McShea and Jennings to go head to head

Published 16 Jan 2009 12:00 0 Comments

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Niall McShea who will be going to head to head against fellow Fermanagh man Garry Jennings on Rally Ireland which comes to Fermanagh at the end of the month.

Rally Ireland 2009

Two of Fermanagh"s top rally drivers, Niall McShea and Garry Jennings, will go head to head at this year"s Rally Ireland.

The current economic situation has had an impact on rally entries throughout the world and Rally Ireland is no exception, with entry numbers expected to be well down on the 2007 entry. Despite the withdrawal of both Subaru and Suzuki from the World Championship, fans will still be able to watch a battle for local honours with Jennings and McShea both featuring on the entry list.

The pair did battle on the 2007 event with former Production World Rally Champion Niall McShea edging out his Ballinamallard rival after Jennings had gearbox problems from the first stage. The third local participant on the 2007 World Championship rally was Richard Cathcart, but he has been unable to put together a deal for the latest event and will be unable to repeat his memorable performance of two years ago.

While Jennings will compete in his familiar Mitsubishi Evo, it will be a step into the unknown for Monea driver McShea as he steps behind the wheel of a Super 2000 Proton Satria. The car has never before appeared on a World Championship event, but Niall has tested the car and has declared himself impressed. The Super 2000 cars have already proved themselves to be a match for the traditional Group N machinery but the handling of the new breed of rally car is often described as being closer to their bigger WRC counterparts, albeit without the turbocharger and outright power.

If both drivers get a clean, trouble free run on what is expected to be a difficult event it could well be a close contest, and it is one that Garry Jennings and his co-driver Rory Kennedy are looking forward to.

'It should be a good battle with Niall, especially because we are at home,' he admitted.

With none of the top local drivers committed to championships this season it looked as though there would be minimal local interest, but Garry was keen to compete on his local round of the WRC. 'You can"t let Rally Ireland down,' he said. 'I"ve done it now for four years and its not going to be here next year. People say it"s so expensive to do, but would you rather do two rounds of the Tarmac Championship or a World Rally? Also its great that its starting in Enniskillen.'

Rally Ireland is the opening round of the 2009 World Rally Championship, and will roll into action on Thursday, January 29 with a ceremonial start planned for the centre of Enniskillen.

This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 08 Jan 09

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