MATT Edwards is confident his experience of delivering rally winning drives when they matter the most will stand him in good stead throughout Saturday’s forty seventh Modern Tyres Ulster Rally.
Edwards is a double-winner of the Northern Ireland Motor Club competition, with his most recent victory coming in 2021.
On that occasion, as rival and fellow Welshman Osian Pryce succumb to the pressure by going off the road and into a field with the finish in sight, Edwards kept his cool to wrap up the British Rally Championship crown for a record-breaking third consecutive season.
Although a similar result will not guarantee the 39-year-old the Irish Tarmac Championship title this weekend, it would draw him level with Keith Cronin and Callum Devine on two perfect results and, in effect, set up a winner-takes-all scenario heading to next month’s Cork ‘20′ International.
With dropped scores factored into the equation, the defending Irish Tarmac Champion Devine is currently tied on sixty-one points with the 2016 Champion Cronin, while Edwards’ total is fifty-six.
“There are a few of us needing a good result on the Ulster. Everyone’s been trying to find seat time in their cars and driving at competitive speeds, so picking a clear favourite is very hard,” said Edwards, who hopes the extra mileage on asphalt will pay dividends when he heads back to the British Rally Championship at the end of the month for Rali Ceredigion in his native Wales – an event that is also hosting the FIA European Rally Championship.
“However, I think having a general feel for the geography of the Newry area – even if the stages are not the same –does help. I don’t think there’s much, if anything, identical to the route of 2021, but going by past results, I would say I am comfortable on the technical nature of the roads there.
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“I really enjoy the challenge they bring and although there are slower in terms of average speeds compared to Donegal for instance, that suited us on the Circuit, so I believe it bodes well for us.”
Edwards, with the help of his co-driver Dave Moynihan, worked studiously over the winter months to get the funds in place that would allow him to have a stab at the Irish Tarmac Championship in its entirety for the first time. A disastrous start in Galway with early steering damage leaving him on the back foot, but since then he has stood on the podium three times, including the top step.
“The points situation gives us a simple goal,” the number three seed admits. “It was nice to be able to prepare appropriately for the title fight in 2021 and deliver when it mattered, so I will be calling on that experience again for this one, but the pace is going to be hot from the first mile.
“Myself and Dave have been pretty quick out the blocks on each of the last few rallies now, with my familiarity of the Ford Fiesta improving, so we should be there or thereabouts at the Ulster.”
Comprising 10 stages totalling 83 competitive miles, the 47th Ulster Rally gets underway on Saturday morning at 8.54am and concludes with an 8.71-mile blast over ‘Babylon Hill 2′ to determine the overall winners.
Modern Tyres Ulster Rally – Top 10 Seeds
1 Callum Devine / Noel O’Sullivan (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2).
2 Matt Edwards / David Moynihan (Ford Fiesta Rally2).
3 Keith Cronin / Mikie Galvin (Ford Fiesta Rally2).
4 Josh Moffett / Andy Hayes (Citroen C3 Rally2).
5 Eddie Doherty / Tom Murphy (Skoda Fabia Rally2).
6 David Kelly / Dean O’Sullivan (Volkswagen Polo GTI R5).
7 John MacCrone / Kirsty Riddick (Ford Fiesta Rally2).
8 James Ford Neil / Shanks (Citroen C3 Rally2).
9 Andrew Purcell / Liam Brennan (Volkswagen Polo GTI R5).
10 Cal McCarthy / Eric Calnan (Citroen C3 Rally2).
