Keith Cronin and Mikie Galvin secured the 2024 Irish Tarmac Rally Championship, after finishing second at the Cork '20' Rally, the final round of the series, in the M O’Brien Group of Companies/Lyons Motor Group/Shane Casey Electrical Services Ford Fiesta Rally 2. Victory in Cork went to Callum Devine and Noel O'Sullivan in a Skoda Fabia, who were the only crew in a position to potentially deny Cronin and Galvin the Tarmac Championship honours going into the event. The result left both crews tied on 100 points each, but it is Cronin and Galvin who take the title on a tie-breaker. The Cork '20' was held in treacherously wet conditions, with the Fermoy area where the stages were situated being blighted with heavy rain all day. Devine and O'Sullivan took the lead on the first stage, but were overhauled by Cronin and Galvin on the next. The advantage swung back again on stage three, and remained static thereafter, as Cronin and Galvin chose to do just enough to become Tarmac Champions. The rally organisers, the Munster Car Club, took the decision to declare the event results after the end of the fifth of a planned eight stages, due to the adverse weather conditions. Cronin and Galvin laid the foundations for their Tarmac success with victories in the first two rounds in Galway and West Cork early in the season. They then finished second on the Circuit of Ireland, before a puncture on the Rally of the Lakes and an off on the Donegal Rally took the momentum out of their challenge. A win on the Ulster Rally swung the pendulum back towards them, and they headed to Cronin's home county of Cork knowing that second to Devine and O'Sullivan would be enough to seal the title.
We came here to do a job, we knew what we had to do, and we did it, it would have been all too easy to let the guard down and get into a battle with Callum and Noel for the rally win, but in doing so we could have thrown away the championship so easily.
Matt Edwards and David Moynihan finished in third place in both the rally and the championship in another Fiesta, while Josh McErlean and James Fulton took fourth place in Cork, in preparation for their outing on the World Championship Central European Rally in three weeks time.
Keith Cronin and Mikie Galvin are supported by M Group of Companies, Lyons Motor Group, Shane Casey Electrical Services, Molson Equipment, Pirelli, EARS Motorsport Ireland, Cronin’s Centra (Ballylickey, Union Hall, Leap, Millstreet and Dundrum), Cronin’s HomeValue Hardware, Westlink Service Station and Daybreak Shop, Cremin Coaches, Keohane Seafoods, M-Sport and Wurth Ireland. Their Ford Fiesta Rally 2 is prepared and run by Tom Gahan Motorsport.
