CALLUM DEVINE, the winner of the recent Donegal Harvest Stages Rally has secured one of the biggest opportunities of his career.
The county Derry rally driver has been given a priority entry by Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing in the final round of the FIA European Rally Championship, Rally Hungary, at the wheel of a Hyundai i20 R5.
Devine (25), and his co-driver, Brian Hoy, from Fermanagh, will drive the car in the prestigious event next month.
Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy have arranged for the car to be managed and run by Philip Case and his team at PCRS, with support of Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing.
The event will give Devine, the winner of the 2017 Billy Coleman Award, a chance to demonstrate his ability in one of motorsport’s biggest rallying series outside of the World Rally Championship.
“I’m really excited about this opportunity and seeing what myself and Brian can achieve in an R5 car outside Ireland,” Devine said.
“I’m not one to shy away from a challenge and yes, while this will be a great experience, I want to be competitive at this level.
“Between the Junior World Rally Championship and the Irish Tarmac Championship, I’ve built up plenty of international and R5 experience over the last two seasons and I see this as chance to step up a level.”
Hot from his recent win on the Donegal Harvest Stages Rally, Devine has spent the last two years proving why he is one of Motorsport Ireland’s elite drivers.
This year alone, he has enjoyed many impressive outings in his first full season in an R5 car – including podium finishes at the Rally of the Lakes, the Donegal International Rally and the Ulster Rally, as well as winning the FIA Celtic Trophy.
The Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy has developed a strong relationship with Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing over the last year, which has seen some of our best young rally talent take advantage of the opportunity to not only drive a top spec i20 R5 car but also to experience what it is like to be involved with a professional rally team.
Andrew Johns, Customer Racing, Hyundai Motorsport GmbH, said: “Having Callum in the car for Rally Hungary is a good opportunity for both him and Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing. For Callum it’s an opportunity to show his capabilities in front of an international audience, but it’s also to chance to have an i20 R5 competing in the European championship – one of the most competitive series for in the R5 category.
“With PCRS, Callum will be working with one our top customer teams, who have shown the good performance with the car all season in Britain and Ireland, including running Tom Cave to third in class at Wales Rally GB.”
The Rally Academy has been set up to encourage young rally drivers to follow a clear pathway to success from competing in the junior entry level classes right up to experiencing world class competition cars like the Hyundai i20 R5.
Rally Hungary takes place between 8th and 10th of November and consists of 14 stages totalling more than 200km.
Sports writer from St Johnston, now based in Letterkenny, with ten years’ experience covering sport in Donegal. Was a nominee for NUJ Sports Journalist of the Year in 2010. Honoured by the Donegal Boxing Board in 2016 for his coverage on the sport.