MEIRION Evans hopes that the West Cork Rally can be rescheduled later in the year, after the event was called off at short notice due to the Covid-19 situation.

He and co-driver Jonathan Jackson had arrived in County Cork and were preparing to contest the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship event in the Melvyn Evans Motorsport-run The Scan Station-backed Volkswagen Polo GTI R5, when it was announced that the prestigious event had been postponed.

The Lampeter driver was aiming to continue his good start to the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship, in only the second time the 24-year old has contested the event.

Last year, an early fuel pump problem with his Hyundai i20 R5 forced him to superally, where he went on to set some excellent stage times with a flying and trouble-free run on day two.

Evans said he was hoping to benefit from some West Cork winning advice from his father, Melvyn Evans, who won the event in 2002 and 2006, driving a Ford Escort WRC and a Subaru Impreza WRC respectively.He and Jackson, gave his new Michelin-shod Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 an impressive debut on the opening round of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship, finishing fourth on last month’s Galway International Rally.

A notoriously wet, slippery and tricky event, Evans considered it one of his best performances of his career.

Evans said: “The West Cork Rally is one of the rallies I’d like to win the most – not just because it’s such a long and challenging event, but because my father has won the event twice. That was back in 2002 and 2006, driving an Escort WRC and Subaru Impreza WRC.

“He still remembers sections of the route, and his experience and knowledge of the surface and levels of grip in the ever-changing weather conditions are a great help. His advice has certainly speeded up my learning process, particularly out in Ireland, and there’s no question about that.

“But of course it’s down to me when I’m behind the steering wheel, and I have to prepare and drive the very best I can in a modern Volkswagen Polo GTI R5, which is obviously completely different to an almost twenty year old World Rally Car.

“I did the West Cork for the first time last year. Unfortunately, we had to superally after our Hyundai i20 R5 stopped with a fuel pump problem early on the first day. After we restarted we set some good stage times, so we headed into this year’s event with a lot of optimism – straight after a good run in Galway in the new car.

“With the British Rally Championship joining the Irish Tarmac Championship in West Cork, there was a fantastic entry and even getting anywhere near the podium was always going to be extremely difficult.

“We were going to give it our very best shot, stick to our rally plan and see what happens. Hopefully, we’ll have a good run and bag some more Irish Tarmac points.”

A statement from The West Cork Rally and Cork Motor Club said: “We will always put safety and the well being of the public first and while it is unfortunate that we have had to make this decision at such a late stage, the team believe it the right thing to do. We wish to express our sincere apologies and thanks to our sponsor, The Clonakilty Park Hotel, all our associated sponsors.

“Thanks also to the dozens of competitors who entered the event, those who have already travelled long distances, those who were set to travel, all our volunteers and those who had so many plans in place for what was set to be a fantastic weekend of rallying in West Cork.”