Daniel Barry begins Canarias preparations

Irishman Daniel Barry will prepare for round four of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, Rally Islas Canarias, by contesting the Circuit of Kerry in Ireland on Sunday.

Barry and co-driver Martin Brady are contesting a selection of IRC events in a Ralliart Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX this season and finished 21st overall on Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo in January.

They plan to use this weekend’s rally to reacquaint themselves with the demands of driving on asphalt, although they will revert to Barry’s older Evolution VI in order to save their regular car for the IRC qualifier, which takes place from 29 April-1 May.

“The next IRC round is coming up fast and we really don’t know what to expect so any mileage we can gain is useful,” said Barry. “The main goal is to work on our pacenotes and make some improvements. I’m not expecting to set very competitive times but focus on getting to the finish and trying out a few new ideas.”

Brady added: “Kerry is over 4000 kilometres away from Gran Canaria where the IRC rally will be based but it’s been a long time since Monte Carlo so this is a good test.”