BY MARTIN WALSH
IT was also a busy weekend for other members of the Cronin family with both Keith and Colin competing in British-based events.
Keith utilised last Saturday’s Nicky Grist Rally in Wales as a shakedown for the Grampian Rally in Scotland ahead of his next outing in the British Rally Championship on August 9th.
Co-driven by Killarney’s Shane Buckley in the Cronin’s Centra Ford Fiesta Rally2, he finished second, 14.7 seconds behind British driver and former European Rally Champion Chris Ingram (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2).
‘I haven’t done much gravel rallying so it was important to get some seat time ahead of the Grampian. Essentially, it was a test. We tried various settings with the car and it was important to see what worked or perhaps, what didn’t. We also tested some tyre combinations and equally we learned things in that respect as well,’ Keith said.
In the Ginetta Junior Championship in Snetterton and racing with the Fox Motorsport outfit, Colin Cronin had his best weekend of the current series, recording career-best qualifying and finishing results and his best haul (44) of championship points. In his opening race, he finished eighth. He qualified and finished seventh in race two, a second away from a Rookie podium. In Sunday’s third and final race he was part of a seven-car lead pack before finishing eighth, less than seven seconds from victory.
Also, the Skibbereen and District Car Club host rounds of the Partsworld Munster Autotest Championship at the Enniskeane Concrete complex on Saturday (3m) and Sunday (11m). In conjunction with Sunday’s eight round of the series, the club are hosting a special promotional day.
