Q & A with double British Rally Champion Keith Cronin 24.06.2012: MSA British Rally Championship With four rounds of the 2012 MSA British Rally Championship under

MSA British Rally Championship

With four rounds of the 2012 MSA British Rally Championship under his belt and a new car and team to adjust to, double champion Keith Cronin has already proved that he can adapt to whatever is thrown his way this year.


He began the season with a guest drive in a Twingo Renaultsport R1 Trophy car, but decided that he had the bug and was quickly at the wheel of a Citroën DS3 R3 and vying for overall position. His back-to-back wins and second place put him in a strong position for a possible third title, so we decided to ask him the secret of his success.
 
 

Double British Rally Champion Keith Cronin


Q: How did you start in rallying?


A: I started in small front wheel drive cars on local events in Ireland. Mainly because it was all I could afford at the time, but in hindsight it was the best route I could have taken. When you make mistakes, which we all do, they are at a lower speed. And they are cheaper to repair.



Q: What did driving that sort of car teach you?

A: It teaches you about car control. You tend to have to drive them flat out to get the best out of them and you definitely look for the best lines and how to keep the momentum and carry speed through corners. It also teaches you how to manage things like tyres and brakes. With a front wheel drive car everything happens through those two wheels: acceleration, steering, braking – everything.

You can’t get away with nearly as much in a front wheel drive car – even the DS3 will punish you on stage times if you make a mistake. The most important thing is to be super-tidy.



Q: Are those skills transferrable to four wheel drive?

A: Definitely. There are a few things that you need to adapt to when you move up, but if you can drive two wheel drive fast, you can drive four wheel drive fast. Moving back to two wheel drive has reminded me of the need to be tidy. Doing the Sunseeker in the little Twingo was great because it reminded me of the things not to do so I was pretty much on the pace on the Bulldog



Q: What advice would you give to youngsters graduating into international rallying?

A:  I’d probably start in R1 and work my way through R2 and R3. It’s the logical route – it’s easy to follow and there is a choice of cars in each class.

Unless you’re just out for fun you need an experienced co-driver as well. Pace-notes are probably the most important thing in any car, but you’ve got to get to the top in the lower classes before you make the step up, otherwise you just make more expensive mistakes trying to keep up.



Q: If you had your time in rallying over again, what would you do differently?

A: I would have moved into a one-make championship straight away. The UK has always had great one makes, from the Peugeot Cups to the Citroëns, Fiestas and Twingos. The level of competition means you have to learn fast to be at the front, but even if you don’t, you know that you are against other cars the same as yours so it is fairer.


All the MSA British Rally Championship competitors will be back in action in August when the series moves to Northern Ireland for the Todds Leap International Rally NI.


For more information on the MSA British Rally Championship visit www.rallybrc.co.uk



- Simon Moss - photo Jakob Ebrey