Win or bust for Higgins

Motorsport

Friday, May 04, 2007

By Sammy Hamill

The Rally of the Lakes is the crucial round in Mark Higgins' bid to become Irish Tarmac champion for the first time.

So important, in fact, that if he doesn't score maximum points on the Killarney-based event this weekend, he may think about sacrificing his chances of becoming British champion for a fourth time to concentrate on the Irish series.

The Welsh-based Manxman is fighting on three fronts this year, seeking an unprecedented treble in the Irish and British championships as well as the World production series.

The fact he has to drive three completely different cars is not a problem to the talented Higgins but difficulties arise where the Irish and British championships converge - on the Jim Clark Rally in Scotland, in his native Isle of Man and on the Ulster International.

To score points on these three rounds of the production-cars-only British series he must drive a Group N Subaru - which means he almost certainly won't be able to win overall, or score maximum points in an Irish championship which boasts the biggest array of WRC supercars in the world.

Higgins has taken top points in the first two Irish rounds driving a Pirelli-backed WRC Subaru S11, the same car he will steer this weekend. Then he is scheduled to switch to the production Impreza for three of the next four rounds.

That's why he reckons his Irish title hopes could rest on the outcome of the Lakes rally.

"It would be ideal if I could win in Killarney," he says, " but it is going to be tough, the most difficult of the whole championship. I've never been to this rally before so all the stages are new to me - I've only ever seen them on video and the reconnaissance schedule is very tight.

"The next round is the Clark Rally and I will do that in the Group N car and, depending on what happens there, we'll assess what car to use on the other two combined rounds."

In the past Higgins has finished as high as fourth overall in a production car and similar results would keep him in contention for the Tarmac title.

But, he says: "It is hard to judge if that would be possible again because there are so many good drivers contesting the ITC this year.

"Depending on the results in the next two events it might be more sensible to put our best efforts into one championship rather than two."

Higgins was beaten into second place on the opening round of the British championship by the works Mitsubishi of Guy Wilks and if that happens again in Scotland, where the Clark Rally has a new May date, it looks likely that the S11 Subaru (or a newer S12) will be rolled out for his home Isle of Man round and the Ulster Rally.

But another haul of maximum points in Killarney would ease the pressure, especially as this is a 'must win' rally for reigning Tarmac champion Eugene Donnelly.

He blew Higgins away on the opening round in Galway, even leading double World champion Marcus Gronholm, only to crash out on the penultimate stage.

A subdued second place on the Easter International got him on the scoreboard but he's 18 points adrift of leader Higgins and needs to start closing the gap.

But this is anything but a two-horse race, not with the likes of last year's winner Tim McNulty in the field along with Kris Meeke, Andreas Mikkelsen, Kevin Lynch, Eamonn Boland and, for the first time, a trio of MacHales - former champion Austin plus sons Gareth and Aaron - all three in M-Sport Ford Focuses.

It all starts with the classic Moll's Gap stage at 8-30 tomorrow morning.

Top of the Killarney entry list: 1 Gareth MacHale and Paul Nagle (Ford Focus); 2 Mark Higgins and Rory Kennedy (Subaru Impreza); 3 Tim McNulty and Anthony Nestor (Subaru Impreza); 4 Eugene Donnelly and Paul Kiely (Subaru Impreza); 5 Andreas Mikkelsen and Ola Floene (Ford Focus); 6 Eamonn Boland and Francis (Ford Focus); 7 Kris Meeke and Scott Martin (Subaru Impreza); 8 Austin MacHale and Brian Murphy (Ford Focus); 9 Kevin Lynch and David Moynihan (Ford Focus); 10 Gareth Jones and Greg Shinnors (Ford Focus); 12 Melvyn Evans and Sean Mullally (Subaru Impreza); 14 Stephen Murphy and MJ Morrissey (Subaru Impreza); 15 Patrick Elliott and Paul Goodman (Subaru Impreza); 16 Denis Cronin and Helen Sullivan (Subaru Impreza); 17 Aaron MacHale and Derek Brannigan (Ford Focus); 18 JJ Fleming and Robbie Ward (Ford Focus); 19 Denis Biggerstaff and TBA (Subaru Impreza); 20 Hugh Martin Doherty and Michael McBride (Ford Focus).