Jennings’ Kumho-shod Subaru leads Irish tarmac series

Following a convincing victory in the recent Killarney Rally of the Lakes, Garry Jennings and Neil Doherty now lead the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship outright in their Kumho-shod Subaru S12B.

Having struggled to sixth place on the preceding Galway event, Jennings was naturally eager to make up points in Killarney but, not having rallied for three months, had absolutely no vision of winning what is regarded one of Europe’s top rallying challenges.

“Fast Ladies” heading to Cultra

Northern Ireland’s high octane garden party, Cultra Hillclimb (Saturday 1st June 2013) will once again celebrate automotive birthdays and feature a principal theme. This year WOMEN in MOTORSPORT will be in the spotlight with The Thoroughbred Sports Car Club(NI) hoping to have a large contingent of female competitors from all disciplines of the sport on the startline and behind the scenes making the event happen.

With Ireland having such a rallying culture two of the “Fast Ladies” scheduled to appear will be the 1990 FIA Ladies World Rally Champion Louise Aitken Walker MBE and Irish legend Rosemary Smith who successfully campaigned her works Hillman Imp, winning many class and ladies awards in all of the top international rallies during the sixties.

Perez back to business in Ireland

Following the disappointment of retiring just two stages from home on last weekend’s Roger Albert Clark Rally when a flailing punctured tyre broke a suspension upright, triple British champion Steve Perez was back in action yesterday when he contested the Killarney Historic Rally in Southern Ireland and once again came away with a class win.

Sykes’ third win seals NGK BRC Challenge title

Richard Sykes and Simon Taylor clinched the 2012 NGK Spark Plugs BRC Challenge title after a spectacular double win in Northern Ireland this weekend.

“It’s fantastic” claimed an exuberant Sykes, “We were disappointed not to have won the Jim Clark, as we were feeling good on that event. But the season has pretty much gone to plan; the car’s reliability has been brilliant and I’ve had my fair share of mechanical issues in my time, so it’s nice to have a good clean season.” Wearing a huge grin, co-driver Simon Taylor concluded: “We’ve worked seven years for this.”

BRC Rally NI on Sky Sports and YouTube

Coverage from round five of the MSA British Rally Championship, the Todds Leap International Rally NI will be shown on Sky Sports tonight.

The one hour Greenlight Television-produced programme, hosted by Mike Brewer and Robbie Head, will go out on Sky Sports 2 & 2HD tonight (Monday 20th August) at 18:30hrs, repeated the following day. Full schedule HERE

You can also catch up now with highlights, on the championship’s own YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/BRCMedia.

Cronin claims third 2012 BRC victory in Ulster

Keith Cronin and co-driver Marshall Clarke scored their third MSA British Rally Championship victory in succession when they won this weekend’s round five, the Todds Leap International Rally NI. Driving their Citroën DS3, they led the event from the first of its 14 stages and never looked likely to relinquish their advantage, which stood at impressive one-minute 32.7-seconds by the time cars crossed the finish line in Antrim.

Just as impressive was the performance of second-placed Elfyn Evans/Phil Pugh in their Ford Fiesta R2. Like the winners, the two Welshmen also held their position throughout the rally and, as well as securing Class 6 for R2 category cars, they also beat the rest of the R3 category field and were one-minute and five-seconds ahead of their nearest rivals. But most importantly, their fifth class win of the season means Evans secures the title for the R2 category with one round remaining.

Class podium sees Newby climb BRC table on Ulster Rally

Tricky conditions greeted competitors for round five of the 2012 British Rally Championship but despite mixed fortunes for both drivers, the Pirelli TEG Sport Team left the Toddsleap International Rally Northern Ireland in a positive mood.

Continuing his excellent run of results which saw him win two more rallies outright during the break in the BRC calendar, 17-year-old Arron Newby claimed a deserved 13th overall in the Pirelli TEG Sport Team’s Robert Wiseman Dairies-sponsored Skoda Fabia R2.

The Citroën Racing Trophy UK Series lands on the Ulster tarmac

- The Citroën Racing Trophy UK Series arrives at Ulster this weekend after an eleven-week break
- Desi Henry leads the Trophy standings after four rounds
- Belfast driver Jonny Greer is looking forward to his home round

Round five of the MSA British Rally Championship, the Ulster International Rally, starts at lunchtime on Friday, taking in six special stages, before eight stages are tackled on Saturday ahead of the tea time finish in Antrim. Some daunting strips of tarmac lie ahead, including the famous Torr Head stage, which runs right along the coast-line of the Irish Sea. You can see as far as the Mull of Kintyre from this road which runs from Ballycastle to Cushendun, but the DS3 R3 mounted Citroën Racing Trophy drivers will have no time to admire the awesome views as they tackle it twice on Friday.

Take two on tarmac

The inaugural Twingo Renaultsport R1 and R2 Trophy UK follow the MSA British Rally Championship onto asphalt for their second successive sealed surface event in 2012 this weekend, as crews head across the Irish Sea for Todds Leap International Rally NI, part of the Ulster Rally.

The French one-make series are brand-new to the British Isles in 2012, having been successfully launched in France and Italy last year. Two series, one for the Twingo R1, the other for more powerful Twingo R2 rally cars, run alongside Britain’s premier rally championship, offering prizes on each event and an end of season prize-drive for each series winner.

BRC crews get back to business in Ulster

Following an 11-week summer break, teams competing in the MSA British Rally Championship are back in action next weekend for round five, the Todds Leap International Rally NI. Based in Antrim, the event takes place on Friday 17th and Saturday 18th August on closed roads in the Counties of Antrim and Londonderry and represents the second of two asphalt rallies this season’s six-round BRC calendar.