Cronin — a former winner of the Ulster Rally in 2017 when it was based out of Londonderry — currently tops the standings with Devine once the dropped score rule has been applied on 61 points, with three-time British Rally Champion Edwards another five points off the summit with two rounds left. A third win of the campaign to add to the perfect scores he recorded at the opening two fixtures — February’s Galway International and March’s West Cork Rally — would put Cronin in the box seat for a first Irish title since 2016. “A win in Ulster would be ideal — we could then see what was required at the last round in Cork and work our targets around that,” said Cronin, who is the No.
3 seed with Mikie Galvin for the Northern Ireland Motor Club competition, which they are tackling in a Ford Fiesta Rally2. “Obviously, if we won both the Ulster and Cork ‘20’ it would put it beyond all doubt, but there are some other combinations that would work for us as well, depending on where the others finish.” Cronin — who arrives in Newry fresh from competing on the Grampian Forest Rally last weekend — added: “Even though it was on gravel, hopefully the seat time will be a help because there is no substitute for it in my opinion — it is far more valuable in that regard than a day spent testing.
” Reigning Irish Tarmac Champion Callum Devine is keen to kick on in his Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 following a winning debut in the new supermini. The decision to switch from h.