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Cronin makes it two apiece on Rally Isle of Man
Pirelli TEG Sport crew Keith Cronin and Barry McNulty took a well deserved victory on Rally Isle of Man, the fourth round of the Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Championship, making it two wins apiece for them and second placed Gwyndaf Evans with new co-driver Gareth Roberts.
Any chance of a close battle was ended on Friday after JR Motorsports’ Evans lost two minutes with an off, but Cronin drove a mature second day despite some atrocious weather in the middle of Saturday.
Third place went to Jason Pritchard and Robbie Durant, an excellent drive on the Welsh youngster’s first season in a four wheel drive car, to put him on the podium for the first time.
The weather undoubtedly played a major part in all the crews’ experience on the Manx roads every driver having tales of aquaplaning and near misses on roads that resembled rivers in places.
As the event started Alastair Fisher and Rory Kennedy set the initial pace on the first stage which started in foggy conditions straight out of the famous TT pitlane, but there was a gap of less than a second to JR Motorsports’ Evans after less than a mile of competition. Reigning champion Keith Cronin and Barry McNulty were back in eighth, albeit only three seconds adrift of the leaders.
As the drivers settled in Evans pulled clear, leaving Fisher third behind Cronin, but after the first service Cronin launched a fight back, closing to within five seconds of the Welshman after his Mitsubishi’s rear suspension lost alignment. The final stage before second service would prove time-consuming for Evans, caught out on a slippery section, the already wayward car spun and clouted a bank, further damaging the rear right hand wheel alignment.
His accident cost him nearly two minutes, handing the lead to Cronin, but further drama unfolded behind as Fisher crashed heavily, stopping he stage. The crew was unhurt but it meant everybody else was awarded Cronin’s time, leaving Evans seventh.
Cronin’s Pirelli TEG Sport team-mates Adam Gould/Robbie Durant were elevated to second despite a persistent misfire and they responded with a fastest time on stage seven. However their excellent run in last year’s event winning Impreza was cruelly cut short on the very next stage, when they hit a post and damaged the radiator. The crew managed to make the stage finish and attempted to fix the damage, but without spares had to admit defeat.
Jason Pritchard and Craig Drew were therefore elevated to a career best second in their first season in a four wheel drive car, having passed championship leader Jonny Greer/Gordon Noble who struggled with a broken front shock absorber.
Unfortunately for Pritchard fellow Welshman Evans was on a charge and he passed them on the first of the four stage run to the overnight halt, including two through the famous Castletown spectator test.
Greer hung onto fourth and best of the Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge runners. The young Northern Irishman still leads the Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Championship but Evans has closed the gap to just four points before dropped scores
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