Donegal driver Shaun Gallagher maintained his second place in the Junior World Rally Championship after Sunday’s Rally Sardinia.
Gallagher just missed out on a podium position, placing forth in the Rally d'Italia-Sardegna. The Irishman shares second place with Poland's Michal Kosciuszko on 16 championship points.
The conditions in Sardinia were difficult with the organisers stopping the 'Liscia Ruja' stage over safety concerns.
Many of the cars suffered mechanical difficulties brought on by the conditions, including World Rally Team Ireland's car, which suffered a break in the rear anti-roll bar and a flat tyre.
Despite having to overcome the difficult conditions, the car's mechanical problems and the challenges of inducting a new co-driver, this was another excellent result for the Donegal man.
It was a challenging drive for all the competitors as a number of accidents took place on the course and competitors battled an array of car problems.
When asked of the conditions Shaun Gallagher said: ‘It's totally different in Sardinia to how it was last year, then it was sunny with no rain, this year the rain has made everything really slippery, especially on the damp tarmac sections and I was just trying not to do anything stupid!’
Gallagher said that the result would have been better if he had the opportunity to properly test the car and it's set up before the Rally: ‘It would be great to have the budget to test beforehand as I wouldn't have to make so many changes during the rally, but it just costs so much and we have to keep within our budget.’
Tommy Mullen, CEO, World Rally Team Ireland added: ‘it is very expensive to run a Rally team, so we have to thank our sponsors Motorsport Ireland, Fáilte Ireland-Northwest and Tourism Ireland.
'We're not rallying again until August, when we're in Finland and we'll have to look for more sponsorship for the team to carry us though the next three rounds of the championship.
'We've proven again and again that we're a force in the Junior World Rally Championship and we're the most consistent team in it, now we just need the financial support to put Ireland back in the number one spot.'
The Junior World Rally Championship now stands with Frenchman Sebastien Ogier leading the charge with Irishman Shaun Gallagher chasing in joint second place with the Polish native Michal Kosciuszko.
Junior – World Rally Championship Points:
1 Sébastien Ogier - 24
2 Shaun Gallagher - 16
3 Michal Kosciuszko - 16
4 Aaron Burkart - 11
5 Alessandro Bettega - 8
6 Jaan Mölder - 8
7 Stefano Albertini - 7
8 Gilles Schammel - 6
9 Patrik Sandell - 6
10 Florian Niegel - 5
