Kelly living the dream on the international podium following success in Sweden

Frosses rally driver Eamonn Kelly knows he has come a long way from 12 months ago when he last partook in the World Championships in Sweden. 

He was determined to have a different narrative this time. 

Even though he has since returned to Dublin, the Donegal man might still be coming down from his high after placing third at Rally Sweden on Sunday in the first round of a five-round championship in 2014. 

“We were delighted with how everything went in Sweden, coming third overall was a brilliant achievement,” Kelly told DonegalLive.  

“This is my second year now in these events, it’s a really competitive field, probably the biggest number there’s ever been with 20 of us competing, so, it’s an exciting time to be involved.” 

Sweden is not the only event the Donegal man has featured in at the World Rally Championship’s main support series, having also started rallies in Croatia, Portugal, Sardinia, Finland, and Estonia, with Conor Mohan on the notes in the Ford Fiesta Rally3. 

“We actually won in Croatia last year, so we have to go back now and do it again in April, it’s going to be interesting,” Kelly said. 

“I suppose if people don’t know, our events are the equivalent of a Formula 1 race, in that we race across 300km in point-to-point stages from Thursday right through to Sunday in different terrains and different conditions, across different lengths. 

“It’s a big challenge racing from morning right through to the night. While there’s a sprint on each stage, there’s an element of endurance to it.  

“You would typically go over the weekend beforehand to get a test on the car, get the setup correct, and make sure we’re comfortable with how the car is operating, then there’ll be two days of media duties and sponsor events before you even get going. 

“In terms of preparations, on Tuesday you will get to drive over the stages in a normal vehicle and make notes and get a feel for the area, and that leads nicely to Thursday when we start.” 

Kelly, who left Donegal for Dublin following his Junior Cert in Donegal Town a decade ago, had trouble with a fogged windscreen on the first stage and on SS4, Floda, in Sweden on Saturday. He then got stuck behind a slow mover, costing some time. 

But by the end of Saturday's stages, he was up to third and maintained his place to earn a spot on the podium. 

“It’s early night, late starts and you’re running off only five hours sleep probably so you need a lot of adrenaline to carry you through. 

“We set our sights on a podium when we landed, that was our ambition. We stuck to our plan and remained consistent with our time and thankfully we got the result.” 

With age comes experience in these events, and the Frosses native acknowledges how true that is as he compares his preparation last year to this year, stating he never knew how big the jump was from national to international level. 

He was prepared this time around. 

“We focused on staying comfortable with our time, that was important because I went to Sweden last year having never raced in a World Championship before and I went in with no strategy, no plan, and things started to go bad for me,” he admits.  

“I ended up pushing too much and I ended up going off the road and had one of the biggest accidents I ever had. 

“So, I knew what to expect this time around. I was prepared and realised how big the jump is from a national level to a World Championship event.” 

Kelly will now challenge in Croatia at the end of April. In defending his title, he knows the work starts now. 

“For Croatia in April, while it seems far away there’s a lot to be done until then.  

“You’ve got the guts of 20 stages to cover, breakdown and figure out the characteristics of each stage so I know what I’m up against. 

“Of course, then there’s physical training with diet and sleep and getting that right too, it won’t be long coming around and I’m really looking forward to it.”