CORK MOTOR CLUB
Over 30 years of motorsport
Keith & Greg second on Jim Clark but maintain BRC lead
[Listen to Keith's interview on the podium]
Keith Cronin and Greg Shinnors have finished the Jim Clark International Rally in seventh place overall and second to Mark Higgins in the BRC section.
A causious the rally 4.8 seconds down on Mark Higgins after Stage One. After a puncture on Stage Two it looked like it was Higgin's event. And then with the gap rising to 1 min 56.5 seconds after Stage three and down in ninth in cateory it didn't look great for them.
Then with a string of fastest times on Stages Four, Five and Six, they moved back up the leaderboard finishing Friday night fifth in BRC category and the gap to Higgins down to 1min 20.9 secs.
Keith and Greg started Saturday with determination. Sixth fastest on SS7 and SS8 and fifth quickest on SS9 saw them enter service in second place to Higgins and and gap down to 44.2 secs. keith said he was still pushing at his own pace and is sure there is more to come. Second place is better than I could have expected last night. Car seems to under steer today and thinks loosing turbo boost.
Back on the stages they continued quickest BRC competitors on all stages setting times either fifth or sixth fastest overall. When they entered service after SS14 the gap to Higgins was now just 2.6 seconds with three stages to go. But Keith was not letting the pressure effect him. Plan is to keep doing my own thing, for rest of the event.
But on Stage 15 it was then that Higgins came back. "We went out on slick tyres and it rained and we spun at one junction," said Keith.For the first time on Saturday he took fastest time, 5.6 seconds ahead of Keith and Greg. It was still wet on Stage 16 and Higgins managed another top time, adding 4.1 seconds.
A final stage surprise victory for Keith and Greg was not to be on this event. Although they were fastest, the 1.2 mile length was not long enough and they settled for second 11.4 seconds behind Higgins.
So half way through the 2009 British Rally Championship they continue to lead and now prepare for their next outing which will be the Isle Of Man International Rally on July 10/11 next.
Overall winners were Eugene Donnelly/Paddy Toner. The Jim Clark International round of the British rally championship will be shown on Sky Sports 2 on Tuesday May 26 at 7pm (Ch 402).
Keith and Greg head for Jim Clark
Keith and Greg's two wins were both taken on the very last stage of rounds one and two. This must be having an effect on the reigning champion Mark Higgins who must be wondering if there is any way of beating the young contender. The change of surface and his experience on this event, may give him some hope.
Keith will be sampling the Berwickshire lanes for the first time, but Greg should have sufficient experience to help being so nearly a winner in 2006 alongside Rory Galligan, beaten on a tie break after equalling Higgins to the tenth of a second at the finish. Keith’s experience on tar should stand him in good stead too, whilst not an asphalt-only driver at home, the ability to make notes on sealed surface should help.
Despite the pressure Keith has a good mental attitude to the job ahead. "We head to the Jim Clark Rally this weekend and it is definitely going to be another very tough rally. It is the first tarmac round of the championship and it will also be my first time competing on the event. This won’t be too strange as the first two rounds of the championship were also new territory for me. Therefore, I will approach this event in the same manner I approached the first two rounds, that is to try and start the rally at a fast and comfortable pace and build my speed up throughout the rally. If I find myself in a position near the end of the event that enables me to fight for the win then I will definitely do just that," said Keith on Tuesday.
"The competition again will be very tough here; I know Mark Higgins is very fast on the tar as he won all three sealed surface rounds of the championship last year and he will be especially hard to beat here as he has won this event numerous times in the past. As this is the first time the championship takes to the tar, I don’t really know how fast we will have to go if we want to stay with Mark or some of the other competitors for that matter. I have done other tarmac rallies before and the first two rallies I won were on tarmac, but it’s hard to know just how fast we will have to go here to be on the pace. I won’t be long finding out though and that’s for sure."
"From what I’ve heard about this event and from what I’ve seen of it on TV it is incredibly fast with some very big jumps. The surface over there also looks different to the tarmac roads that we rally on in Ireland therefore it will probably take a few stages to learn just how much grip there is for cornering and braking. Whenever it rained there it looked especially tricky. It is also the first event this year that will be incorporating some night stages. I haven’t done a lot of stages in the dark but I am looking forward to them all the same."
"All in all, it is going to be a very tough event as there are a lot of unknowns. It is another new event for me and as it is the first tarmac round of the championship it is hard to know what the level of competition will be like. This is the BRC however so no doubt it will be tough, but, we had a good tarmac test as ‘00’ on the ‘Lakes’ and I am confident that the car is in good shape. The rest is up to me!"
The rally has its HQ at Kelso racecourse, Scottish Borders and will involve 250kms of stages. As well as being round 3 of the British championship it is also part of the Irish Tarmac championship and is returning to a Friday evening / Saturday event with a high profile start in the centre of Edinburgh.
Day one is centred around Duns and a stages in the Lammermuir Hills and will finish with two stages run in the dark. Day two sees the event tackle over 100 mile of competition in the fast lanes of the Merse where the stages are famous for their big jumps. However they can have a very changeable surface if it becomes wet.
In a first for the rally, there will be a 1.2 mile sprint through the streets of Duns - the market town just a few miles from what was the family home of the late double world motor racing champion this event commemorates. The stage will be run twice on Friday night, and once more on Saturday afternoon, and is surely bound to provide an exciting spectacle.
Keith and Greg prove pace with second win
Interview with Keith after his win, click [AUDIO]
Keith Cronin and Greg Shinnors took their Mitsubishi Evo 9 to another dramatic British Rally championship win with victory on the Pirelli International Rally on Friday and Saturday (April 17/18). For the second time they snatched the lead from Mark Higgins/Bryan Thomas (Subaru) on the very last stage after over 100 miles of a hard driven rally.
Having triumphed over triple champion Mark Higgins on the opening round in North Wales in March, the second round seemed to be even more daunting, as Champion for the last two years, Guy Wilks, was also on the entry as was former Evo Challenge champion Philip Morrow. Richard Cathcart, who was so rapid on last years Evo Challenge, was also listed to start albeit in a Subaru.
Before the event Keith openly admitted that he would not be trying to win the rally, as it was more important at this juncture to consolidate his position with a good points haul.
As things transpired on the first stage on Friday evening, Keith felt that for some reason he did not settle into his rhythm properly and consequently on the first stage he dropped over 16 seconds to rally leader Wilks and was only 5th fastest on that opening test. He was happier on the second stage and was only beaten by Wilks and Higgins. In overall terms, the Cork/Limerick pairing were 4th overnight, some 35 seconds off the early leader, Wilks.
The early part of the rally had been dominated by the new Proton Satria of Guy Wilkes/Phil Pugh who were fastest on the first four stages but then Keith and Greg, after a cautious start, set the fastest times.
On Saturday's first stage they settled in well and despite the car suffering a slight power loss due to turbo problems, they were beaten only by Wilks. Philip Morrow was second to Wilks on the following stage with the Cronin Motorsport crew third, again trimming a couple of seconds from Higgins.
Stage 5 saw a different name at the top of the timesheet, when for the first time on this rally somebody beat Wilks. It was Higgins who was fastest, but the Munster crew were only 3.9 seconds slower and they too, beat Wilks on the stage. This stage also saw the demise of Philip Morrow, who crashed out of the rally.
Stage 6 saw the Irish crew topping the time sheets and having already moved into third position because of Morrow's departure, they were steadily nibbling away at Mark Higgins advantage. On stage 7 they were again fastest followed by Wilks and Higgins and had the time differential to Higgins down to 10.2 seconds.
At this point Keith was very upbeat about his chances as all the remaining stages were repeats of the earlier ones. Never having
competed on them before he was confident that on his second run he could improve on his first times over them.
On stage 8 Wilks, who was running first on the road, had a problem with the car and when he pulled over, a fire took hold and although all the following cars stopped and used their extinguishers on the fire, his car was completely gutted. As none of the lead cars now had fire extinguishers, it was decided that the following two stages be cancelled to allow the competitors get replacements.
So with two stages remaining Mark Higgins led the rally from Keith and Greg. Certainly a sense of déjà vu as that was also the scenario entering the final pair of stages in North Wales on the opening round.
That time the pair were separated by 9.5 seconds, this time it was 10.2. History was about to repeat itself as Keith and Greg's second run over the second last stage saw their stage time improve by 22sec and they trimmed Higgins' lead to just 2.4 seconds.
On the last stage Higgins improved on his previous time by 11 seconds, however Keith and Greg trimmed their first time by 18seconds to beat Higgins by 4.4seconds on the stage and by 2 seconds on the rally.
Fastest stages times: Wilks 1, 2, 3, 4. Higgins 5. Keith/Greg 6, 7, 11, 12. Stages 8, 9, 10 were cancelled due to Wilks' fire.
Cronin ahead as Wilks joins the chase
The second round of the 2009 MSA British Rally Championship takes place this weekend, just three weeks after the opener in Wales, and Keith Cronin and Greg Shinnors will be keen to keep up the momentum. They are seeded at 2 for the Pirelli International Rally on Friday and Saturday, (April 17 & 18). This will be a trip into un-chartered waters for the pair as they have never competed on this event before.
Their overall victory on round one, the Bulldog Rally in Wales on Saturday, March 28 last has given the pair a huge boost. Keith and Greg driving their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9, took fastest times on three of the six stages, beating Mark Higgins in his Subaru Impreza N11. The pair have certainly made an impression with Higgins himself commenting that he could not believe the pace of the of the 22year old, former Billy Coleman Award winner.
Absent from the tussle at the top between Keith/Greg and Mark Higgins/Bryan Thomas, was reigning BRC Champion Guy Wilks, but he and Phil Pugh will be back this weekend to try and secure their own hat-trick of wins on the Carlisle based rally. Wilks’ switch to a Proton S2000 will mean an unfamiliar package for the Durham driver.
Seeded at car one as the winner of both the 2007 and 2008 Pirelli International and British Rally Championships, Wilks should add even more spice to the action at the front, the ultra fast Cumbrian stages suiting his smooth yet attacking driving style.
Iceland’s Daniel Sigurdarsson takes the place of Stuart Jones in a Team JRM Lico evolution 10, the 32year-old former Icelandic Rally Champion and BRC newcomer making the move from his regular Evo 9 for the Cumbrian event.
2008 Pirelli Star Diver Adam Gould and Seb Marshall will benefit from previous experience on the event, as will Andreas Sjölander and Håkan Jacobsson, both crews expected to go well after impressive UK 4WD debuts in Wales.
Two Scottish Davids; Bogie and Weston Junior, with co-drivers Kevin Rae and Neil Shanks respectively, will battle for Celtic honours against two Northern Irishmen, the four taking fifth to eighth points on round one. The Irishmen in question come in the form of Alastair Fisher and Jonny Greer, former BRC and Irish Champion co-driver Rory Kennedy alongside Fisher, with another Corkman, Antony O'Conaill, who will again navigate for Greer.
The new base for the Pirelli International Rally will be Carlisle Racecourse; close to the City centre and with excellent facilities, this is coupled with new stages in the infamous Kielder forest complex. Starting and finishing from Carlisle Racecourse, the Pirelli Tour of Cumbria features eight timed special stages and a competitive distance of just under 70 miles. The Pirelli International Rally runs over the weekend of 17th / 18th April and the action gets underway at the racecourse, with cars leaving from 4:30pm on Friday with 2 evening/night stages before a return to
Keith is also in second place after four rounds of the 2009 Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge Ireland while Greg leads the navigator's section.
Cronin scores first win on British Rally Championship
Greg and Keith on the podium for the Bulldog International
Listen to Keith's interview after his victory [AUDIO]
Cronin and Shinnors win Bulldog rally
For the second time in as many weeks there was an historic Irish Victory on Welsh soil. Last week it was the rugby heroes who overcame their Welsh counterparts to claim their first grand slam for 61 years. This time it was the turn of a young West Cork rally driver to triumph over adversaries from throughout
Their victory in Bala in
At just 22 years of age, Keith has been acknowledged for some time, as
It was decided that this year he would contest the entire BRC in an effort to hone his driving skills further. On the opening stage of the rally, and the Championship, he was a mere 1.1 seconds off the pace of Mark Higgins, who is on a quest for his fourth British title. He quickly cancelled out this deficit by taking the same margin from Higgins on the second stage, so when the entered the first service the pair were jointly leading the rally. This was already shaping up to be a two horse race as there was nearly a twenty second gap to third placed driver Andreas Sjolander.
On the next test Higgins eked out a two second lead. He further extended this lead on stage four where he beat the Ballylickey driver by 7.5 seconds to lead by 9.5 seconds as they entered the second service. By now, the gap to third had extended to over two minutes, and it was Stuart Jones who now occupied that position. Cronin was optimistic that he could beat Higgins on stage 5, which was a re-run of stage 3. He thought however, that the final stage was more suited to the Subaru of Higgins.
Back out on the stages it was the Irishman who was quickest on the penultimate test when he took 6.5 seconds from Higgins to let the gap at 3 seconds entering the final stage. Cronin was worried about a rear wheel that he had bent on that fifth stage, but he did not share these concerns with Higgins, who he was hoping would push hard on the last stage and make a mistake. Higgins did indeed have an incident on that final stage where he bent a suspension when he hit a deep rut. Ironically, Keith too, damaged his car in the same place, but he did not drop much time as a result and arrived at the stage finish 12 seconds faster that Higgins to take victory by 9 seconds.
Speaking at the finish, Keith said, “It’s not quite sunk in yet but I couldn’t really ask for more at the start of the season.” When it was pointed out to Keith that Billy Coleman and Austin McHale were the only other Irishmen to lead the championship, he quipped “ I’d prefer to be leading at the end of the year like Billy was!”
Results
1. Keith Cronin/
2. Mark Higgins/Bryan Thomas (Subaru Impreza N11) 1:21.08.7
3. Stuart Jones/Andy Bull (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) 1:23:20.3
4. Adam Gould/Sebastian Marshall (Subaru Impreza N14) 1:24:09.9
5. David Bogie/Kevin Rae (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 10) 1:24:30.6
Leaders After
SS1 Mark Higgins/Bryan Thomas (Subaru Impreza N11)
SS2 Mark Higgins/Bryan Thomas (Subaru Impreza N11)
& Keith Cronin/
SS3-5 Mark Higgins/Bryan Thomas (Subaru Impreza N11)
SS6 Keith Cronin/
Stage Winners:
SS1 Mark Higgins/Bryan Thomas (Subaru Impreza N11)
SS2 Keith Cronin/
SS3 Mark Higgins/Bryan Thomas (Subaru Impreza N11)
SS4 Mark Higgins/Bryan Thomas (Subaru Impreza N11)
SS5 Keith Cronin/
SS6 Keith Cronin/
