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Dessie Nutt is aiming for a podium spot at the wheel of his Tuthill-prepared post-historic Porsche 911 RS as the Irish driver contests the Donnelly Group Circuit of Ireland Rally this weekend (6 – 7 April).
The 2012 Circuit Historic will challenge 22 competitors over 16 quick Tarmac stages. Competing on home turf, Nutt will return to native Ireland with his Tuthill Porsche 911. Originally built in South Africa, Nutt’s Porsche has travelled to New Zealand as well as competing on selected rounds of the MSA British Historic Rally Championship. The Tuthill-prepared car has since been rebuilt and transformed into Tarmac spec with 911 Turbo brakes and a state-of-the-art 3.0 litre fuel-injected engine.
“I entered this rally in 1970 and have been competing on this event, on and off, since then. It’s one of the oldest rallies in the world, and it’s a fantastic event to return to year after year,” said Nutt. “I know parts of the stages but there are some that I’m not familiar with, so I’m heading to Armagh this weekend to do some testing and practice pace notes.. It’s impossible to know how I’ll get on in this rally, I haven’t run the car in this class before and it’ll be the first time on race tyres. It’ll be a totally new experience for me but a top three is what I’m aiming for. The car has about 280 to 300 horsepower,so it’s got a lot of power: we just need to see how we go.”
Originally known as the Ulster Motor Rally, the Circuit is the world’s second-oldest rally. The first event was run in 1931 – before any official Porsche was ever made. As with the Monte Carlo Rally, early Circuits featured multiple starting points. Over the years, the rally morphed into an all-Ireland event: the jewel in Irish motorsport’s crown. Spread across five gruelling days and nights, competitors would tackle more than 1000 stage miles.
For some time, the Circuit of Ireland was the longest Tarmac rally in the world. It attracted many world famous names to Irish shores, as well as British stars including Jimmy McRae, who remains the event’s most successful driver with seven wins under his belt. Tuthill Porsche has previously prepared many historic 911s for the event including chassis’ for the Prodrive SC RS rally cars!
