Kenneth Quirke’s American Rally season gets underway next weekend with the Rally in the 100 Acre Wood.
It is the second round of the American Rally Championship, but Quirke and his driver John O’Sullivan sat out round one.
The pair is heading for happy hunting grounds in Missouri on Friday and Saturday.
The rally takes place in the same forest complex as last September’s the Show-Me regional rally was held.
Quirke and O’Sullivan won that event in their Ford Fiesta RC2
It will be different this time around as the American national series will bring some heavy hitters like former national champions Barry McKenna and Leon Jordan in their Fiesta.
Ken Block, along with long time navigator Alex Gelsomino is no stranger to the top of the podium in ARA and this weekend might be no different.
Joseph Burke is paired with Nick Dobbs and will be the ones to watch out for that weekend. Paul Rowley and Darragh Mullen will also be in the mix in the O4WD.
The RC2 (R5) category also brings in some stiff competition too. Britons Tom Williams and Craig Drew face Enda and Liam McCormack and Marc Russell who is paired with Dominik Jozwiak are all amongst Quirke’s class rivals.
“We will be going there hoping to be right there in the mix on Day One,” said the West Kerry man.
“Johnny had a great run here last here winning RC2 and finishing fifth overall in the Rally of the 100 Acre Wood. Doing two from two [in Missouri] would be a dream come true for me so fingers crossed. We’ll give it our best shot.”
His plans for the year?
“Well I’d love to have a good result at 100 Acre Wood so we can look forward to another few rounds of the championship but we will play it by ear,” Quirke added. “Work has been good to me about time off so I’m hoping I can get away for another few rallies later in the year.”
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