Dirty Dozen
Listen to each show by clicking on the driver's name.
Billy Coleman
Billy Coleman remains the only Irish driver to win both the Irish and British Rally Championships. A three-time winner of the Circuit of Ireland, the Millstreet man is widely regarded as the finest Irish rally driver of all time since he claimed his first rally win in the 1970 Cork 20 Rally.
Austin MacHale
The Dirty Dozen talks to Austin MacHale, five time Irish Tarmac Rally champion who only narrowly missed out on equalling Billy Coleman's record of winning both the Irish and British Rally Championship. His duels with the likes of Coleman, the late Bertie Fisher and two time Irish Rally champion Andrew Nesbitt have gone down in Irish rallying folklore.
Paddy Hopkirk
The Dirty Dozen talks to Belfast-born Paddy Hopkirk who became an international superstar when his Mini Cooper won the Monte Carlo Rally in 1964. This led to an appearance on British television's biggest show, Sunday Night at the Palladium, watched by a staggering 23 million viewers. The appearance lifted the Irish driver to international status. Hopkirk also competed in the London to Sydney Rally where he finished third and also won the Circuit of Ireland on two occasions.
Rosemary Smith
Rosemary Smith was the leading female driver in the world in the 1960s. Her biggest accolade came in 1965 when she won the Tulip Rally outright, for which she won the Texaco Superstar of the Year award. She also took nine Class wins and 12 Coupe des Dames in 24 international events.
Click here to listen to the rest of this 12 part series, with further interviews with Eddie Irvine, Martin Donnelly, Jeremy McWilliams, John Watson, Eddie Jordan, Robert Dunlop, Michael Roe and Derek Daly.
