John Byrnes and Paul MurphyLIMERICK CREW LEADS BRITISH RALLY CHALLENGE

Limerick rally crew John Byrnes and Paul Murphy are preparing for a critical round of the British Rally Championship after finishing third overall in the Challenge category of the Ulster Rally on Aug 23rd. John and Paul scored second in class and third overall on the grueling Fermanagh based tarmac rally. The result on the Ulster Rally was crucial in the pairs British Rally Championship Challenge.

 

 

John commented at the finish of the event “I’m relieved to have just finished this rally and I am delighted with the good result. These have been some of the most difficult stages I have driven on and there have been a lot of accidents by competing crews”. John is currently leading the points table in the RC3 class of the British Rally Championship in his Croom Precision Medical backed Group N Honda Civic and has the potential to win the RC3 Class in the British Rally Championship on the next round in the Trackrod Rally based in Yorkshire on Sep 27/28. Previous to claiming second in class in Ulster the pair scored two firsts in the opening rounds of the championship on the RBF Pirelli Rally and the RSAC Scottish Rally earlier this year.

 

John, the 2009 Irish Junior champion, further commented “The year has worked perfectly so far. We started the British Championship with a two year plan, to use the first year as learning, running on a shoe string budget and with a car that is reliable and cheap to run. Everything is going to plan and we have acquired a new car for 2013 and budget pending we will move up to the full BRC and run in the Rally 2 category”. The British Rally Championship is open only to two wheel drive cars and this suits Byrnes having cut his teeth in front wheel drive cars racing in the Irish junior rally championships. With two remaining rounds in the British Championship the pair are focusing on their next event. The pair agreed that winning the RC3 class in the British Championship will help with their 2014 plans but they want to start their next Rally with the same mind set they have had all year, keeping a cool head and treating the event like it’s just another Rally.

John Byrnes and Paul Murphy

The Webmaster would like to thank John for this report