Welcome to our LIVE and unrivalled text commentary for round one of the British Rally Championship - Live centre Sponsored by Sprintsurge.com
Todays schedule
Top 10 seeds
SS1 Beacon Fell 1 - 11.60 km
Slight delay for the BRC1 crews
Cars now into the stage
Timing issues, But Ingram provisional fastest
Pop off issue for Ingram
Provisional top 5 (Timing Issues)
Ingram 6:56
Cronin + 7s
Pryce + 12s
Evans + 13s
Creighton + 14s
First 5 cars got through the stage before the rain.
SS1 Stopped - James Ford off (Crew OK)
CRONIN SECOND AS NORTH WEST OPENS
Keith Cronin and Mikie Galvin have recorded second fastest time in the M O’Brien Group of Companies/Lyons Motor Group/Shane Casey Electrical Services Ford Fiesta Rally 2 on the first stage of the Legend Fires North West Stages Rally, the opening round of the 2024 British Championship. Chris Ingram and Alex Kihurani went fastest over the opening Beacon Fell test, despite reporting an issue with the pop-off valve on their Volkswagen Polo GTi causing the car to die on the exits of slow sections. They were seven seconds faster than Cronin and Galvin, with Osian Pryce and Rhodri Evans next up in their Fiesta, another five seconds behind.
Weather conditions were dry for the early runners, but biting winds are keeping temperatures low. "It was very tricky, very slippy, I was very cautious in there", said Cronin. "It was much slippier than I anticipated."
The rally consists of ten stages in all, a loop of five which will be repeated in the afternoon following a forty minute Service at Myerscough College.
BRC1 crews into SS2
Ingram on the double (Provisional)
Ingram sets his second fastest time on SS2
Top 5 fastest times on SS2 (Provisional)
Apologies for the gaps, Due to timings issues and a stoppage we are struggling to gather up to date information and crews dont currently have the time to stop for interviews.
Overall timings after SS2 - Due shortly
Ingram extends his lead to around 15s after two stages
CRONIN REMAINS SECOND IN NORTH WEST RALLY DESPITE PUNCTURE
A puncture on the second stage of the North West Rally in Lancashire has cost Keith Cronin and Mikie Galvin time, but they remain second in the overall standings in the M O’Brien Group of Companies/Lyons Motor Group/Shane Casey Electrical Services Ford Fiesta Rally 2. Chris Ingram and Alex Kihurani were fastest again on the Long Knots stage in their Volkswagen Polo GTi, and now lead by almost twenty seconds. Osian Pryce and Rhodri Evans are lying third, just 1.5 seconds behind Cronin and Galvin in the overall standings.
Overall top 10 after SS2
SS3 Crossgill 1 - 10.18 km
Pryce sets the pace on SS3 to close the gap to Chris Ingram
Overall top three after SS3
Overall top 10 after SS3 (Provisional)
Wrong tyre choice and a puncture for Keith Cronin drop him down to ninth overall.
Reports SS3 stopped due to a tractor on the stage
All stages running late due to a number of stage issues
A tricky day for organisers with lots of issues on every stage.
Keith Cronin reporting mechanical issues and just looking to get through the next two stages.
CRONIN HINDERED BY MECHANICAL WOES IN NORTH WEST RALLY
The Ford Fiesta of Keith Cronin and Mikie Galvin has suffered a suspected broken driveshaft during the third stage of the North West Rally in Lancashire. There are two further stages to tackle before the crews return to service at Myerscough College and University in Garstang, and the Killarney & District Motor Club crew will endeavour to get through them so that the Tom Gahan Motorsport crew can attend to the car ahead of the second loop.
In the overall standings, Chris Ingram and Alex Kihurani lead from Osian Pryce and Rhodri Evans, who were fastest on the third stage, Crossgill. Cronin and Galvin remain in the top ten, but the mechanical problem has cost them over forty seconds.
The rally is running significantly behind schedule due to stage stoppages and other issues.
We are currently waiting on an update from organisers in relation to schedule.
A farmer protesting and blocking SS3, Caused the stage cancellation.
UPDATE -
Rally back underway - With BRC1 crews into SS6
Provisional fastest time for James Williams
Unfortunatley we are still getting conflicting times from the stages, We currently cannot trust the information to publish.
CRONIN GRANTED REPRIEVE AS MORNING LEG SHORTENED
The organisers of the North West Rally, opening round of the British Rally Championship, took the decision to cancel stages four and five, following a number of stoppages during the course of the morning which caused running to be delayed, as a result of which some crews got no competitive mileage at all. This turn of events has been somewhat fortuitous for Keith Cronin and Mikie Galvin, who had lost time on stage two when the M O’Brien Group of Companies/Lyons Motor Group/Shane Casey Electrical Services Ford Fiesta Rally 2 picked up a puncture, and had then hit further trouble on the following test with a broken driveshaft.
The Killarney and District Motor Club crew had intended making their way through stages four and five before the mid-rally Service, but the time loss would have been compounded if the the tests had been run competitively. The cancellations limited the impact somewhat, and the Fiesta was attended to by the Tom Gahan Motorsport mechanics, but stage six, the first of the second loop, has seen Cronin and Galvin encounter further difficulties. The Fiesta's launch control is non-functioning, the handbrake is also causing problems, and they had a spin on the Beacon Fell test.
Williams sets the fastest time on SS8
CRONIN FOURTH FOLLOWING PRYCE RETIREMENT
The seventh stage of the North West Rally, the opening round of the 2024 British Rally Championship, has seen Osian Pryce and Rhodri Evans, who had been challenging for the lead, retire from the event due to a mechanical issue with their Ford Fiesta Rally 2. Chris Ingram and Alex Kihurani now have a clear half minute advantage at the top of the timesheets, ahead of William Creighton and Liam Regan in the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy Fiesta. Keith Cronin and Mikie Galvin in the M O’Brien Group of Companies/Lyons Motor Group/Shane Casey Electrical Services Ford Fiesta Rally 2 are now fourth on the leaderboard, 38.8 seconds behind third placed Meirion Evans and Jonathan Jackson, who are giving the Toyota GR Yaris Rally 2 its UK debut.
SS8 Crossgill 2 - 10.18 km
Top three fastest times on SS8
Overall top 5 after SS8 (Provisional)
CRONIN LIES FIFTH IN NORTH WEST STAGES
With two stages remaining in the North West Rally, the opening round of the 2024 British Rally Championship, Chris Ingram and Alex Kihurani continue to lead in their Volkswagen Polo GTi. They have 40.1 seconds in hand over William Creighton and Liam Regan in the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy Ford Fiesta Rally 2, who were just 3 of a second slower than the leaders on the eighth test, Crossgill. James Williams and Ross Whittock have climbed to third on the overall leaderboard after recording fastest time on stages six and seven. Keith Cronin and Mikie Galvin in the M O’Brien Group of Companies/Lyons Motor Group/Shane Casey Electrical Services Ford Fiesta Rally 2 lie fifth, following a troubled rally so far.
SS9 Hawthornthwaite 2 - 7.43 km
Ingram fastest
More timing issues
Issue will be resolved before final stage
INGRAM TAKES NORTH WEST STAGES WIN (Provisional)
Overall top 3
CRONIN FINISHES TROUBLED SEVENTH IN LANCASHIRE
The opening round of the 2024 Probite Brakes British Rally Championship, the North West Stages Rally in Lancashire, has brought victory to English driver, Chris Ingram, and his American co-driver Alex Kihurani. They finished the event in their Volkswagen Polo GTi with a margin of 27 seconds over William Creighton and Liam Regan in the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy Ford Fiesta Rally 2. Meirion Evans and Jonathan Jackson rounded out the top three on their first outing in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally 2. Keith Cronin and Mikie Galvin eventually finished sixth in the M O’Brien Group of Companies/Lyons Motor Group/Shane Casey Electrical Services Ford Fiesta Rally 2 following a less than smooth event for the former winners of the British championship.
The second stage of the morning saw them pick up a puncture, and worse was to come on the following test when their Fiesta broke a driveshaft. The weather for the afternoon loop turned much wetter, when they had gambled on a cut slick dry weather tyre. To add to their woes, the launch control and handbrake also caused trouble.
"It was just one of those rallies", said Cronin at the finish of the final stage. "We made a wrong tyre choice in the morning, and we were a bit braver for the second part of the day, but we were completely wrong, we were on slicks pretty much for that rain, so it was not enjoyable. We were missing the handbrake as well, so we had to reverse in some of the hairpins."
The attention of the Killarney and District Motor Club crew now turns back to the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship, which resumes with the Circuit of Ireland next Saturday, based around Dungannon.
.jpg)
.jpg)
