Hankook young driver takes to the circuit at Ypres

Last year’s Hankook MSA Northern Ireland Rally Championship ‘Young Driver of the Year’ Award was contested by more than 30 competitors, and at the end of 2010 Jonny Leonard was declared the winner, entitling him to compete, all expenses paid, in an international event during 2011. The event selected was round five of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, Belgium’s Ypres Rally, which took place between June 23 and 25.

Hankook reports that Leonard drove “extremely well” during the Ypres Rally, catching the eye of fellow competitors as he set several of the fastest stage times. On the first day he suffered the misfortune of a broken drive shaft, which meant he undertook the remainder of the rally under Super Rally rules. “The nerves were definitely kicking in as I signed on with rally professionals such as Andreas Mikkelsen and Freddy Loix,” Leonard commented. “Thankfully they were calmed somewhat as I met up with the other Irish teams whom were also competing at Ypres.” Mike Patterson, Hankook Tyre UK motorsport manager, added: “Hankook were thrilled to bring Jonny to be part of the IRC Hankook team. We thoroughly hope he enjoyed the experience of rallying at the highest level.”

Leonard’s first taste of motorsport performance came at the tender age of six, when he began racing quads. At age 15 the already seasoned rider traded his quad in for a rally car. In order to familiarise himself with the speed, power and controls of the R2 Fiesta S1600 he would drive at Ypres, Leonard practiced in the car used by up-and-coming Irish rally driver Alastair Fisher, and to come to grips with the left hand drive cars so common to rallying, Leonard also took to driving five times Irish Tarmac champion Eugene Donnelly’s left hand drive BMW 3 series on the road.