Barrable Returns to Competitive Action on Weekends Birr Stages Rally

Robert Barrable 2010 winner of the Motorsport Ireland Billy Coleman award returns to competitive stages this weekend on the first round of the 2012 Dunlop National Rally Championship the Birr District Motor Clubs stages rally. The event with headquarters at the Manor Hotel in Abbeyleix will see Robert take to the wheel of his Skoda backed Fabia S2000 for the first time competitively since last season with the young Dubliner using the event as preparation for the forth coming Circuit of Ireland, which this year is a counting round of the IRC. Dermot O'Gorman will take up the co-driver’s seat in the Fabia alongside Robert; Dermot who formally called the notes for Robert's father Michael brings with him a wealth of experience and will work closely with Robert as he prepares for the IRC event in April this year.

In preparation for this Sunday's rally Robert and Dermot completed a day’s testing earlier this week, where they focused on car setup and tyre options for tarmac events. "We completed over 120km of testing on Tuesday and I made some changes to the car setup which I am really happy with and feel should make a bit of a difference this weekend and for the season ahead. I am looking forward to getting back on the competitive stages IRC Scotland was my last real outing in the car and that was a gravel rally so it will be good to get back on tarmac and see how competitive we can be against the WRC machines" commented Robert.

The format for the rally will see Robert and Dermot compete on over 150km of stages in a traditional loop of three stages completed three times with centralised servicing based in the outlet centre in Rathdowney. The Skoda Fabia S2000 will be run this season by the CA1 Motorsport team owned and run by ex M-Sport mechanic and engineer Martin Wilkinson who is based in the UK. "Martin has a lot of experience working with Skoda's having run John Stones Fabia in the UK Asphalt championship for a couple of seasons, I am looking forward to working with him and seeing what setup advice he can give me" mentioned Robert following the test. Following the Birr Stages Robert will continue his preparations for the Circuit of Ireland, and possibly an outing on the Kerry Stages rally in March. Follow Roberts’s progress via his website www.robertbarrable.com or get news and updates as they happen by following him on twitter @RBarrableRally.