After the championship summer break, Daniel, Arthur and team are feeling confident of hopefully snatching another victory in the R2 category and are excited about the challenge of taking what could be termed as their home rally as Daniel resides only 40 minutes away from Enniskillen where the event is based. Since taking two victories in a row, including the Jim Clarke tarmac rally, Mc Kenna is the top R2 seed for the event and if he continues his winning form this weekend, he will extend his lead in the R2 category. The Scanbitz Ltd and Ravenol Motoroil supported Fiesta R2 has undergone a total overhaul since the very tough Scottish rally by the team. Pre-event preparation has gone well; this included a tarmac test in Daniel’s home county of Monaghan where the roads are very similar in nature to the Fermanagh stages where car setup is crucial.
Also the very tricky nature of the stages means that Pacenotes are of the utmost importance and both Daniel and Co-driver Arthur have been studying their in-car DVD’s looking on areas where they can improve. Arthur has also competed in some of the stages used in this weekends event in previous years and his experience will be invaluable in insuring that the pair will be right on the pace of the front runners.
Although Daniel and his team are hungry for another win in the championship to make it three in a row, he is also conscious of the championship battle ensuing between Norwegian Steve Rokland and himself. Daniel will have his championship head on, with the number one priority being to get a good finish and a good haul of points, as the hard chasing pack could find themselves in Championship contention if the top two were to make any slip ups this weekend.
Daniel will let you all know how the event unfolds with a post-event press release next week so keep an eye on his website, danielmckenna.net. In the meantime keep an eye on Daniel’s Twitter and Facebook pages for any updates over the rally weekend.
