DOUBLE CIRCUIT WINNER DAI DOWN FOR Déjà Vu – Motorsport.ie
Dai Llewellin joins the elite number of Circuit of Ireland Rally winners who have already booked in for the grand Circuit Déjà vu re-union in Killarney next Easter.
Anyone who was at the Belfast finish of the 1986 Rothmans Circuit will never forget the emotional moments as ‘Land of My Fathers’ played over the final scenes at the City Hall on the joint RTR/UTV production. For Dai, navigated by Phil Short, and his Metro 6R4 it was their first international rally win at the end of a five day marathon. The twin 6R4 had not made it to Belfast as Dai’s team mate Harri Toivanen had crashed in the Sperrin Mountains that morning through sheer exhaustion.
When Dai, (or David), and Phil came back to Ireland four years later to win the Easter classic for the second time, the Group B cars had been banished and the Toyota Celica GT4 was the all conquering Group A machine. Indeed it was in these Japanese models, run by Phil Collins, that Dai won both the ’89 and ’90 British Rally Championships.
The highly likeable Welshman drove for Audi (pictured), Nissan, and Vauxhall as well as Toyota and British Leyland in his short but very successful rallying career.
Full details of Circuit Deja Vu 2016 are available at www.rpm-motorsport.com/events
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