The Shakedown, ceremonial start and the opening SuperSpecial have all been completed by Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy driver Aoife Raftery on what was a busy opening day for her at the BAUHAUS Royal Rally of Scandinavia.
Galway-based Raftery and co-driver Hannah McKillop have been putting in trojan work during the recce and behind the scenes as they aim to retain their third place in the Junior FIA Rally Championship.
Driving a PCRS Rallysport-prepared Peugeot 208 Rally4 she and McKillop are looking forward to the next two days of high-speed action in the Värmland and Karlstad areas of central Sweden.
“The roads here are really cool,” she said. “We are really happy with our recce and our pace notes, and thanks to the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy and my sponsors for all their support. It is a really cool event.”
Raftery, from Craughwell, is the first and so far only female driver to be selected by the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy.
The hub of the rally is the service park and HQ in Karlstad, the long-time home of the WRC Rally Sweden.
Friday’s stages are largely similar to last year and includes two runs over the classic Colin’s Crest stage made-famous by WRC Rally Sweden.
Saturday is based east of Karlstad and the rally finishes at the service park with the official closing ceremony.
The Galway Motor Club member is in her second year of FIA European Rally Championship competition.
Aoife Raftery is supported by Des Lyons Plant | Kenny (Peugeot) Galway | O'Neill O'Malley Architects and Project Managers | Loughrea Auto Parts | Craughwell Tyre Centre | Sean Fleming Motors | Quinn Hardware |Motorsport News
