Caldwell and Egan show their class in Circuit of Ireland event

Meath/Galway combination find winning formula

Cian Caldwell and Liam Egan took a well-executed Rally4 class win in their Peugeot 208 Rally4 on Saturday’s Circuit of Ireland Rally – a career-best for the Meath/Galway crew.

They took the class lead on stage three and managed the lead through the remaining five tests to seal a comfortable two-minute win in difficult County Tyrone conditions.

Overcoming the difficult driving conditions, made worse by heavy downpours in the late afternoon, they kept their 'noses clean' to record a well-earned and deserved victory in the hotly contested Rally4 class.

It was their best result of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship so far this season after a non-finish in Galway and a third-place finish in West Cork. Caldwell, who is from Nava, now lies second in both the Irish Tarmac Championship and the Stellantis Motorsport Rally Cup IRE & UK

“We had a very challenging weekend at the Circuit of Ireland with four demanding stages with a lot of driving in them,” he said.

“With the dirt being pulled out and the bad shower, it definitely didn’t help. We struggled with our pace on the first loop of stages due to being on too hard of a tyre compound but went back out for the second loop and managed to have a couple of stage wins."

“We kept our noses clean all day and managed to win the class. Absolutely delighted with this result and a massive thanks to the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy for all their help and continued support.”

"Thanks to all my sponsors, Airport Driving School, Panda Waste, Jack & Jones, TD Caldwell, The Children's House Montessori, Autotech Bodyshop, Autoparc, Pzazz Media, Kavanagh Salvage, Precision Graphics, Leinster Chemicals, Michelin Tyres & MCN."

Caldwell is off to the Welsh Forest next week for the second round of the Rally 4 Stellantis Motorsport Rally Cup IRE & UK.

* Follow Cian on Facebook and Instagram @ Cian Caldwell Rallying.

* Images - Kevin Shields & D. Harrigan