Kris Farrell recently sent us his reports from the last 2 rounds of the Hankook MSA Northern Ireland Rally Championship. Making his stage rally debut, Kris speaks about his adventures  behind the wheel of the Proton Satria 1400.

3^rd & 4^th April: Circuit Of Ireland Rally

I could not wait to tackle the famous ‘Circuit’! For my first time on closed roads, the main aim was to get a finish. But as I’ve found out, that is easier said than done! Half way through the 2^nd stage we came to a corner that had became very slippy due to previous cars cutting it, we came in carrying a little too much speed and ended up sliding into a wall on the outside. We had bent the steering, but managed to get back to service and get it fixed, although the steering was never 100% after that. As daylight faded, the amazing night stages approached. Nothing gets your heart beating faster than the Slieve Gullion stage in the dark! By the end of the night, my eyes were like frying pans!

For day two, we made some small tweaks to the suspension, but didn’t have much time to get used to it, when less than half a mile into the 1^st stage of the day we clipped a bank and ended up on our roof! We got out with the OK board as quick as we could, and got the car moved off the middle of the road! After the rest of the competitors had passed through, we managed to get the car back on its wheels, with the help of some kind marshals and spectators. We completed the next two stages, and made it back to service, where we fixed up the car as best we could. The last three stages weren’t our quickest, but at this stage of the rally the finish was in our sights. On crossing the ramp in Newry, we had collected maximum points, and took over the class 3 championship lead. To sum up, a great experience and so much learned from the weekend!

8^th May: Tour Of The Sperrins

A lot of late nights spent getting car back in shape! Three beautiful tarmac stages run twice. After 1^st stage being cancelled, disaster struck near the end of the 2^nd stage, when the clutch started to slip. Managed to get through 3^rd stage, and back to service to see if anything could be done, but changing the clutch would be a half days work, and we only had 40 minutes! The decision was made to drive easy through the next three stages, as a minimum point’s finish would be better than no points at all! On the road section out to the 4^th stage, I knew it wouldn’t be easy making it to the finish. The clutch situation deteriorated with every mile, and by the end of the 6^th stage I could hardly accelerate at all! But nevertheless, we made it to the finish-ramp. A demoralising day, with minimum points finish, but that’s rallying I suppose!

Next up is The Newry And Mourne Rally on the 5^th June. This is the last tarmac rally, before the championship enters the forestry rounds. A strong bounce back will be needed to stay in the championship mix.