Leading ever since a sublime drive on the longest stage of the rally on SS3, Breen had over half a minute in hand at service on Friday evening, but a spin on the subsequent Newtownards TT street stage was followed by further time losses at the start of leg two when the decision to run super-soft tyres left him unable to match the times of his 2015 ERC title rival Kajetanowicz.
The winner of last years Circuit of Ireland Rally Craig Breen from Waterford tops this years entry list while double World Boxing champion Carl Frampton admits his experience in the navigators seat of a Citroen Racing DS3 R5 with Carryduff’s Jonny…
With just five weeks to the 85th Circuit of Ireland Rally, top international drivers Neil Simpson and Chris Ingram took a break in their preparation schedules and travelled over to Northern Ireland to help officially launch this year’s Circuit which takes place from 7-9 April.