ADMITTING that he took time to get into cut and thrust of the action, Ballylickey’s Keith Cronin (Ford Fiesta Rally2) – and his Killarney co-driver Mikey Galvin – took the final spot of the podium on the Grampian Rally in Scotland, the fourth round four of the Probite British Rally Championship.
The result keeps alive Cronin’s bid to win a record-equalling fifth British Rally Championship title in a series with two rounds remaining that offer a maximum of 91 championship points.
The nine-stage event near Aberdeen was won by Manchester’s Chris Ingram (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2), who finished nine seconds ahead of the Ford Fiesta Rally2 of Welsh driver Osian Pryce with Cronin a further 19.7 seconds behind in third.
Championship leader, Down’s William Creighton (Ford Fiesta Rally2), had his most difficult event thus far but still managed to secure fourth place (16 points), which was enough to retain top spot on the overall standings, albeit by a solitary point from Ingram. Cronin is 18 points off top spot.
Creighton led on Friday’s first stage but punctured on the next and ended the leg in fifth place as Pryce led from Ingram and Cronin. With the benefit of his WRC2 outings, Creighton impressed on Saturday’s opening pair of stages to move into third, displacing Cronin by 4.3 seconds. Up front, Pryce led Ingram by 1.9 seconds.
Drama unfolded on SS5 when both Pryce and Creighton spun. Ingram punched in what was his only fastest time of the event to move into the lead as Cronin slotted into second, 24 seconds adrift of the Manchester driver. Pryce made a good response and went quickest on both SS5 and SS6 to claim second, 18.5 seconds behind Ingram. Cronin slipped to fourth and with another puncture, Creighton was back in fifth once more.
But Creighton showed the value of seat time and posted the best time on SS7 and with the demise of James Williams (Hyundai i20 Rally2) he moved to fourth, his final position.
With set up changes, Cronin’s stage times improved and some were on par with the leading duo as he went on to finish second.
‘At the start of the rally after the first few stages, I would definitely have taken a podium, because we didn't get off to the best of starts in terms of our pace. But it (pace) improved over the weekend which I'm happy with. There's still a little bit to go, but we closed right on the pace of the fast guys towards the end, which was good,’ Cronin said.
In terms of the championship with the Ceredigion Rally (points for each leg) and the Cambrian Rally (1.5 points) he concluded, ‘The way it's going this year, everyone is taking points off everyone, so every podium is good for the championship.’
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Covered by a blanket of just ten points, Keith Cronin will bid to keep his rivals at bay on Saturday’s Newry-based Ulster Rally, the penultimate round of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship.
With a brace of wins on the Galway International and the West Cork, Cronin is 1.5 points ahead of Welsh ace Matt Edwards (who won the Circuit of Ireland) in a similar car with Derry’s Callum Devine, winner of the last two rounds (Killarney and Donegal) ten points behind Cronin. Given that the series is based on the best five from seven rounds, the implementation of the ‘dropped scores’ shows a margin of five points between the trio with Cronin and Devine, each with two wins and a second place on 61 points to Edwards on 56 points, one win and two second places.
Cronin has won the Ulster Rally in 2017 and Edwards in 2021 while Devine has yet to sample the top spot of the podium on the event. However, he was second on the event last year where he wrapped up the Tarmac title and will fancy his chances onboard the Skoda Fabia Rally2 he debuted to victory in Donegal.
Edwards needs to win the Ulster and the Cork ‘20’ to land the title.
‘I think I need to beat Callum once,’ Cronin explained. It’s complex, for sure, and while there are various permutations, a Cronin win on the Ulster will certainly tilt the balance in his favour. Cronin has one key advantage insofar should the series end in a tie-break, his first round victory will be a deciding factor.
Meanwhile, Clonakilty’s Cal McCarthy (Citroen C3 Rally2) and his Rosscarbery co-driver Eric Calnan are seeded 11 as they return to the event they first contested in 2022, finishing 15th overall. The Clonakilty driver is hoping for a top-ten finish. Ardfield co-driver Anthony O’Sullivan calls the notes for Welsh ace Tomas Davies (Ford Escort RS1800) as they try and clinch top spot in the Sherwood Engines Historic Championship. The first stage starts at 8.54am with the finish ramp celebrations scheduled for 5.30pm.
