Fermanagh trio to go head to head in Galway

Editorial Department • Published 14 Jan 2010 09:51 0 Comments

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Fermanagh's top rally drivers will go head to head at next month's Galway International Rally, with Garry Jennings, Alastair Fisher and Richard Cathcart all set to contest Group N on the opening round of the 2010 Irish Tarmac Championship.

The pedigree of the local drivers is undoubted. Garry Jennings is a former Irish Tarmac Group N champion and came close to claiming the Irish National Group N title last season, Richard Cathcart is a multiple outright winner in the Northern Ireland Rally Championship and Alastair Fisher finished last season third overall in both the Irish and British championships.

While Alastair Fisher is planning to contest both the British and Irish Championships in a repeat of his hectic schedule of last year, both Jennings and Cathcart are more uncertain of their focus for the remainder of the 2010 season. Garry Jennings has no firm plans made, and acknowledges that his performance in Galway could influence the path he takes for the rest of the year. "I'll go to Galway and see after that," he said. "I did the national last year and I'll do Galway this year and see how it goes, but I'm still leaving my options open."

After a quiet year in 2009, Richard Cathcart has early plans to contest the first round of three championships, the Irish Tarmac Championship, the British Championship and the ANCRO National Rally Championship on the mainland UK, before deciding on his future plans. He will be behind the wheel of his familiar N12 Subaru for both Galway and the Bulldog Rally in the British series, but will drive a Subaru WRC on the Sunseeker Rally, giving him a realistic chance of outright victory in the first round of the ANCRO series.

"We'll see what way the first events pan out and then we'll decide what to do," he revealed. "We are getting geared up for Galway at the minute and then the Sunseeker. It's all still a bit up in the air at the minute but we might do the first round of the BRC in March as well, and then see which is the best series to do."

Last season the Irish Tarmac Group N battle was regarded as lacking in quality in some events, but there will be no such complaints about this season's first event as the Fermanagh trio join some of Ireland's top Group N crews in what looks to be one of the strongest Group N fields of recent times. The field is also set to include reigning British Rally Champion Keith Cronin, who will warm up for his title defence in a Mitsubishi, while Craig Breen will give the new Fiesta S2000 its Irish debut.

With new regulations also allowing Group N cars bigger restrictors, hence giving the cars in excess of an extra 30 brake horse power, the pace of the front runners looks like providing fans with a thrilling spectacle.

The Galway International Rally takes place over the weekend of 5th - 7th February.

This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 14 Jan 10

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