Tipperary’s Andrew Slattery and his co-driver Shaun Forde, thrilled thousands at this weekend’s Cork 20 International Rally, Millstreet, as their Peugeot 208 R2 came 2nd in class and 13th overall in the event, having set 6 fastest stage times. The racing duo faced extremely tricky conditions during the two-day race as rain and mud left surfaces very slippery and several cars left the road.
A very satisfied Andrew said, “It’s a great feeling to be finished and to have the car going home in one piece. It was no doubt the toughest event I have ever competed in. Conditions were very changeable, very wet and tricky. We had a massive scare on stage 1 which could have ended the weekend for us: 5th gear down a mountain lane and the rear of the car lost grip! It was also somewhat of a gamble choosing a completely new set up with different suspension settings and a softer spring front and rear, but it definitely paid off and the car felt great even on bumpy surfaces.”
He continued, “The surface changed a lot from medium grip to no grip at all in places, which didn’t give me the confidence to push as hard as I could at times. We ended up 2nd R2 overnight with a 53 second gap. But we’re very happy overall with the weekend’s result. The car ran without a single fault all weekend over 16 stages and over 200 competitive kilometres.”
Andrew, Service Manager at Slattery's Garage Puckane, Main Peugeot Dealers in Tipperary North, has competed in 4 rounds of the National Tarmac Championship R2 class this year, time he has spent getting to know the car. He recently picked up 3rd place in class in Galway Summer Stages Rally on 1st September. His Peugeot 208 R2 is sponsored by Total, through Irish Distributor, Finol Oils, whilst Gowan Distributors Limited, Peugeot Importers in Ireland has committed to promotional support to run the car in 2013. Andrew’s next event will be Fastnet West Cork Rally, October 30th.
Pictured from left to right are: Shaun Forde, co-driver and Andrew Slattery in the Peugeot 208 R2.
The famous Cork 20 International Rally attracts thousands of spectators and has been won previously by many heroes including World Champion Sebastian Loeb and Irish Rallying star Billy Coleman.
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