BERTIE FISHER and Rory Kennedy are firm favourites to win the AA Circuit of Ireland, and make it a second successive victory in the Easter classic. The Ulster crew are the most experienced and professional in Irish rallying. Their Subaru Impreza is light, powerful and compact and ideally suited to Irish stages. Fellow Ulstermen Stephen Finlay and Robbie Philpott will have to push really hard to even keep pace with the flying Fisher.
Finlay won the Circuit two years ago and was second last year. He will be at the wheel of a Malcolm Wilson Motorsport rent a drive Ford Escort KS Cosworth this weekend.
Liam O'Callaghan and James O'Brien will probably never get a better chance of making a challenge. The Kanturk crew are seeded three in the Esso Ultron Toyota Celica GT4, a powerful World Championship spec. Group A car that should have that slight competitive edge over Fisher's Subaru and the Finlay Ford. O'Callaghan is short on experience but big on determination.
He must keep pace with Fisher and Finlay right from the start, and he will also be under pressure from three more Toyota drivers snapping at his heels Ian Greer, Austin McHale and Andrew Nesbitt.
Of this trio the dark horse has to be Nesbitt if he can curb his enthusiasm and stay on the road. McHale and Greer are rallying older type Celica GT4's which are past their sell by date as competitive Group A cars by comparison with the Subaru Impreza, Fisher's Escort Cossie and the Celica GT4's of O'Callaghan and Nesbitt. Greer was fourth in Galway until he crashed, as also did Nesbitt who held third at one stage.
McHale, winner in `93, will have to call on all his experience to out drive his Toyota and maintain pace, but if the car proves reliable, he cannot be discounted by any means. Mickey Farrell in his Subaru Legacy and Eamonn McAleenan in an Escort Cossie are not contenders for victory, but should score on reliability and may be there at the finish.
The entry of just over 40 cars for the four day marathon is symptomatic of the change in rallying from time consuming and costly events like the Circuit to the shorter and more compact two day events. Frank Meagher, James Cullen, Stephen Murphy and Eamonn Boland are just some of the top drivers giving the Easter event a miss.
Kenny McKinstry is not competing fully either, but at least the Northern spectators will have the opportunity to see the Banbridge driver in action at the wheel of his Ford Escort RS2000 in the Easter Stages Rally which will be run over the Northern part of the Circuit on Monday only.
There are only three serious Group N contenders Sean Campbell and Willie John Dolan in Subaru Imprezas and Donal Bowens in an Escort Cosworth. The Historic entry is headed by a quartet of Porsche 911's, driven by Louise Aitken Walker, Dessie Nutt, John Keatley and John Coyne, with Geoff Crabtree in another Porsche seeded 207 behind Drew Wylie's MGB and the Lotus Elan of Robert McGimpsey. The histories will be on most of the stages before the main rally.
The rally starts at 8.45 today and after the first stage in the grounds of Bangor Castle Park the route will take in Newry, Dublin and Portlaoise and on to Limerick for the first of two overnight stops. Service will be in Newry from 11.35, followed by a stage in the Omeath area.
Service in Dublin will be at the RDS (14.05) and the Sally Gap stage should see the first car through at 15.15. Three stages will be held in Co Laois, at Cool roe Castle and Wolthill (near Stradbally) and Cobblers Hill, the cars checking in to Portlaoise service from 18.49.
The stages tomorrow are all located in the Adare area. The official start will be at the Heritage Centre at 10.30, and a stage in the grounds of Adare Manor will be run twice.
The route will take the cars north west out of Limerick on Sunday, service in Westport is from 15.03 and the supper halt in Sligo will be from 19.09. The cars will check in at Bangor from around 1 am, and will be hack in action from 8.30 am on Monday up to the finish at circa 3 pm.
The Easter Monday meeting at Mondello Park will feature rounds of the Dunlop Touring Cars, Formula Ford, Formula Vee, Church Motors Fiat Ritmo and Historic Cars championship, plus a non-championship race for the Fiat Uno's. There should be lots of close competition, with, capacity entries for all races. Jonathan Fildes certainly surprised the Astra drivers in winning the opening championship race at Kirkistown in his Peugeot 309. Championship placings are 1, J Fildes 20 pts 2, J Foley 17 3, G Kellett 15 4, S Magill 13 5, R Moffett 12 6, B Barrable 11.
Motorcycling events are the two day trials at The Vee, near Clogheen, Co Tipperary, tomorrow and on Sunday Motocross at Johnstown, Naas, on Sunday short circuit racing at Aghadowey, Co Derry, tomorrow and at Kirkistown on Monday.
