Why Devine can kickstart Tarmac challenge on Circuit
Reigning Irish Tarmac Rally Champion Callum Devine is keen to reinvigorate his latest championship challenge on Saturday’s Circuit of Ireland.
The Volkswagen Polo R5 driver had planned to start the season on the front foot after tricky starts in his preceding two Irish Tarmac campaigns.
Fourth in the Irish Tarmac standings and 26 points off the championship lead after 2024’s first two rounds was not what he had in mind.
Devine made a strong on this year’s championship-opening Galway International Rally. He recorded his best result to date on the tough Connacht classic, finishing second to Keith Cronin.
It looked like the 29-year-old was back to his spellbinding best on West Cork Rally’s Friday evening stages. Fastest on three of the four tests gave Devine and co-driver Noel O’Sullivan a 6.3-second overnight lead with third-placed Matt Edwards 36 seconds off Devine’s potent Polo.
A puncture early on Saturday destroyed Devine’s hopes of a maiden West Cork win and an accident later in the day forced his Polo into an early retirement.
“West Cork was going well for us,” reflected Devine. “Day one was really good. We knew we had to step it up to get close to Keith because has been going well.
“Friday was drier but still had slippery sections and those conditions seemed to suit us. It set up a good race for the rest of the weekend. I loved the night stages too, it was a nice new approach from the rally.
“Unfortunately the weather took a turn for the worse on Saturday and we dropped time to Keith in the wet and fog.
“I would say that we’ve struggled in wet conditions recently compared to Keith’s pace but the speed hasn’t been bad compared to the rest of the guys.
“Of course the end result in West Cork was frustrating but there wasn’t much damage, we broke the rear wheel, and instead of going back out on Sunday we decided to take West Cork as our dropped score.”
Heading into ITRC’s Easter weekend trip up north, Devine has a chance to flip this season’s Irish Tarmac tale so far. Devine cast a spell of dominance on the Circuit of Ireland, Killarney’s Rally of the Lakes, and the Donegal International Rally last year.
It was a string of results that swung the title momentum into his hands over early-round winners Meirion Evans and Josh Moffett.
Cronin’s controlling victories in Galway and West Cork may have given him a domineering position at the top of the ITRC standings but Devine is ready to fight back on more familiar territory.
“I am looking forward to the Circuit,” said the Claudy man. “We had a good run there last year and I like the terrain up around this part of the world.
“Galway and West Cork were completely different, I think these stages will be a bit twistier but obviously they can still get dirty if it is wet.
“It should be interesting though because they are new stages to us and it is always nice to be doing a new route that is a level playing field for everyone.
“The next rallies kick-started our championship last year. We would love to do the same this year on the Circuit.
“It is going to be a tricky rally with a strong field of guys doing it and they are all going to be looking for the win.”
Ryan Loughran, Desi Henry, Cathan McCourt, and Garry Jennings return to Irish Tarmac action this weekend and any one of them could pitch themselves into the fight for rally honours if they find their form early on.
Indeed, the Circuit of Ireland’s single-day format makes the race for victory an incredibly interesting prospect.
“The single-day approach is different to most of the rallies this year. It is going to be a sprint from the word go.
“If you lose time in the morning then it will be very hard to get it back so it will be good racing. It is going to be a sprint rally rather than pacing ourselves like the three days in West Cork.
“It will be a different approach and we will try to hit the ground running as quickly as we can.”
Devine’s Polo R5 will open the Circuit of Ireland’s first of eight stages at 09:44 on Saturday.
Photos by D Harrigan Images
