Who can topple Greer on fresh Killarney Historic Rally?

November 30, 2023 Rallyinsight

A new route and a night-time deciding stage await those heading to Ireland’s beautiful southwest county of Kerry this weekend for the Killarney Historic Rally.

The opening round of the 2024 Historic Irish Tarmac Rally Championship has attracted an appetising entry list as the calendar year draws to a close.

Ongoing roadworks mean that there will be no early morning rush to Molls Gap this year as a fast Dromin opener kickstarts a fresh looking itinerary.

Crews will tackle Dromin, Caragh Lake, and Shanara twice before a repeated run of Rockfield rounds out the action. Killarney’s Rockfield finale will be competed on under the cover of darkness, adding an extra spectacle to what is always a fantastic winter warmer.

Warmth might be hard to find, however, as Ireland rediscovers its subzero temperatures this week. Fallen leaves and slippery stages could prove a tricky test for a near-exclusive two-wheel-drive field.

One of the rare four-wheel-drive monsters to tackle the Killarney classics on Saturday will be Jonny Greer’s Ford Sierra Sapphire. Greer sealed his first-ever Killarney Historic Rally victory 12 months ago after a scintillating day-long battle with the much-missed Craig Breen.

The two Sierra crews tussled for the rally lead from Killarney’s opening stage with Greer and Breen tied on time heading into one last blast over Molls Gap. Unfortunately a broken driveshaft spoiled Breen’s hopes as he arrived at Molls Gap’s start-line.

Greer will be a firm favourite to defend his Killarney Historic crown with Kirsty Riddick stepping back in as the Northern Irishman’s co-driver.

Alan Ring’s Subaru Legacy will burble its way to Killarney’s Dromin opener hoping to get his hands on some local silverware. Ring has threatened Historic’s pacesetters in his Legacy but is desperately needing a drama-free run to finally put a rally-challenging bid together.

Neil Williams and Anthony O’Sullivan lead the Ford Escort brigade and are sure to light up the stages in their rapid RS1800. Williams secured top Historic ITRC points on last year’s event and will hope to improve on his best Killarney Historic finish to date of fourth overall.

Familiar Irish Tarmac rivals Duncan Williams, Mark Falvey, and Michael McDaid will keep the Cardigan man on his toes.

The dazzling double act of Eamonn and Donagh Kelly return to Killarney again this December behind the wheel of an Escort and BMW M3 respectively.

Their fight for family bragging rights might inadvertently push them into the fight for rally victory as there is no arguing with their talent and mighty machinery.

Some other high-paced historic cars to look out for include the Porsche 911 of in-form Trevor Wilson and the Opel Ascona 400 that will travel all the way from Belgium courtesy of Paul Lietaer and Francois Geerlandt.

The epic array of historics will be followed by the sheer force of Ireland’s fastest modified rally cars.

Leading the way in modifieds is Kevin Eves and Chris Melly who face a tough task to defend their Toyota Corolla’s 2022 crown.

Chief suspect to spoil Eves’ defence is the rapid Rob Duggan who is as fast as they come over the scenic Kerry countryside.

Declan Gallagher is modified’s man in form at the moment and is more than capable of claiming an end-of-year Killarney win. Another contender is the Ford Escort Mk2 of Daniel McKenna and Andrew Grennan who enjoyed their run to second in modifieds last year.

Kerry’s hopes of a home winner are boosted by Conor Murphy and Colin O’Donoghue while Gary Kiernan, Chris Armstrong, Jonathan Pringle, and Johno Doogan will ensure this is one of the most competitive two-wheel-drive battles fans will witness this year.

Tim Flood leads the Class 6 contingent while recently announced Billy Coleman Award finalist Craig Rahill lines up at the front of the Class 5 pack.

Dromin (12.4 km) – SS1/4

Stage one is going to be a fast start to Saturday for Killarney Historic’s max-entry of crews. There are some really long straights between the Dromin junctions. The 12.4 kilometre opener is broken up by narrow roads in the second half of the stage.

It is a nice stage in general but crews will have to watch out for fallen leaves which could make a few tricky corners quite slippery.

Caragh Lake (13.53 km) – SS2/5

Caragh Lake will run in the opposite direction than usual. It is a difficult stage with a lot of demanding corners that have claimed a few cars in the past.

One thing to watch out for are the corners that tighten at the end. It is more common for a corner to open up but that is not the case here and they definitely can be quite deceptive.

There is a lot of work to do and pacenotes to call through the longest stage of the rally, making it one of Killarney’s classics.

Shanara (13.06 km) – SS3/6

Another fast stage, particularly at the start. There are a couple of tricky places with winter debris creating a bit of uncertainty on the narrower roads.

There is plenty in the stage so it will keep things interesting at the end of Killarney’s first two loops.