BALLYLICKEY’S Keith Cronin Returns to Irish Tarmac Rally Championship in Galway International
BALLYLICKEY’S Keith Cronin is gearing up to make his highly anticipated return to the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship. The championship is set to kick off with the Corrib Oil Galway International in three weeks’ time, on February 3/4. Cronin’s participation in the event, where he will be behind the wheel of an M-Sport built Ford Fiesta Rally2, is set to inject excitement into the series. Cronin, who clinched the championship title in 2016, has yet to confirm whether he will also vie for a record equalling fifth win in the British Rally Championship.
In an interview with The Southern Star, Cronin expressed his focus on the upcoming Galway rally, stating, Logistically, it’s less pressure in terms of the business to compete in the Tarmac series. We are working on a few things in relation to the British Rally Championship, but at the moment we are focusing on Galway. Cronin elaborated on his decision to switch from the VW Polo GTi R5 to a Ford Fiesta Rally2, citing the lack of development in the former. He expressed confidence in the Ford Fiesta’s performance, especially after considering its success in the WRC2 series.
The County Tipperary based Tom Gahan Motorsport (TGM) outfit will be responsible for running Cronin’s Ford Fiesta Rally2 car during the championship. Despite only participating in two events last year, both in the British Rally Championship, where he finished as runner-up to M-Sport factory driver Adrien Fourmaux, Cronin remains tenacious. He acknowledges his lack of seat time but believes that Callum Devine and Josh Moffett, who dominated the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship last year, will once again be the frontrunners.
The Galway International Rally will witness Cronin reignite his rivalry with former triple British Rally Champion Matt Edwards. The Welsh ace will also compete in a Ford Fiesta Rally2 as part of his plans to contest the series.
As the countdown to the Galway rally continues, entries for the event will close on January 15th. Notably, Cronin is no stranger to success in Galway, having won the event in 2013 on an S11 Subaru WRC with Marshall Clarke as his co-driver.
With the anticipation building, rally fans are eagerly awaiting the return of Keith Cronin to the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship. As the opening event of the season, the Galway International will set the stage for what promises to be a thrilling and action-packed series.
