The West Cork Rally on the 15^th and 16^th March, plays host to the first two rounds of the new Citroen C2 R2 Irish Cup, catering for these little 1600 cc pocket rockets from Citroen Sport.

 Identical cars, a generous prize fund and a chance of career progression will make this a popular series particularly for young drivers, and cup co-ordinator Raymond Moore of Citroen Parts Direct has been working hard to finalise the Irish Cup, which he will co-ordinate in tandem with the already established British C2 R2 series.

Raymond cannot wait for the first round. “I must say I am very excited to announce more details for the Citroen C2 R2 Irish Cup, and we have been working hard to try and ensure the best package for competitors. There are quite a few of these cars in Ireland now and by creating the Cup we can ensure close competition and rewards which will all encourage the battles. Citroen Sport has been very proactive and will be offering a highly significant prize for the “Best of the Best” of all the C2 R2 Championship’s, which will be decided in a shootout in France.” 

A valuable round by round competitor’s prize package is also up for grabs. With 750 euro, 500 euro and 250 euro being handed out for first to third places respectively on each round, and money rewards down to sixth place. Further awards may be granted when the tyre supplier is finalised next week, and Citroen Sport will also be on hand for technical advice, with technical and series updates being posted on the newly redesigned website: www.citroenpartsdirect.com. Raymond Moore and his dedicated team will also be offering very keen prices on Citroen Sport parts and genuine standard Citroen parts for the cup. “We are also very close to a tyre deal for the series at present and we have offers from Speedline wheels for competitors. We want to make is as cost effective as possible for the crews.”At the end of the year a media award from Andrew Bushe Promotions is also on offer, for the crew who accrue the most media coverage, but the Citroen C2 R2 Irish Cup is likely to receive significant stand alone coverage in 2008, with regular press releases, and most excitingly RPM television coverage on Ulster Television, Motors TV and Sky Sports.

The C2 R2 Irish Cup will receive its own several minute package on four of the rallies in the series on the hugely popular RPM programme, making it an attractive package for sponsors. Negotiations are on with Citroen Ireland for additional support for the series. Citroen Ireland is already involved in rallying, being the official vehicle provider for Rally Ireland.  Competitors interested so far include: Fisher Foundation winner Martin McCormack, first C2 R2 driver in Ireland Barry Evans, Cork man John Quill, Tipperary’s Paul Manton, last seasons British C2 Cup winner Martin Laverty, Englishmen Martin Roberts, Jason Pritchard and Ian Jones. Whilst other Irish interest is huge. Davy Graham, Sam Moffett, Sean Agnew, Mark Buckley, Steve Clery, Norman Savage, Dessie McCartney, Charlie Beattie, David Johnston and Graham Kelly have all expressed interest, whilst Derrick Jobb is building a car to hire.

 The C2 R2 Irish Cup will comprise of eight rounds, kicking off in March and comprising the following asphalt rallies:

1/2 West Cork Rally Day                   15^th /16th March

3 Tour of the Sperrins                             17^th May

4 Stonethrowers Rally                            10^th August

5/6 Ulster International Rally- Day 1/2      22^nd August/ 23^rd August

7/8 Wexford Rally- Day 1/2                     6^th  September/ 7^th September

  For further information contact: Citroen Parts Direct (Official Citroen Sport UK and Ireland Distributors)

Tel:                   00 44 28 90 383512

Email:               This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Issued by Andrew Bushe Promotions on behalf of Citroen Parts Direct