MOTOR SPORT: This year's World Rally Championship will start today in Monte Carlo without three former champions, but with a host of newer stars looking to replace the old guard, including Irish representation looking to make a mark at next month's Swedish Rally.
Andrew Nesbitt and youngster Shaun Gallagher (24) will drive in the second event of the new season, based around the Swedish town of Karlstad, from the 6th to the 8th of February.
Double Irish Tarmac Rally Champion Nesbitt will drive a McKinstry Subaru WRC and Gallagher will drive a Mitsubishi Evo VII. Fellow Donegal driver Martin Doherty, in an Evo VI, will join Gallagher in a two-man Davy Greer Motorsport team.
Gallagher enjoyed a remarkable season last year, picking up not only the British Peugeot 206 Super Cup Championship but also being crowned 2003 French Peugeot Junior Champion, despite missing the final round of the French series.
The full season though will be without three names who have figured greatly in recent years.
Richard Burns, the 2001 champion, was forced to retire from last year's championship before the season-ending Wales Rally GB after being diagnosed with a brain tumour. The Englishman has completed radiotherapy treatment for astrocytoma and is currently undergoing chemotherapy in London and is hopeful of a comeback next year.
Scotland's Colin McRae, the 1995 champion, was dropped by Citroën in favour of Frenchman Sebastien Loeb and Spain's Carlos Sainz. McRae last weekend finished 20th in his Dakar Rally debut driving for Nissan, while 1994 title winner Didier Auriol has been dropped by Skoda, who are not contesting the full championship.
In their place come a new generation, including newly crowned champion Petter Solberg from Sweden, driving for Subaru and Citroën's wunderkind, Loeb and the fight for major honours in Monte Carlo is likely to feature them and also rivals Peugeot's Marcus Gronholm, the Ford pair Markko Martin and Francois Duval, Mitsubishi's Gilles Panizzi and Loeb's Citroën team-mate, veteran Carlos Sainz.
Meanwhile, in circuit racing Patrick Hogan (20) has signed with the Manor Motorsport Team to contest the 2004 UK Formula Renault Championship. In his first season of racing in Britain last year, the Dublin driver finished third in the Formula Zip Ford Championship.
He scored four race wins, eight podium places and was rookie of the year. Hogan's first race is at Thruxton on April 10th.
Roscommon driver Emmet Queenan, who finished second in the Formula Ireland championship and was the youngest ever winner of the prestigious Leinster Trophy race, has set his sights set on Formula-BMW which will run in the UK for the first time this year, and will have a round with the British Touring Car Championship feature at Mondello Park on June 12-13th.
WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP 2004
Monte Carlo - January 23th-25th; Sweden - February 6th-8th; Mexico - March 12th-14th; New Zealand - April 16th-18th; Cyprus - May 14th-16th; Greece - June 4th-6th; Turkey - June 25th-27th; Argentina - July 16th-18th; Finland - August 6th-8th; Germany - August 20th-22th; Japan - September 3rd-5th; Britain - September 17th-19th; Sardinia - October 1st-3rd; Corsica - October 15th-17th; Spain - October 29th-31st; Australia - November 12th-14th.
WEEKEND FIXTURES
Sunday: Co Cavan MC, Autocross, Ballybay-Cootehill Road, Cavan, 10.30 a.m.; Tipperary LC & MCC, Autocross, Rosegreen Raceway, Cashel, 10.30 a.m.; CANCELLED - Co.Kildare MC, Rallysprint, Mondello Park.
