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Tesco 99 Octane MSA British Rally Championship - Citroen C2R2 Cup round four - Ulster International Rally Aug 31 - Sep 1 2007

Posted on Friday, 17 August 2007 08:40AM by

The UK’s inaugural Citroën C2R2 Cup heads off to Northern Ireland on the last day of August for the fourth round, the Ulster International Rally.

The one make Championship has attracted interest across Europe and even as far afield as Japan, with three new drivers joining the fray for the all asphalt rally based around Armagh.

First round winner Jason Pritchard leads the series and has not finished lower than second place, but with three winners from the first three rounds and a dropped score to factor at the end of the season, the Championship is still wide open.

Despite retiring on round one, George Thomas was nominated as the first Pirelli Star Driver finalist and he was victorious on the Jim Clark. His zero scores on rounds one and three leaves him playing catch up with late starter Martin Roberts taking full advantage in the Isle of Man. He missed the opening event, bagging a third, then a win on the following tarmac rallies. Martin Laverty has the least distance to travel to the Ulster, hopping across two counties from his home in Magherafelt, but he admits he is still learning the car.

With Matt Beebe’s outing C2R2 just a one-off and Jamie Hickman not starting, Japanese driver Kazutomo Kusama is the final regular C2R2 Cup contender. He has had more than his fair share of bad luck so far, but is determined to see the season out for experience of each of the events.

The five remaining crews are joined by newcomer Jonny Greer from Carryduff. He swaps his regular Fiesta and should be freshest of all, only travelling 45 miles for the start. Two additional C2R2s will contest the two day event and although Jonathan McDaid and Dessie McCartney were too late to register for the Cup, they will be gauging their performance against the C2R2 Cup protagonists.

As sole suppliers to the C2R2 Cup, Belfast based dealer Charles Hurst Citroën will continue to provide parts and technical support to the Championship. Additional promotional support from Citroën UK will make the Ulster International Rally an exciting and competitive affair for the 1600cc flyers.

The event starts from the Mall in Armagh City on Friday 31^st August with 42 miles around the surrounding country lanes; however the bulk of the mileage remains for the crews on Saturday. Centred on the service area at the City Hotel, nearly 80 miles over ten stages await the eight Citroën pilots, finishing back at the Mall at around 5pm, with the traditional awards party the same evening.

Citroën C2R2 Cup driver positions
1	Jason Pritchard	GB	56
2	Martin Roberts	GB	36
3	Martin Laverty	GB	31
4	George Thomas	GB	20
5	Jamie Hickman	GB	18
6	Matt Beebe	GB	16
7	Kazutomo Kusama	J	0