The British Rally Championship (BRC) heads across the Irish Sea for the Clonakility Park Hotel West Cork Rally this weekend.

The BRC second round event will be contested over two days across 135 miles of Irish lanes.

Aberdovey’s Tom Cave will bid to repeat his success from last year when he won the event and is joined by Llanfyllin co-driver Dale Furniss in a Hyundai i20 R5 as the duo bid to kickstart their campaign after failing to finish the opening round.

Cave said: “To win a British Championship round and finish third overall against so many top Irish drivers last year was fantastic and very satisfying.

“Looking at the entry list for this year, the competition is just as tough so we’ll need to be on our game, be as well prepared as we can be, make sure the pre-event test and recce go well and then give it our best shot.”

“We need to keep our championship hopes on track and to do that, scoring points is all-important.”

Meanwhile Machynlleth star Osian Pryce will bring the Volkswagen brand name back to the (BRC) when he drives a Polo GTI R5.

It will be the first time that the talented 27-year old has driven a Volkswagen in competition and the first time that he has ever rallied in Southern Ireland.

However Pryce is no stranger to closed road asphalt rallies and won Rae Bae Ceredigion, Wales’ first closed road stage rally, last September in his first rally in a Hyundai i20 R5.

Pryce is currently second in the BRC drivers’ standings following a magnificent result on his first gravel rally in the same car on the opening round of the series, last month’s Visit Conwy Cambrian Rally.

Both times Pryce was driving a car prepared and run by Melvyn Evans Motorsport and it will be the same again this weekend in Ireland, as the Polo GTI R5 is maintained by the same top west Wales team.

Support for the West Cork Rally appearance comes from Omologato Watches, Rentokill Initial, Ryan Motorsport Insurance, Pirelli, Kevin Williams Plant Hire and G&M Pryce Ltd.

Pryce said: “It’s taken me a long time to make my rally debut in Southern Ireland, but it’s something that I’ve always wanted to do and needless to say I’m looking forward to this one.

“I’m excited to be driving a new car, and bringing the Volkswagen brand name back to the British Rally Championship. We’ll have a short shakedown test on

“If we have a good recce, I see no reason why we couldn’t come away with a good result. Once we’ve found our feet we can set competitive stage times.”