After a two year break, Alastair Fisher returns to the driver’s seat for this weekend’s Galway International Rally. He is seeded at number one for the first round of the Irish Tarmac Championship, where he will take on a high quality field that includes fellow Fermanagh competitors Brian Hoy, navigating for Callum Devine and starting just behind Fisher at number two, with Garry Jennings seeded at number 10.

Fisher returns to Galway to defend the title he won in 2020. That win put him in prime position to win the Irish Tarmac crown for the first time, but the season was cut short due to Covid-19 and he hasn’t returned to action since.

While many drivers have built up their seat time over the past six months, Alastair opted not to return until the Tarmac Championship resumed.

“I’m looking forward to getting back on the road again,” he admitted.

“Ultimately, I thought it was better to regroup and focus on making a fresh start at the beginning of this season. It is hard to stay away when you know you are in a good position to be competitive, so I will get back out and hopefully enjoy it.

“Seat time is always key in rallying and some of the guys have covered a lot of ground in recent times, and I haven’t been in a car at all in two years, but with my overall experience I hope we can make good notes and build up confidence as quickly as I can, and get on with it.

“As always I will set out with the target of winning the Championship. There is a lot of corners between now and then, but we have to set out with a focus and an aim, and we will do the best we can.”

Alastair has switched between a Polo and a Fiesta in recent times, but he has decided to use the car that brought him his Galway victory for this weekend’s event.

“I have opted for the Polo with Melvyn Evans Motorsport running the car,” he revealed.

“It was a toss-up between the Polo and the Fiesta, but I felt after Galway in 2020 that I had only scratched the surface of the capabilities of the car, and I wanted to give it a go again.

“We have made the notes, and the stages are very good. They are challenging and there is a lot of driving in them. There is a lot of variation, narrow and medium width roads, they are undulating and probably cleaner than your typical Galway stages, but if the weather turns they will still be tricky.”

Starting behind Fisher is Callum Devine and co-driver Brian Hoy. Devine and Hoy are also committing to the full series, and could prove to be Fisher’s biggest threat for the overall title.

Garry Jennings is a two time winner of the event, and will bring his Fiesta R5 to the rally this year looking to surprise the front runners in his right hand driver version of the car.

British Rally Champion Matt Edwards was scheduled to start at number three but has had to withdraw his entry due to a lack of budget, but there is still plenty of quality in the entry list, with Northern Ireland Rally Champion Jonny Greer and 2018 Irish Tarmac Champion Josh Moffett among the other leading contenders.

The Galway International Rally gets underway with nine stages on Saturday before six tests conclude the action on Sunday.