Round two of the European Rally Championship (ERC) sees a significant Irish entry heading to Karlstad, Sweden, for the Bauhaus Royal Rally of Scandinavia from May 22 to 24. Following a strong showing on tarmac in the season opener, the Irish contingent is now preparing for the high-speed gravel stages of the former WRC event.
Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy driver William Creighton leads the charge in the RC2 class. Creighton and co-driver Liam Regan are using this weekend’s Rally Nyköping in the Swedish National Championship as a warm-up in their Citroen C3 Rally2. They are joined in the top flight by Tyrone’s Philip Allen, who returns to ERC action in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 alongside Welsh co-driver Craig Drew. Making his debut at this level is Daniel O’Brien, who has the highly experienced Martin Brady on the notes in a Ford Fiesta Rally2.
The ERC3 and Fiesta Trophy classes are dominated by Irish talent following a podium lockout in Spain last month. Leading the Rally3 seeds are Academy drivers Casey Jay Coleman and Killian McArdle, who are also contesting Rally Nyköping this weekend to gain mileage on the surface. They are joined by fellow Academy members Cian Caldwell and Paul McPhillips in another Ford Fiesta Rally3.
Cavan’s Craig Rahill and Conor Smith are taking a different route to the start line, opting for the Kuljetus J. Kuusela Oy Ralli in Finland as their pre-event test. Other Irish interest in the class includes Kalum Graffin, paired with Rhodri Evans, and co-driver Niall Burns, who sits with Charlie Tuthill for their first ERC Junior appearance of the year.
In the ERC4 and Junior ERC categories, Billy Coleman Award winner Kyle McBride makes his first European start of the year in a Peugeot 208 Rally4 with Liam Callaghan. Like Creighton and Coleman, McBride is using Rally Nyköping this weekend to acclimatize to the Swedish terrain.
Further down the entry list, Irish co-driver Lorcan Moore continues his partnership with Romanian driver Reis Suliman in a Peugeot 208 Rally4. Moore faces a busy schedule, as he is set to travel directly from the Swedish finish line to compete in Rally Barbados, where he will join Gary Smith in a BMW E30.
It is also interesting to note the entry of German driver Claire Schönborn, a finalist in the FIA Women in Motorsport category, who begins her Junior ERC campaign in an Opel Corsa Rally4.
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