Wright Ready For Demanding Donegal

Stephen Wright is gearing up for 3 tough days of competition this weekend as he prepares to tackle the Joule Donegal International Rally. The ever-popular event has attracted a bulging entry and Stephen will start at number 8, the first non World Rally Car on the entry list in his Ford Fiesta R5. Stephen is relishing the prospect of tacking some of Donegal’s classic stages and partnering up once again with Kerry navigator, Mikie Galvin.

“It’s unusual for me to look forward to recce but I really can’t wait to get started,” said Stephen, speaking earlier this week. “Donegal is the only 3-day event in Ireland and for most; it is the highlight of the season. There is always a great buzz on the stages and around service so it’s great to be a part of the action again this year after missing the rally due to a clash of dates with Ypres last year.”

“I did Donegal as part of the Fiesta Sport Challenge in 2009 and 2010 before completing the full event for the first and only time back in 2013 where we took our first International Group N win. Rally Sezoens a few weeks ago was a real confidence booster for me and I’m feeling great in the car at the moment. I’ll be aiming for a class win but there are a few guys with the same idea so it won’t come easy. It’s very easy to get caught up in the excitement of this event but we’ll try and adopt a measured approach on the first day and re-assess our goals from there.”

The rally starts early on Friday afternoon, consisting of 20 stages over the weekend before the winning crews arrive back at the Mount Errigal Hotel on Sunday evening. You can keep up to date with Stephen and Mikie over the weekend by following them on Twitter @StephenWr1ght and @GalvinMikie while more information on the Wright Rally Team by is available by visiting www.wrightrally.com. Stephen is competing this season with the support of the Killyhevlin Hotel and Health Club, Spanwright and Lafarge Tarmac.

Image Courtesy of Sean Hassett