The Galway International Rally (Feb 1-3) marks the start of the eight round Irish Tarmac Rally Championship. Gareth McHale, Mark Higgins and Andreas Mikkelsen head the list of 150 entries, but the driver that everyone is talking about is current champion Eugene Donnelly.
Having lost a major sponsorship deal last year, Donnelly has just suffered the same fate again. He was expected to compete in his favoured Suburu Impreza World Rally Car and attempt to win the title for the fifth time, but his participation is in doubt, though he may secure a late drive just for Galway.
With Donnelly’s title hopes hanging on a decent sponsorship deal, Gareth McHale is expected to battle it out with two non-Irish drivers, Andreas Mikkelsen and Mark Higgins. The young Norwegian, Mikkelsen, who drove in the championship last year, has the added advantage of former two-time WRC Champion Marcus Gronholm coaching him.
From the Isle of Man comes Mark Higgins, who was beaten to the British Rally Championship title by Guy Wilks last year and has secured a deal to drive in all the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship events.
Other contenders will be Eamonn Boland, Derek McGarity and Patrick Elliott, and they will be joined by Gareth MacHale’s brother, Aaron, who is the current National Rally Champion. Regular Galway participant, Tim McNulty will also be expected to be a contender for the title.
“I love the start in Galway as you have a classic Irish rally with narrow lanes, muck if it’s raining, broken roads and the old stone walls of Galway,” McNulty said. He will start Galway with his familiar Suburu S11, which he has driven for two years.
“We often wonder about changing cars, but we will hopefully have the Suburu 12B for the Circuit of Ireland Rally. There will be a lot of testing for it, but I’m delighted to be in the S11 for Galway because it’ll suit the conditions.”
Car set-up is all important and so is tyre choice, as McNulty explains. “If your car is set up properly, it is amazing the time you can make and catch your fellow competitors. Irish rallying has certainly changed with the tarmac conditions. We seem to have a greasier surface then a few years ago. It’s more slippey then wet and we’re picking tyres for the greasier conditions, rather than if it’s wet or dry.”
McNulty rates new entrant for the series, Aaron McHale, as a top prospect.
“Aaron is one of the most improved drivers from last year and improving with every rally. Once he gets used to the international stages, he will be a force to be reckoned with.”
Gary Leonard is the new Clerk of the Course this year and has been getting great help from the Gardai and residents on the stages. A year ago, twice World Rally Champion, Marcus Gronholm, came to Galway and won. It was a real test for the organizers, but they came through with flying colours.
It has given Gary and his team the confidence for this year. “They don’t come much bigger than him (Gronholm). It was hard to believe, it was so exciting and very good for us all. All the team that are helping me having been working flat out since last October, but we’re getting there,” he said.
And with the Galway International Rally comes a new championship, the Mitsubishi Evolution Challenge. In the UK, it was won last year by Ulsterman Philip Morrow who secured a full works drive alongside Guy Wilks for this year’s British Rally Championship.
Jim Crozier is the co-ordinator for the Mitsubishi Evolution Challenge in Ireland and he outlined how it came about.
“Simon Slade in the UK has been commissioned to take the Mitsubishi Evolution Challenge worldwide, so we are the first stepping stone with several more Mitsubishi Evo Challenges’ to come throughout Europe.”
The respective winners then will compete in one designated rally with the victor securing a drive in the Production World Rally Championship rounds.
Sponsorship for a championship is not as easy to obtain in Ireland, as Jim explains.
“Unlike the UK, we don’t have a lot of funding from Mitsubishi Ireland as they wouldn’t have the same sales as in the UK. So we have Sunoco Fuels, which is the control fuel for this championship, and Pirelli Tyres, which is the control tyre, and it is that funding that has helped get this championship up and running.”
Jim also recognises the difficulty for drivers starting out in rallying, “Funding in Ireland is very difficult for any young driver and therefore it is hard to recognise talent in the early days. This challenge is all about talent - if you win it, it is by virtue of driving talent alone.”
He expects to have close to his target figure of 20 entrants for the championship, which will take in six events at Galway, West Cork, Killarney, Donegal, Wexford and the Cork ‘20’.
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