Ronan Morgan is the guest in this episode. He tells us about starting in navigational events before quickly rising through the ranks to become one of Ireland's most successful co-drivers. Then in the mid-80s, he moved to the Middle East, where he formed a lasting partnership with Mohammed Ben Sulayem which lead to great success for them both.  When he stepped away from co-driving in the early 2000s he started organising events. The Punchestown Festivals and Rally Ireland are just two of the events he helped create in Ireland. Back in the Middle East, he has been instrumental in the Abu Dhabi GP, he has been the COC since its inception in 2009. This and many more stories!

Special bonus episode celebrating the fantastic results that three of our bright young stars achieved last weekend. Jon Armstrong won the first round of the 2021 JWRC at the Croatian round of the WRC, William Creighton took a strong fifth place in the same category on his first attempt and Josh McErlean took a dominant R5 win and third overall on the Olympus Rally in America.

In this episode two of Ireland’s finest young talents, Callum Devine and Josh McErlean look back at their careers to date. Reliving many successes in both their short careers. They also look forward to the Olympus Rally in America and the year ahead.

Jon Armstrong & William Creighton talk about their careers to date and look forward to the upcoming JWRC. Listen to Jon talk about the highs and lows of his career so far. William gives us an insight into his exploits thus far and the two boys have their eye firmly on the prize ahead of their season in the FIA Junior WRC.

In this episode of Krunching Gears, Ken Rees joins us for a look over his Motorsport career. Winning the 1987 British National Rally Championship with David Gillanders. Getting a phone call from Prodrive in the early ’90s, which lead to almost 20 years working with the company as team coordinator. Amongst his jobs was doing gravel crew for Colin McRae and helping Ari Vatanen on the Hong Kong to Beijing Rally. Then joining Petter Solberg as they set up their own WRC team when Subaru pulled the plug on their WRC campaign. These are just some of the highlights from an absolutely fascinating story!

Andy tells his fascinating story; from a young boy helping his neighbour work on his rally car to helping out at Malcolm Wilson Motorsport at weekends and school holidays. His first job after becoming a qualified fabricator was working for Austin Rover on the fearsome Metro 6r4s. The story really develops from there as Andy get the opportunity to travel the world working on rally cars with some of the best drivers in some of the best teams.

In this final part of the Krunching Gears podcast remembering Bertie Fisher, Kevin Glendinning speaks with Dave Campion from Prodrive, Alastair Fisher and finally Rory Kennedy. 

Dave recalls his many dealings with Bertie and the strong friendship that developed over the years. Alastair remembers his uncle and two cousins and some of the practices they put in place that are still used to this day. Finally, Rory Kennedy tells us some fantastic times that Bertie and himself shared down through the years.

Part two of Krunching Gears podcast remembering Bertie Fisher. In this episode, we hear from Nigel Frazer, Kieran McAnallen, Ivan Fuery and Gordon Noble. Nigel tells some fantastic stories about his Fathers, Austin, time with Bertie. Kieran gives us an insight into the relationship between Bertie and himself. Ivan tells us about the fun times over the years, and Gordon pays tribute to Mark Fisher, they had developed a solid friendship both in and out of the car. 

 

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Season two kicks off with a three-part episode. I look back at the career of Bertie Fisher. Part one Austin McHale joins us, one of Bertie's fiercest rival when the clocks were ticking but good friends out of the car. Also in part one Ivan, Bertie's brother recalls some great stories and the great work that the Fisher Foundation carries out to this day. Sydney Meeke tells about how he met Bertie and how the success on the stages opened doors for Sydney Meeke Motorsport.

In this final episode of season one. For the time of year, it is fitting to believe that dreams do come true! Vincent Bonner spoke about he regretted never having had the opportunity to drive a 4wd rally car. Step forward Donagh Kelly to help Vincent fulfil that ambition, it really is a heartwarming story!