Wexford’s Eamonn Boland is set to debut his 'Step 2' Mitsubishi on the Monaghan Rally, the second round of the Dunlop Championship in two weeks time.
Boland, who is not competing in the Buy & Sell Circuit of Ireland that starts tomorrow in Enniskillen, has campaigned a Subaru WRC for the last few years.
Commenting on the switch, Boland said: "I was looking for a right hand drive car that would be homologated and the people in Mitsubishi were the first that said it could be done. So, I decided I would go with them.
"I haven't' actually seen the car, but Dom Buckley, who prepares the cars for me, drove the left hand
drive car. He was pleased and I'm more than happy to take his word. Dom has a long association with Mitsubishi, who began working on the homologation process last week and that should be completed within a week."
He added: "I will be back in the tarmac series in Killarney but I will compete in Monaghan to get a few
miles in the car. All the cars are very quick now, but as Mitsubishi were the first to give a commitment
to secure the homologation for the right hand drive cars, there was no turning back."
Boland took his first International Rally win last season on the Cork '20' International Rally and he
will resume participation in the Pirelli Irish Tarmac Championship on next month’s Rally of the Lakes in Killarney.
Meanwhile, Austin MacHale (Ford Focus WRC) heads the entry for tomorrow’s Circuit of Ireland Rally where Tapio Laukkanen (Subaru WRC), Eugene Donnelly (Toyota Corolla WRC), Derek McGarrity (Subaru WRC), Maurice Gass (Hyundai WRC) and Donie O’Sullivan (Ford Focus
WRC) are next off the start ramp.