Eamonn Kelly to contest Croatian National Rally in preparation for Rally Croatia
Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy driver Eamonn Kelly will prepare for round two of the Junior World Rally Championship by contesting a national rally in Croatia this weekend.
The J-WRC moves from the snowy roads of Sweden to the bumpy asphalt of Croatia on April 18 to 21.
Kelly and co-driver Conor Mohan are one of four JWRC contenders to enter the Quattro River Rally near the town of Karlovac to give themselves the best possible preparation for the WRC counter a few weeks later.
The Quattro River Rally uses roads very similar to Rally Croatia and three of the 12 stages will be used in the WRC event a few weeks later – albeit in reverse.
“The Croatian tarmac is very different to Irish tarmac and a lot of tarmac all over Europe. it is very unique very, slippery and has a lot of big cuts. A different driving style is required so it will be nice for me to get a chance to get out in a Ford Fiesta Rally3 on tarmac on those sorts of roads,” he said.
Kelly and Mohan finished third in the Junior category in Sweden in February. More importantly, they took an emotional class victory in Croatia last year, just days after Craig Breen passed away in a testing crash in the same country.
This is their second attempt at the Quattro River Rally, a puncture on the tenth (of 12) stages deprived them of a top result last year but they are looking forward to getting back to competitive driving after the long layoff since Sweden.
“It is a great little rally. It is run very well. I cannot wait. It has been a long time since I have been in the car. Sweden feels like an eternity ago and it will be good just to get dialled back in again and try and make the most of the time we have behind the wheel,” added Kelly.
“There has been a lot of rallying going on, between the Irish and British championships and watching all the guys out racing has given me itchy feet.”
SAFARI RALLY
Irish co-driver Aaron Johnston scored a career-best second overall on the Safari Rally Kenya over the Easter weekend.
The Tyrone, alongside Takamoto Katsuta, in their Toyota Gazoo Racing Yaris Rally1 set two fastest stage times on their way to their third podium together.
The weekend’s result goes one better than their previous third-place finishes on last year’s Rally Finland and the 2022 Safari Rally.
“What a weekend that was,” he said “Thrilled to finish second at Safari Rally Kenya and earn my second podium finish at the event alongside Taka and to complete a Toyota Gazoo Racing one-two with Kalle [Rovanperä )and Jonne [Halttunen] makes it even more special. It has been an incredibly tough but enjoyable weekend on the African plains where we battled the always tricky fesh-fesh – inside the car as well as outside – rain, rocks, and the potentially treacherous terrain.”
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