ERC: Circuit of Ireland / Rally review
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Abbring was full of smiles before the event, but they quickly faded when technical
issues again forced his retirement.
The unsinkable
The Circuit of Ireland is full of picturesque locations. In front of Belfast City Hall the drivers pass
the start ramp to move to the service park situated in the Titatinc Quarter where the infamous
ocean liner was built. From there the route moves
into the countryside featuring some of the trickiest tarmac stages in the world. After the recce all
drivers spoke with enthusiasm and respect about
the stages. The fast tarmac roads are narrow and
full of bumps, which continuously throw the car
around on and off the track. Lappi compared the
stages to those in his native Finland “I am used
to crests from back home in Finland but they are
usually covered in gravel and a bit wider roads.
Now they are so narrow roads and fast.” It may
Lappi jumped into an early lead.
sound daunting, but Craig Breen assured the
challenge made the rally all the more enjoyable.
“You have jumps in Finland but here you have to
be so much sharper. There is no better feeling
and it’s going to be a pleasure for everyone this
weekend.”
The unbeatable
Craig Breen might have been the fan favourite for
this rally, it was Esapekka Lappi who drew first
blood, and then some. The opening loop of the
rally consisted of five stages and Lappi clinched
victory on all of them to move into an unbeaten
lead. Behind Lappi the fight was on between
Craig Breen and Kevin Abbring for second. Behind them another fight quickly developed be-
tween the two top local drivers, Robert Barrable
and Sam Moffet and another ERC regular Sepp
Wiegand.
The broken
Disappointment once again found its way to Kevin
Abbring. Challenging Breen for second all morning long, Abbring found his car hampered with
cooling problems agai