Matt Edwards reckons that, if he can eradicate mistakes from his side of the car this year, he can be a genuine contender for Irish Tarmac Rally Championship glory.
Edwards — a three-time winner in the British Rally Championship — is returning for another shot at the cross-border competition, starting with the Clonakilty-based West Cork Rally on Friday.
He ended 2024 third in the points table behind the Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 of runner-up Callum Devine — a non-starter this St Patrick’s weekend after he recently tied the knot — and eventual title winner Keith Cronin.
A crash in Galway and suspension damage at the Ulster Rally unpicked his Circuit of Ireland Rally triumph, and podium finishes, with returning co-driver David Moynihan.
Armed with that experience, Edwards is keen to hit the ground running and build on the positive debut he made in Hyundai’s i20 N Rally2 at last month’s Midland Stages Rally.
A thrilling battle involving him and FIA World Rally Championship driver Josh McErlean was only settled on the final stage, with the Ford Fiesta pilot edging it by one tenth of a second on the last stage.
“There is a bit more knowledge and competitive miles under my belt which is what makes the real difference at this level,” said Edwards.
“Stages can change sometimes quite radically, so the more familiar you are with these in a car, and what their characteristics are, really helps.
“I would hope to be in with a shout of winning the title this year for sure. We showed good pace last year and had fastest times on every event — but that was punctuated by small car or driver issues. If we can clean those up, I feel it should yield an interesting season.”
The manner in which Edwards gelled with his new mount a few weeks ago has also given him cause for optimism against a top 10 that includes Cronin (Citroen C3 Rally2), two-time Irish Tarmac trophy holder Josh Moffett (Citroen C3 Rally2), and Jon Armstrong (Ford Fiesta Rally2) who is travelling to Clonakilty as a warm-up for round one of the FIA European Rally Championship in Spain on April 4-6.
“We left a bit out there in terms of fluency early on at the Midland Stages and we were stuck with a small set-up characteristic we couldn’t change on event which we have been working on since, so that is encouraging for the year ahead, although I do expect the pace of the top drivers in the Tarmac Championship to increase as the year goes on,” he added.
Across the three legs, competitors will tackle 18 special stages, starting with four Friday speed tests, two of which are going to be tackled in the dark. Saturday comprises eight timed runs and Sunday six in total, including ‘Ardfield’, ‘Glandore’ and ‘Sam’s Cross’.