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The outcome of this Sunday's Cork '20' Rally will decide the destiny of the Samdec Security 2024 Irish Tarmac Championship title, between Keith Cronin and Mikie Galvin, who last took the crown in 2016, and the reigning Tarmac champions, Callum Devine and Noel O'Sullivan. It is Cronin and Galvin who hold the lead in the points standings going into the final round in their M O’Brien Group of Companies/Lyons Motor Group/Shane Casey Electrical Services Ford Fiesta Rally 2, lying fifteen ahead Devine and O'Sullivan, but the margin is somewhat tighter after the best five scores rule comes into play.
Cronin and Galvin have taken three wins in the Tarmac series this year, on the Galway, West Cork and Ulster rallies. They lost a near-certain victory on the Rally of the Lakes to a puncture, where Devine and O'Sullivan took the laurels, and the latter also took victory on the following round in Donegal, where Cronin and Galvin crashed out early. The success of Cronin and Galvin on the most recent event, the Ulster Rally, has put them in a seemingly strong position heading to Cork, but Cronin is not putting the champagne on ice just yet.
"The way the points stand, Callum and Noel have to win or finish second in Cork to take the title, with us finishing at least two places behind them. It sounds straightforward, that we just have to shadow them for the day, but we can't afford to be too relaxed, there will be others there as well, and we can't let them get in between to take points away, so it will be something of a balancing act," he outlined.
While the Cork '20' takes place in Cronin's home county, he does not see that as giving him an advantage, in view of a number of factors.
"The stages are in the Fermoy area, that's an hour and half from me, about the same as Cavan is from Dublin, so from my point of view it's not much different to going rallying anywhere else in the country," he said.
"Callum won the rally last year, and this year's route is the same as the Sunday stages in 2023, so he'll have something of a head start, he'll have his pacenotes that he can just fine tune, he'll have his in-car camera footage to look at. I didn't do any of the Tarmac rounds last year, so I'm starting from scratch with this one really."
With the Tarmac Championship regulations specifying that crews count their best five scores from seven rounds, a tie-break will be required if Devine and O'Sullivan take maximum points, and Cronin and Galvin finish second. In that scenario, Devine and O'Sullivan will have three wins, as will Cronin and Galvin. They will also each have two second places. Neither will have recorded a third place finish, but Cronin and Galvin will take the title by virtue of their fourth place finish in Killarney. (Devine and O'Sullivan will have had two non-finishes to the one of Cronin and Galvin). If Devine and O'Sullivan take second place points in Cork, and Cronin and Galvin take third, the latter will claim the Tarmac Championship by one point. "It's certainly very tight, the big danger for us would be a non-finish," says Cronin. "We've seen this year how there is such a fine line between success and zero, we've had four wins in Ireland and Scotland, and we've also had mishaps in Donegal and Ceredigion, anything can happen, it can go either way."
While all eyes may be on the title contenders, others too will be in the mix for the Cork '20' victory, and their finishing positions could impact the outcome of the championship battle, as Cronin alludes to. Matt Edwards and David Moynihan are third in the standings, and while out of contention for the Tarmac title, they could yet wrest second place from Devine and O'Sullivan, and will be anxious to finish the year on a positive note after a mixed year. Josh Moffett and Andy Hayes are entered in a Citroen C3, which they have been getting to grips with as the season has progressed, but they may instead appear in the tried and trusted Hyundai i20 R5 which has brought them much success in recent years, including a Cork '20' victory in 2022. Eddie Doherty and Tom Murphy could also be well in the shake-up in their Skoda.
There are two further crews who are not registered for Tarmac points, but are certain to be in contention for the rally win. Josh McErlean and James Fulton having been plying their trade in the WRC2 World Championship with the support of the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy, and their appearance on the Cork '20' entry list a latest-spec Skoda is a surprise but welcome addition. "The Academy is doing great work with the country's young drivers and co-drivers, it gives them great opportunities," said Cronin. "There is a huge benefit to be had from contesting World Championship or European Championship rounds every month or so, it really lifts them to another level, we've seen it on the British Championship events with the performances of Will Creighton all year, and Jon Armstrong as well in Ceredigion a couple of weeks ago. I expect that Josh will be hard to beat in Cork for the rally win, but we can't let ourselves be distracted by him, we just have to do what we have to do for the championship." Also sure to feature at the sharp end will be Meirion Evans and Ger Conway, in a Toyota GR Yaris. Evans contested the entire Tarmac Championship in 2023, but has concentrated on the British series this year, although he did make the trip to the Donegal Rally in June. He started the final stage in Cork last year just 2.7 seconds down on Callum Devine, but was denied the chance to make up the difference when the cancel flag had to be shown, and so will be eager to finish unfinished business this time around.
The Cork '20' route will consist of eight stages in all, with a loop of three, Mullentaura, Badgers Hill and Chimneyfield, being tackled in the morning and in the afternoon. The first two out of the three form the final challenge of the rally, and the victors of the 2024 Irish Tarmac Rally Championship title will be known shortly after 4pm. Rally Headquarters, Scrutiny, Parc Fermé, Service and the Finish Ramp will all be situated in the Corrin Events Centre/Cork Marts complex, outside Rathcormac, a short distance off the Dublin to Cork motorway.
Keith Cronin and Mikie Galvin are supported by M Group of Companies, Lyons Motor Group, Shane Casey Electrical Services, Molson Equipment, Pirelli, EARS Motorsport Ireland, Cronin’s Centra (Ballylickey, Union Hall, Leap, Millstreet and Dundrum), Cronin’s HomeValue Hardware, Westlink Service Station and Daybreak Shop, Cremin Coaches, Keohane Seafoods, M-Sport and Wurth Ireland. Their Ford Fiesta Rally 2 is prepared and run by Tom Gahan Motorsport.
O'Connell Group Cork '20' Rally 2024
Top Ten Seeds
1: Callum Devine/Noel O'Sullivan, Skoda Fabia RS Rally 2
2: Keith Cronin/Mikie Galvin, Ford Fiesta MK II Rally 2
3: Josh Moffett/Andy Hayes, Citroen C3 Rally 2
4: Matt Edwards/David Moynihan, Ford Fiesta MK II Rally 2
5: Josh McErlean/James Fulton, Skoda Fabia RS Rally 2
6: Meirion Evans/Ger Conway, Toyota GR Yaris Rally 2
7: Eddie Doherty/Tom Murphy, Skoda Fabia Rally2
8: Desi Henry/Shane Byrne, Citroen C3 Rally 2
9: James Ford/Neil Shanks, Citroen C3 Rally 2
10: Declan Boyle/Andy Hayes, Skoda Fabia Rally 2
O'Connell Group Cork '20' Rally 2024
Timetable (First Car Due)
Sunday 29 September
Parc Fermé - Out: Corrin Events Centre, 09:00
Service - In: Cork Marts, Rathcormac, 09:03
Service - Out: Cork Marts, Rathcormac, 09:23
Stage 1: Mullentaura 1, 09:44
Stage 2: Badgers Hill 1, 10:20
Stage 3: Chimneyfield 1, 10:53
Service - In: Cork Marts, Rathcormac, 11:29
Service - Out: Cork Marts, Rathcormac, 12:09
Stage 4: Mullentaura 2, 12:30
Stage 5: Badgers Hill 2, 13:06
Stage 6: Chimneyfield 2, 13:39
Service - In: Cork Marts, Rathcormac, 14:15
Service - Out: Cork Marts, Rathcormac, 14:55
Stage 7: Mullentaura 3, 15:16
Stage 8: Badgers Hill 3, 15:52
Parc Fermé - In: Corrin Events Centre, 16:52
Ceremonial Finish: Corrin Events Centre, 17:00 approx.
KCR/Image - Martin Walsh
