Although lying fourth in class and only with an outside chance of winning the category this year due to a non finish on two rounds, Marty Gallagher & Dean O’Sullivan have shown flashes of speed and having recently upgraded to a Peugeot 208 will only get quicker as time goes on.
Marty Gallagher & Dean O’Sullivan – 4th Class 2
“We started the season in Galway and were very happy with second overall in the class in what were very testing conditions all weekend. The second round in West Cork wasn’t so kind though as we retired after an accident on the fourth stage. The Circuit of Ireland was a much better event for me and more points were picked by finishing third of the registered competitors.
Killarney went very well for most of the event, everything was going fine and we were second in class going into the final stage, although William Creighton was only five seconds behind and on a charge. We went for a big push on that final Caragh Lake stage and unfortunately we went off the road and into a tree. This was without doubt the biggest disappointment of the year to date.
Donegal by contrast was the highlight of the year, although we were a little bit cautious at the start due to changing my car (from a Fiesta to a Peugeot 208), it was fantastic to get a finish on my home event. The Friday stages saw us bedding in and getting used to the characteristics of the new car, but we increased the pace on the second day over classic stages such as Knockalla and Carn Hill. Due to the heavy rain on the final day I eased back and learned a little bit more about how the new car performed in wet conditions.
I’m looking forward to the Ulster & Cork 20 Rallies now in what has been a very enjoyable championship to date. The system of allowing two dropped rounds has been a help to me and kept me in contention, especially with bonus points on offer in Cork. I’m very much looking forward to contesting the championship again in 2017. I’d like to thank my sponsors, in particular Campsie Karting for all of their support to date”.