Round 2 of the 2016 MSA British Rally Championship was contested on the narrow, demanding and historic lanes of Northern Ireland for the Circuit of Ireland, the second oldest rally in the world. Held over two days, the rally was extra difficult for the BRC drivers, and not just because the weather did its best to unsettle everybody. The British boys were also battling the best of Europe and Ireland in similar machinery, making it a record breaking entry list and one titanic battle!
It was a rally of attrition, with early pace setter and rally leader Elfyn Evans falling by the wayside in the morning loop with mechanical issues aboard his DMACK British Rally Team Fiesta R5. That left the door open for those behind, and by the service break Swede Fredrik Ahlin and Marty McCormack had taken full advantage and found themselves tied for time in what was an impressive drive by both men. McCormack was proving that the old S2000 breed could still take the fight to the younger R5 cars, with the Skoda driver ending leg 1 at the head of the BRC field as Fredrik clipped a curb in his orange Fiesta on the street stage that concluded the day's action, dropping a handful of seconds and damaging a wheel in the process. It was still an impressive run considering it was Ahlin's first time driving a four wheel drive car on tarmac. Josh Moffett and John Rowan found themselves third overnight. Day 2 and first it was McCormack to go, with mechanical issues withdrawing him from proceedings. Next it was Ahlin, who suffered a small mechanical glitch but worse was to come when he left the road in the challenging conditions. This cleared the way for Josh Moffett and John Rowan, who steered their Fiesta R5 safely to a surprise BRC win and maximum 25 championship points, good enough to put them into second in the standings behind Elfyn Evans and Craig Parry. They also took fourth overall, making it a fantastic weekend for the youngster. Jonny Greer and Kirsty Riddick came second in the BRC in their Citroen DS3 R5 and fifth overall, with a controlled drive as others hit trouble. Making the podium after missing out to Tom Cave on the Mid Wales were David Bogie and Kevin Rae. The Scottish crew had a lively run to sixth overall, with an excursion into the hedge on the pre-event qualifying stage and various other small moments throughout the weekend, but valuable experience was gained given this was Bogie's first time on the Circuit. The Circuit of Ireland rally was won by Irishman Craig Breen in a DS3 R5, who took a second consecutive home victory. Defending European Rally Champion and runner up on the Circuit for the second year running was the Fiesta R5 of Polish driver Kajetan Kajetanowicz. Leading Irish Tarmac Championship runners Alastair Fisher and Gordon Noble completed the podium in their Fiesta R5. The next round of the British Rally Championship is the Pirelli International Rally on 30 April - 1 May.
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BRITISH RALLYINGArticles covering rally in Britain, looking at the MSA BRC Archives
September 2017
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