Pirelli Star Driver Daniel McKenna and navigator Arthur Kierans make the short trip from their County Monaghan base to neighbouring Fermanagh for the penultimate round of this years British Rally Championship, the Todds Leap Ulster Rally.
The Monaghan pairing arrive in Enniskillen on the crest of a wave following back to back wins on the Jim Clark and Scottish rallies. Those wins have propelled Daniel and Arthur into the lead of the British Championship in their Pirelli Citroen DS3 R3T and they now have a 20 point cushion over their closest pursuer, Welsh driver Osian Pryce. Last year’s Ulster Rally saw Daniel produce one of his best drives of 2013 when he finished 5th overall and won the BRC2 category in his R2 Fiesta and Daniel is hopeful of another strong result this weekend as the organisers have made minimal changes to the 2013 route.
Speaking before the rally Daniel said; “The Ulster stages are always very challenging but they are really enjoyable and we had a great run over them last year in the Fiesta. Obviously things will be a little different in the Citroen this year but I’m really getting to grips with the car and we had a good test with Davy Greer Motorsport last week to dial in settings. Osian was very impressive on the Ulster last year and after a non finish on the last round I know he’ll be looking for a win but all I want is a good result. If I can maintain my championship lead heading to the final round on the Isle of Man next month I’ll be very happy. To be in the hunt for the title is a great feeling but I’m under no illusions as to how tricky this weekend will be.”
Daniel and Arthur will start with number 7 on the door of the Pirelli shod Ds3 R3T and will begin their Ulster Rally on Friday afternoon where the crews will tackle 7 stages including a spectator stage around St. Angelo Airport. The action then gets underway again early on Saturday morning with the famous Sloughan Glen stage before the winning cars arrive back in Enniskillen on Saturday afternoon having completed over 120 competitive miles over the sideroads of Fermanagh and Tyrone.
You can follow Daniel’s progress over the weekend and for the remainder of the season by following him on Twitter @DMKMotorsport and Facebook at Daniel McKenna Rallying.
