Citroën Racing Trophy/C2R2 Cup Ulster preview
All the cars in the R2 category are part of the Citroën Racing Trophy prize structure, so Cup follows class in the points table, and all four registered crews will make the trip across the Irish sea for the Toddsleap.com Ulster International Rally next weekend.

Irishman McCormack leads with a hat-trick of wins since the Pirelli, while second placed Jason Pritchard took the first round in his new C2 Max Kit car. McCormack has a six point lead over the 2008 champion and that should be some comfort as they head to his “home” event.

Welshman Pritchard can't afford for the Ulster to end as it did last year if he wants to stay in touch with McCormack, as the Irishman finished ahead in 2008. Although with the final round of the series, Rallye Le Touquet counting 1½ points, the C2R2 Cup is likely to go to the wire.

In third is Mark Gamble who has taken a couple of events to upgrade to the Max Kit. He completed the suspension for the Jim Clark Rally, only fitting the new engine for the Isle of Man. He crashed into a house in Castletown but dropped more time with electrical problems later, demoting him to third before an off finally ended his event.

Suffering after a pre-first round crash damaged the new car is Andrew Hockridge, who even missed the Pirelli Rally when a courier error left him without replacement parts for the Cumbrian event. The unlucky Welshman had a wire break while changing the gearbox on the Friday of the Manx event, causing the car to misfire and eventually stop.

With all four drivers in the C2R2 Cup eligible for their share of the €7000 per-event Citroën Racing Trophy prize money, the Ulster will be a frantic battle from the new start in Antrim, stages running from Friday mid-afternoon until Saturday teatime with a well deserved overnight halt in between.

For more information and rally programmes visit www.ulsterrally.com

The MSA British Rally Championship Round 5 preview will be shown on Sky Sports from 16th August in either Rallyzone or Max Power programmes (check HERE for full listings)

Citroën Racing Trophy/C2R2 Cup website: www.c2r2.co.uk

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