Cronin & Galvin win Season Opener
Amongst a star-studded field and a return to Co. Wicklow for the first time in twenty years, it would be Keith Cronin & Mikie Galvin that would rule supreme as they raced to a 28.6 second victory on the Carlow Forest Rally, the opening round of the 2025 Sligo Pallets Forest Rally Championship.
Fresh off victory on the West Cork Rally, the Citroen C3 Rally2 pairing of Cronin & Galvin were a late entrant to the event as they build towards the next round of the British Rally Championship, but they faced a stacked field of crews as the opening loose surface rally of the year attracted the largest entry seen in the Irish Forest Rally Championship for quite a large number of years.
Leaving the opening Ballygobban test, Cronin had opened a five second gap to the Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 of Jason Mitchell & Paddy McCrudden, and that gap would stretch across the day as the Citroen reeled off four fastest stage times, denied the clean sweep by stage interruptions on the two runs of the Avaghannagh test.
For Mitchell & McCrudden though, it was a great day in the office. Not only did the pair debut a brand-new car for the season, but their second place finish secured the pair maximum points heading to the Moonraker Forest Rally on April 12th. Our 2024 Champions Derek Mackarel & Eamonn Creedon rounded off the podium in their Ford Fiesta R5, ahead of the Ford Fiesta Rally2 pairings of Andrew Purcell & Liam Brennan and David Condell & Mick Coady.
The 2WD battle for 2025 is set to be red-hot thanks to the introduction of a standalone standings within the Sligo Pallets Forest Rally Championship, and its Hugh McQuade and Declan Casey that sit atop the points table after the opening days action. It was a titanic battle between the Ford Escort pair and their great rivals Shane McGirr & Denver Rafferty in the Lada with just 2.6 seconds separating them at the finish, with Damien Tourish & Domhnall McAlaney rounding off the podium in their historic Ford Escort Mk2.
As has been the case for quite a while now, the Carlow Forest Rally attracted a massive entry in Junior 1000, with 28 crews starting the event. For many it was a very first rally event, while for others it was the debut of brand-new cars. One of the most successful transitions to new machinery was David Travers & Andy Purser who brought their VW Up home to victory, after a dramatic day in the Wicklow mountains.
Having been in podium contention all day, early leaders Danny Brady & Darren O’Brien retired on Stage 5, while James McShea & Grace O’Brien’s day came to an end on the final stage, leaving Travers & Purser to return as victors, with just 3.3 seconds to spare from Kyle Drury & Karl Egan, with Jack McDermott & Paddy Robinson a fine third.
After an incredible beginning to the 2025 season, the action continues in just under three weeks’ time as Dungarvan plays host to the Moonraker Forest Rally, the competitor favourIte returning this season and moving base to the Co. Waterford town.