KEITH Cronin says the destination of the Irish Tarmac Championship title is not a foregone conclusion despite him banking a third perfect score of the season on Saturday’s Modern Tyres Ulster Rally.
Cronin overcame changeable road – and weather – conditions alongside co-driver Mikie Galvin to triumph at the Northern Ireland Motor Club Ltd event by 15.4 seconds in his Ford Fiesta Rally2.
It was their first success at the closed-road competition since 2017, with that also coming in a Fiesta.
Last weekend’s victory follows first-place performances at February’s Galway International Rally, and March’s West Cork Rally for the M-Sport-supported team-mates and vanquishes a two-round barren spell for them in which they picked up 12 points from a possible forty-four in Killarney and Donegal respectively.
With only next month’s Cork ‘20′ International remaining, they can get their hands on the coveted Bertie Fisher Memorial Trophy for the second time in their career should they bank a fourth win – or finish runner-up to reigning champion Callum Devine if the countback rule needs to be applied.
“It is great to get the win, I am delighted with the result. Those were some of the toughest stages we have come across this season, and the mixed conditions added to the challenge,” said Cronin.
“We had a great start to the Championship but the last two rounds have not gone well for us, so we needed this result.
“I would not say we are in control now because there are so many anomalies because in sport anything can happen but yeah, we needed a win here and this one feels good.”
Second-place points at the Ulster Rally by the Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 duo of Devine and co-driver Noel O’Sullivan has ensured the title fight will go down to the wire on the weekend of September 28th and 29th.
By comparison, Matt Edwards’s dream of becoming the first Welshman to etch his name onto the trophy appear all but over after he retired on special stage three of the Ulster Rally. With the finish line of the 6.76-mile ‘Kilrea Hill 1′ in sight, the three-time British Rally title holder, at “modest speed”, lost traction on a greasy left-hander and ended up catching the root of a bush.
The impact damaged the rear hub on his Ford Fiesta Rally2 and he was forced to park up only a short distance away from the scene of his latest setback.
“As ever, we tried to carry on, but this time it would have done too much damage to proceed,” explained Edwards, who has hinted the second Did Not Finish of the current campaign could mean he sits out the Cork ‘20′ International.
His demise, and the retirement of James Ford due to mechanical reasons, promoted Josh Moffett into the podium places.
He recovered from a nightmare start that comprised a visit into a field and a puncture to come home third and receive a cheque for €5,000 (£4,260) for being the top Citroen Racing C3 Rally2 Trophy contender home.
Modern Tyres Ulster Rally – Top 10 Results
1 Keith Cronin / Mikie Galvin (Ford Fiesta Rally2) 1h 16m 50.3s
2 Callum Devine / Noel O’Sullivan (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) +15.4s
3 Josh Moffett / Andy Hayes (Citroen C3 Rally2)
4 Eddie Doherty / Tom Murphy (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 Evo)
5 John MacCrone / Kirsty Riddick (Ford Fiesta Rally2)
6 Steve Wood / Kenny Hull (Citroen C3 Rally2)
7 Cal McCarthy / Eric Calnan (Citroen C3 Rally2)
8 Damian Toner / Aodhan Gallagher (Ford Fiesta Rally2)
9 Oli Benton / Kyle Diffin (Ford Escort Mk2)
10 Frank Kelly / Lauren Kelly (Ford Escort Mk2)