After a nine-week hiatus the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship revs back into life as the crews head to Enniskillen for the Todds Leap Ulster Rally and Sam Moffett, who won the last round of the championship in Donegal, is relishing the challenge that awaits.
The Monaghan flyer, who currently lies joint second in the championship standings, couldn’t wait to get back behind the wheel of the McKinstry Motorsport S14 Subaru Impreza WRC which brought him to victory in the North West at the end of June. Speaking after a successful test session Sam said: “It’s great to get back in the car, it’s a lovely car to drive. Conditions were a wee bit damp today so they were probably good conditions to get back into the feel of the car. I’m very happy with the test so it’s on to the recce now and see how it pans out from there.”
Moffett and the McKinstry Motorsport Impreza have been a magic combination so far this year, earning two wins from as many starts but Sam is playing it cool ahead of the Ulster. The stages will be local to championship leader Garry Jennings and Sam expects Jennings to set the pace. “Garry will be going very hard at home, so we’ll be sitting back and seeing where we are after the first day because it’ll be a long rally and a tough rally.” Sitting back while remaining in touch with the leaders served Sam well when he and co-driver James O’Reilly swept to a dramatic win in Donegal as others hit trouble and a steady drive this weekend by Moffett will keep the championship battle alive heading for the final round in Cork.
Sam also took time on his test session to take young Martin Moen for a full throttle blast in the S14 Impreza. Martin was absolutely blown away by the experience and who knows, maybe he had a white-knuckle ride with the 2013 Ulster Rally winner?
Based at Enniskillen's Belmore Court & Motel, the action starts on Friday afternoon with seven stages while a further ten tests follow on the Saturday and the crews will tackle the St. Angelo Airport spectator stage three times over the weekend. Event programmes, which contain full entry lists, stage maps and other spectator information, can be purchased online or in selected shops. More details can be found online at www.ulsterrally.com.
