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Quantity and quality on ERC Circuit of Ireland entry list

A huge top-class field will take part in the second round of the FIA European Rally Championship, the Circuit of Ireland.

The full entry list has been revealed for the 7-9 April event around Belfast, with ERC returnee and last year's rally winner Craig Breen as the top seed in a Citroën DS3 R5.

Championship leader Alexey Lukyanuk and defending champion Kajetan Kajetanowicz will both be present in their Ford Fiesta R5s, after the former triumphed in their battle on the opening round in the Canary Islands.

With the British Rally Championship and Irish Tarmac Rally Championship also part of the event, a total of 38 R5 and Super 2000 cars will be in action. Of these, 22 are FIA or ERC priority entries.

Rally Director Bobby Willis said: "It is incredible how the rally has grown over the past few years, from the dark days of less than a decade ago, to become one of the iconic events of Europe again.

"I'm especially thrilled with the strength and breadth of this year's entry... and to have nearly 50 per cent of the cars competing in the top R5/S2000 category is amazing."

Irishman Keith Cronin, Northern Ireland's Alastair Fisher, Scotland's David Bogie, Welshman Tom Cave and Swede Fredrik Ahlin are among the leading stars from the domestic scene and have all registered for the ERC ahead of the event. British championship leader Elfyn Evans, meanwhile, will compete as an FIA priority driver due to his exploits in the WRC.

Robert Consani, Dávid Botka, Antonín Tlusťák, Federico Della Casa and Jarosław Kołtun will be continuing their ERC campaigns after mixed fortunes in Gran Canaria, while Jaromír Tarabus, Raul Jeets and Filip Nivette will make their first appearances of the season.

The ERC Junior Championship kicks off on the Circuit of Ireland, with factory-supported Opel trio Chris Ingram, Marijan Griebel and Julius Tannert sure to start among the favourites together with Steve Røkland and Nikolay Gryazin.

In ERC2, dominant Canaries winner Wojciech Chuchała will have Giacomo Scattolon to contend with once more, while those joining the Junior contenders in ERC3 include Aleks Humar and Renato Pita.

Zdroj: fiaerc.com