Wales Rally GB, where he finished a career-best fourth overall. Since then, his competitive running has been minimal, mainly confined to testing, 00 duties on the Ypres Rally in the new Peugeot 208 R5 and a once-off appearance at the Lurgan Park Rally in 2012 (which he won, naturally). He will take over Al-Qassimi's entry as a once-off.

Sebastian Loeb hasn't nominated Finland as one of his four rallies this year, he has confirmed he isn't interested in adding any extra rallies to his already extremely busy schedule.

Local hero's Jarkko Nikara and Juho Hanninen both mark their competitive returns, Nikara in an uprated Prodrive-run MINI John Cooper Works WRC, and Hanninen in a Ford Fiesta RS WRC. Riku Tahko pilots the other MINI on the entry list, the most amount of MINI's seen on a WRC entry list since Michal Kosciuszko switched from a MINI to a Ford Fiesta RS WRC.

Yazzed Al-Rajhi heads the WRC2 entry, which also features Robert Kubica, Robert Barrable, Jari Ketomaa, Esapekka Lappi and Elfyn Evans, who is taking part in a Ford Fiesta R5. Barrable and Karl Kruuda will also pilot the new Fiesta R5.

WRC3 is dominated by the Citroen R3 drivers, headed by Sebastian Chardonnet. Alastair Fisher (who lead the WRC Academy round here in 2011), Christian Riedemann, Bryan Bouffier and Keith Cronin are also present. Cronin looking to overturn a 27 point deficit to series leader Chardonnet after having suffered horrible luck in the past couple of rounds.

Junior WRC leader Pontus Tidemand starts at number 102 in his Ford Fiesta R2, and he can expect to be put under pressure by second in the Championship Jose Antonio Suarez and by local drivers Niko-Pekka Nieminen and Andreas Amberg.

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.

Peugeot's Pikes Peak monster specs revealed!

Peugeot have revealed the technical specifications of it's 2013 Pikes Peak challenger, the 208 T16.

The former WRC-winning manufacturer will return to the legendary Colorado hillclimb after a long absence, armed with a brand new car and a driver capable of dominating the whole thing on his own. Being a nine-times World Champion, Sebastian Loeb certainly knows how to get from A to B as fast as possible, and as he is now semi-retired he was Peugeot's perfect choice.

“Your imagination is the only limit” said the engineer given the job of designing the new car, Jean-Christophe Pallier. These words give a small hint towards what kind of machine he and his team have built.

Pallier's creation sports an earth-shattering 875bhp, created by a twin-turbo 3.2 litre V6 (originally designed for Endurance Racing) driving all four wheels underneath a pure carbon fibre body shell. And it's just that as well, the bespoke shell is mounted to a tubular steel space frame chassis. The car also sports a six-speed paddle-shift sequential gearbox.

Stopping is taken care of by carbon brake discs and one-piece alloy callipers, while cornering is left to a spectacular aerodynamic package, which hosts a two metre wide rear spoiler and specially designed underbody, (which generates half of the car's total downforce), and massive slick tyres.

The total car weighs in at 875kgs, bringing the Power-to-Weight ratio up to the near mythical 1:1, with one BHP taking care of one kilograme of weight. Allied to this are the relatively small dimensions, being only 4.5 metres long and 2 metres wide.

The vast majority of the parts in the car are of similar spec to the hugely successful Peugeot 908 Le Mans car. But, whereas the 908 could hit speeds near 200mph, the 208 T16 will only go to 150 mph. However, it'll get there in seven seconds!

Testing gets under way this week near Pau, South-West France. Endurance racer Greg Guilvert will take the wheel of the car for this test. Pikes Peak runs on 30^th June.

Photo Credit: Red Bull

VW, champions in their first year?

Even though they spent nearly a year just testing this brand new car, the VW World Rally team surely can't even be a little bit surprised by the first four rallies in the 2013 WRC season.

Even though they have never run a top-level WRC team, or a top level WRC-spec car, the VW team and star driver Sebastien Ogier have racked up three WRC wins from four starts. As well as that, Ogier took second place behind the retiring nine-times World Champion Sebastian Loeb in Monte Carlo, the only rally he has so far failed to win.

Ogier's smallest winning margin has been a massive 41.8 secs over Loeb in Sweden. On the next round in Mexico he obliterated the opposition to win by 3 mins 28.9 secs, VW's decision to carry out a test in Mexico paying huge dividends. His third win in Portugal was coincidently his third win in the Polo R WRC as well. This time he won by 58.2 secs.

“Maybe it looks easy for me, but Mads [Ostberg] and Dani [Sordo] were very, very fast before the mistakes. It will be a big fight to keep this kind of result all the year. Now we have the good advantage. Now we don’t need to win the rallies, but this is not my plan: I am a competitor and I like the taste of victory. But I know I have to be clever for the rest of season.” he said.

His team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala has been less successful in the Polo R WRC, however. 2013 marked the first year since 2006 that Latvala had driven anything other than an M-Sport prepared car in the WRC, and he struggled to get used to the handling of the new car. Two crashes in testing didn't his fragile self confidence neither, but neither were his fault. A member of the public drove their car onto the closed test road in Mexico, and collided with Latvala's VW, and in Portugal a 'mechanical failure' sent him into a ditch.

A patch of ice sent him out of Monte Carlo, but he came back with fourth in Sweden, only to exit in Mexico very early after a rock shattered his front suspension. He did manage to score his first VW podium in Portugal. He put this result down to a stronger mental attitude he took on heading into Portugal, pushing himself on.

“I was pushing myself, forcing myself to drive fast and it started to help. I have been letting myself think I can take the experience and the speed will just come, but it doesn’t work that way – you have to work for it.”

“My confidence is coming in the car. In Argentina I will have a different set-up which will suit me better, but still I am really, really happy with this result.” he added.

Team leader Jost Capito even revealed that their pre-season plan of learning and gaining experience might even be reviewed, such is their recent domination. Ogier's three straight maximum scores have him heading the Driver's table by 54 points, while VW lead the Manufacturer's standings by 14 points over the formerly all-conquering Citroen team.

“In terms of pace, we are among the front-runners and appear to be able to force our rivals to make mistakes, without making any ourselves. With that in mind, we might just have to change our goals for the season,”

Could we be in for another few years of domination by a single driver in a single car? Who knows, not many could have predicted Loeb's meteoric rise to superstar status, but with Hyundai and possibly even Toyota looming in the horizon, Ogier might just have his work cut out!