The Pirelli Shootout (Freistadt Austria) - 23-25 Oct 08

In Car with Keith and Greg

Posted: November 2, 2008 5:09 PM

Cronin 2nd on timed stages

Posted: October 28, 2008 8:58 PM

Keith Cronin/Greg Shinnors finished 2nd on timed stages.
On 2 of the 3 gravel stages, they caught and were held up by slower cars, but on the tarmac stages the Irish lads topped the stage times.

Video Clips

Posted: October 28, 2008 8:41 PM

Martin Semerád (CZECH REPUBLIC) & Jarkko Nikara (FINLAND) win.

Posted: October 28, 2008 8:31 PM

Saturday, at 20.20 the wide world of the World Rally Championship opened up for two young rally cracks. For at that time the juryDenn zu diesem Zeitpunkt verkündete die Jury – consisting of rally legends Walter Röhrl (Germany) and Michel Mouton (France) as Expert Driver, furthermore Mario Isola (Italy) for Pirelli, David Evans (Great Britain) for PR/Media, Joao Passos (Portugal) as organiser of a WRC-run and Kevin Morris (England) as Team Manager – announced the two winners of the Pirelli Star Driver Shoot Out Europe: the big, only 18 years old talent Martin Semerád (co-driver: Bohuslav Ceplecha) from the Czech Republic and 22-year-young Jarkko Nikara (co-driver: Jarkko Kalliolepo) from Finland.
The two rookies are now offered the big opportunity to compete in six WRC-runs (Portugal, Italy, Greece, Finland, Spain and Great Britain) next year in a group-N or Super 2000 car by Pirelli and FIA.

Yesterday the focus of the Pirelli Star Driver Shoot Out Europe had mainly been on the interviews of the competitors by the jury and the presentation of the teams in the evening in the exhibition hall in Freistadt. On Saturday, however, the heart of rallying came into play – the special stages. Here the rookies were able to prove their driving skills as well as their willingness to take risks even though the achieved times only played one of several parts in the assessment of the jury. And about 10.000 spectators were enthused by spectacular drifts and excellent rally-action on the overall six special stages (3 x Kerschbaum/gravel and 3 x Trölsberg/tarmac).

The performances of all drivers didn’t make it an easy job for the jury to chose two winners but since a decision had to be made one finally agreed upon Martin Semerád and Jarkko Nikara. A decision that took the young talents from the Czech Republic and Finland to seventh rally-heaven.

Jarkko Nikara:
“It was very important to me to present myself well here. But right now I am overwhelmed, spellbound and very, very happy. This was my dream. I still can hardly believe that I will be competing in six WRC-runs next year. And I can promise one thing: I will come back here to Freistadt for the Jänner-Rally.”

Martin Semerád:
“This is unbelievable. It is the best day of my life. Now I know that dreams can come true. I know that next year will surely be very hard – the most important thing will be to gain new experience and learn a lot. And I also will definitely return for the Jänner-Rallye.”

Walter Röhrl justifies the decision:
“There was no argument about Jarkko as far as driving was concerned. With the subsequent drivers it was a close decision, meaning the ones from the Czech Republic, Italy and Ireland. We finally agreed upon the youngest driver, 18-year-old Martin Semerád. It was a decision everybody could live with. For the special-stage-times were not the only decisive factor.” Peter Tyson, Head of Marketing at Pirelli, also praised the winners: “We are very happy with this choice. These are two very young drivers who now get the opportunity to present themselves to millions of spectators in the World Championship. Such a project has never before existed within the World Championship. It brings fresh blood to the WRC.”

Hans-Christoph Mehmel, Chairman of the FIA Rally Council, confirmed the close decision:
“The two winners are worthy victors but almost any of these 18 hopeful teams would have deserved this honour. Our jury didn’t go easy on themselves and debated until the very last moment.
Concerning international rallying the Pirelli Star Driver Shoot Out is an important aspect – not only now but also for the future.”

Posted: October 28, 2008 8:28 PM

Full Preview Guide

Posted: October 21, 2008 1:33 PM

Full Preview Guide

Adam Gould represents the UK this weekend in Pirelli European WRC Shootout

Posted: October 20, 2008 3:55 PM

One of Britain's hottest motor sport prospects, Adam Gould, 21, will head to Freistadt in Austria this weekend (24-25 October) to represent the United Kingdom over two days of intense competition against the leading rally drivers put forward by 17 other European ASNs in the Pirelli Star Driver shootout.

Two European winners will be chosen to win a drive in six FIA World Rally Championship events in 2009, behind the wheel of a Group N or Super 2000 car supplied and serviced under an FIA contract with a specialist preparation company.

"It was awesome to be selected," said a delighted Adam Gould, when his nomination was confirmed by the UK governing body, the Motor Sports Association. "That's the only word for it. It's the biggest opportunity of my career. Some people had been suggesting me for the nomination, but there are so many good young British drivers out there, so I really didn't know. I think my victory in a similar style of shootout event last year probably counted in my favour.

"Make no mistake; I'm going to go to Austria with one intention only, and that's to win the shootout. It's going to be tough against the best in Europe, but I feel that I have the skills and the all-round package to succeed, largely thanks to what I've learned from the MSA Elite scheme. The training this year has stepped up a huge amount and my focus in all areas has improved massively - notes, driving, fitness, etc. The support and structure around me has been fantastic and will play a big part in my preparations for this event."

Gould will be supported in Austria by former WRC champion co-driver and recently-appointed MSA Performance Director Robert Reid who was responsible for selecting Adam as the UK representative.

"This is a fantastic initiative from Pirelli and is a wonderful opportunity for the right driver," said Reid. "Unsurprisingly, there were a number of names mentioned as suitable candidates, but we had only one ticket to hand out. Adam was repeatedly identified as one of the most exciting British talents in years and has already been nominated by Pirelli UK for their own star driver award this season. Despite his age and relative inexperience, I feel he is best equipped not only to win the shootout, but importantly to make the most of the subsequent prize drive."

Gould has been a member of the MSA British Rally Academy and Elite schemes for the last two years and Reid feels that this has been an invaluable benefit in ensuring that the Gloucestershire driver is properly prepared for this type of opportunity.

"We didn't just look at the Elite guys this year," admitted Reid. "The Pirelli opportunity was not envisaged at the start of the year, so it would have been unfair to exclude those not on it this year. But the Elite schemes in both racing and rallying have been established to ensure that our leading talents are the best equipped all-round to take advantage of exactly this type of opportunity. Adam has developed very quickly, he has taken a huge amount from the Elite programme and is certainly a very promising prospect."

"This is one of the reasons that the MSA Elite schemes were set up," confirmed Colin Hilton, MSA Chief Executive. "We took a decision in 2005 to invest in the most promising young talent in the country and the schemes have been developing well over recent years. Now, with Robert's appointment as Performance Director, we have exciting plans for the future. We wish Adam every success in Austria and will be doing everything we can to support his endeavours."

Entry List / Event Website

Posted: October 17, 2008 8:18 PM

Pirelli Shootout (Europe)

Information for those wishing to travel

Posted: October 14, 2008 10:59 AM

Full Details on:

Keith Cronin Rallying

Keith Cronin for World Rally Championship Shoot-out

Posted: July 28, 2008 10:13 AM

Motorsport Ireland, the governing body of motorsport in Ireland, has selected Keith Cronin, the current Billy Coleman Award winner, as its candidate for the Pirelli Star Driver scheme, which will give five young rally drivers the opportunity of competing in a series of six World Championship Rallies in 2009.

Eighteen European countries, which organise a round of either the World Rally Championship or the European Rally Championship, have been invited by the FIA to send a driver to a Shoot-out in Freistadt in Austria on October 24-26, where a panel of judges will select two of the five successful drivers.

The remaining three fortunate youngsters will be selected, one from each FIA region, from the African Rally Championship, the Asia Pacific Series, and the Middle East Championship.

The five drivers, who must have been under the age of 27 on 1st January 2008, will use identical Group N or Super 2000 cars in the six World Championship events in 2009, supplied and serviced under an FIA contract with a specialist preparation company.

Cronin, aged 22, is from Bantry in West Cork, and won the Billy Coleman Award last year. He currently drives a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 and is contesting the Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge UK.

John Naylor, President of Motorsport Ireland, said: “This is a huge addition to the opportunities already provided for our Young Rally Driver of the Year and I have every confidence that Keith will do us proud.”

Keith Cronin Rallying

Motorsport Ireland