CRONIN RETURNS TO IRISH RALLYING FOR TARMAC TITLE TILT
Former Irish Tarmac Rally Champion, Keith Cronin, will return to the series this year in a bid to reclaim the crown he previously won in 2016. The West Cork driver, who has concentrated on the British Rally Championship in recent seasons, is seeded at No. 3 for this weekend’s Galway International Rally, the opening round of the 2024 Tarmac series, and he will drive a Ford Fiesta Rally 2 throughout the campaign. Cronin will be guided is his quest by co-driver, Mikie Galvin, who was also alongside for the championship victory eight years ago.
The Galway opener boasts a very strong field, with six Tarmac titles recorded among the top ten seeds, andCronin is quick to acknowledge how competitive it will be. “The pace last year was extremely hot, the likes of Callum Devine and Josh Moffett moved to a new level and drove each other on throughout the season”, he noted. “They did a lot of rallying, they were out on many of the National rounds as well”. Devine will be equipped with the same Volkswagen Polo which brought him to victory in the 2023 ITRC, while Moffett has entered his familiar Hyundai i20 R5 but is expected to be seen in a newly acquired Citroën C3 Rally 2.
Cronin too is making a switch, moving on from the Polo he used on British Championship events over the past couple of years in favour of the latest-spec Fiesta from M-Sport, Ford’s official rally partner. He is confident that it is the right decision: “On the two British rounds we did last year where Adrian Fourmaux was out in the Fiesta, even taking into account that’s he’s a professional, World-class driver, it was plain to see the progress that M-Sport had made with the car, and there were further upgrades later in the year, plus they did a test in Ireland after that to pin down the set up for our roads. While the Polo is still a very good car, and was from the outset, there is no longer any ongoing development of it, and there hasn’t been for some years. I think the difference will show”. Cronin’s Fiesta will be run by Tom Gahan Motorsport, which is a continuation of the arrangement that was in place with the Polo.
As regards predicting the outcome in Galway, a rally he won in 2013, Cronin is circumspect: “I wouldn’t be making any promises about our result, I haven’t been out on an event since May, many of the other lads were in action all year”. He also identifies three-time British champion, Matt Edwards, who is undertaking his first full ITRC campaign, as a particular threat. “He has had some great results in Ireland in recent years, he was second on the Donegal International last June, and he won the Ulster Rally a few years ago. He may not have done many events in 2023, but he’s in and out of cars constantly with his set-up and tutoring work, he’ll be on the pace straight away and I expect he’ll certainly challenge for the win”.
Cronin’s return to the ITRC may have been somewhat unexpected, as it was widely believed that he would take another tilt at a fifth British title, but he must balance his sport with commitments to the family business, as he explained: “The Tarmac Championship suits me this year from a work point of view, three of the rounds are within about an hour and a quarter of home, the West Cork Rally obviously, and the Killarney Rally of the Lakes and the Cork ‘20’, so that reduces the time I have to be away from the business overall during the year. I’m certainly looking forward to the challenge, I haven’t done the full Tarmac Championship since 2016, the year we won it. That was the first time the World Rally Cars couldn’t score points, but they were still winning the events, so even though we had maximum scores there was no outright win, so it would be nice to take one or two this year. We did win out the Ulster Rally in 2017 when the Tarmac and British Championships overlapped, but we weren’t actually registered for Tarmac points that season”.
The Galway International Rally gets underway on Friday evening (February 2nd), with a Ceremonial Start in front of the fans at Eyre Square in the city centre. There will be eight stages on Saturday in the Headford area, while on Sunday the action moves to the locality around Monivea, where there will be six further tests. The Service Park will be based at Galway Airport throughout the weekend, and the Finish Ramp will be located at the Connacht Hotel on the Dublin Road.
Keith Cronin and Mikie Galvin’s Irish Tarmac Rally Championship campaign is to be supported by Lyons Motor Group, Shane Casey Electrical Services, M O’Brien Group of Companies, Pirelli Tyres, Keohane Seafoods, Cremin Coach & Mini Bus Hire, Cronin’s Homevalue Hardware, Cronin’s Centra (Ballylickey, Leap, Union Hall, Millstreet and Dundrum), Westlink Service Station, EARS Motorsport Ireland, M-Sport and Würth Ireland.
“I am delighted to welcome on board some new sponsors who will support our Irish Tarmac Championship campaign, and to welcome back some other loyal sponsors who have been with us over the past number of years”, said Cronin. “Lyons Motor Group joins us for the first time this year. It is a family owned business established over 35 years ago, with sites in Limerick, Tipperary, Galway & Cork representing brands such as Ford, Ford Commercials, Jaguar and Land Rover. Ken Lyons has been a rally competitor for decades, always driving Fords, while his son Keith is also a regular nowadays on Tarmac and National rounds, and he will be out in Galway as well in his Fiesta Rally 2”.
“Shane Casey Electrical Services is also one of our new partners. The company provides to the residential, commercial and industrial sectors across Cork and Kerry, and also specialises in calving camera CCTV installations, electric gates, and home entertainment system fit-outs. Shane is also a competitor, and he has been making good progress since he changed over to a Fiesta Rally 4 last year”.
“M O’Brien Group of Companies is another long-term supporter. The Group is a multi-disciplined service provider to the construction industry operating across the UK, and consists of M O’Brien Plant Hire, Ashvale Haulage, M O’Brien Civil Engineering, Lowery Demolition, Skyland Contractors and L.B. Silica Sands. Michael O’Brien is a fellow Corkman, who went to work on building sites in London in his teens and practised on the machines at lunchtimes. He later bought his first digger and progressed from there, and now employs over 700 people. Michael rallies a Ford Focus WRC on British and Irish events, I must ask him to give me a go in it one of these days”.
“We will be supported this year by Pirelli Tyres and its partner, EARS Motorsport Ireland. I have a long history with Pirelli, I drove its Subaru to my second British Championship title, and won two others plus the Tarmac Championship with its products. My most recent rally wins in Scotland were also on Pirellis. EARS Motorsport Ireland was established by the Moynihan family forty or so years ago, and remains one of the premier suppliers of motorsport tyres, helmets, racewear and equipment, with branches in Mallow, Co. Cork and Kesh, Co. Fermanagh”.
“We are of course also supported by the Cronin family businesses, our HomeValue Hardware store in Ballylickey, plus the Centra Shops in Ballylickey, Leap, Union Hall and Millstreet in Co. Cork, and our latest addition in Dundrum, Co. Tipperary, as well as the Westlink Filling Station and Daybreak Shop in the Cork suburb of Togher”.
“Cremin Coaches is one of my longest backers, and Mick Cremin has been much more than just a sponsor over the years, he has helped my rallying career in so many ways. Cremin Coaches offers tours of West Cork and the Wild Atlantic Way along the western seaboard, as well as buses of various capacities for corporate, club and private bookings”.
“Keohane Seafoods also remain with us for the 2024 season, it is great to have the support of such a progressive West Cork company. Drawing from over thirty years of experience fishing in the Atlantic, Michael Keohane and his sons Colman and Brian have built up a vast business, selling fresh and frozen seafood products which are available in Super-Valu and Centra shops, and in Lidl stores across Ireland, the UK, Europe and the USA. They employ well over 200 people and also have their own shop at the Kinsale Road in Cork”.
“M-Sport is known worldwide as the operator of Ford’s World Rally Team, and it builds the Puma Rally 1 cars at its main facility in Cockermouth, while the Fiesta Rally 2s and Rally 3s are produced at the company’s European base in Krakow, from where the Junior WRC programme is co-ordinated. M-Sport has also recently spearheaded the development of the Ford Ranger for the T1+ 4X4 Prototype Cross Country class on the Dakar Rally and other World Rally Raid events”.
“We also welcome on board for the first time, Würth Ireland, which has over twenty trade stores throughout the 32 counties, offering a huge range of products for the automotive sector and many other areas. Their extensive catalogue includes tyre fitting equipment, vehicle lifts, diagnostic hardware and software, workplace equipment, material processing supplies and metal fixings”.
Galway International Rally 2024 – Top Ten Seeds
1: Callum Devine/Noel O’Sullivan, Volkswagen Polo GTi R5
2: Josh Moffett/Andy Hayes, Hyundai i20 R5
3: Keith Cronin/Mikie Galvin, Ford Fiesta Rally 2
4: Sam Moffett/James O’Reilly, Hyundai i20 R5
5: Jonathan Greer/Niall Burns, Citroen C3 Rally 2
6: Matt Edwards/David Moynihan, Ford Fiesta Rally 2
7: Desi Henry/Stuart Loudon, Citroen C3 Rally 2
8: Ryan Loughran/Gareth Doherty, Ford Fiesta R5
10: Declan Boyle/TBA, Citroen C3 Rally 2
12: Mark Alcorn/Darren Curran, Ford Escort RS
Galway International Rally 2024 – Timetable (First Car Due)
Friday 2nd Feb 2024
Scrutiny: Galway Racecourse, Ballybrit – 12:00 to 19:00
Ceremonial Start: Eyre Square, Galway – 19.30
Saturday 3rd Feb 2024
Service: Galway Airport, Carnmore – 07:55
Stage 1: Kilcoona – 08:54
Stage 2: Caherlistrance – 09:27
Service: Galway Airport, Carnmore – 10:23
Stage 3: Kilcoona – 11:32
Stage 4: Kilbeg – 11:58
Stage 5: Caherlistrance – 12:34
Service: Galway Airport, Carnmore – 13:33
Stage 6: Kilcoona – 14:42
Stage 7: Kilbeg – 15:11
Stage 8: Caherlistrance – 15:44
Parc Fermé In: Galway Racecourse, Ballybrit – 17:23
Sunday 4th Feb 2024
Parc Fermé Out: Galway Racecourse, Ballybrit – 08:00
Service: Galway Airport, Carnmore – 08:10
Stage 9: Belville – 08:55
Stage 10: Colemanstown – 09:33
Service Galway Airport, Carnmore – 10:23
Stage 11: Belville – 11:28
Stage 12: Colemanstown – 12:06
Service: Galway Airport, Carnmore – 12:56
Stage 13: Belville – 14:01
Stage 14: Colemanstown – 14:39
Parc Fermé In: Galway Racecourse, Ballybrit – 15:31
Finish Ramp: The Connacht Hotel, Dublin Road – 16:20
2024 Irish Tarmac Rally Championship – Calendar
February 03-04: Galway International Rally
March 15-17: West Cork Rally
March 29-30: Circuit of Ireland
May 04-05: Rally of the Lakes
June 21-23: Donegal International Rally
August 16-17: Ulster Rally
September 29: Cork 20 International Rally
Kerry Motorsport News 