On Friday last, the IHRA received correspondence from Le Trot,
stating that Jonathan Cowden drove as an Apprentice in Argentan last November and that should he compete in Saturday’s race, he would not be able to return to Apprentice status. 
The board of directors decided that it would be very unfair to nominate any of our young drivers into this race as it would hinder their future careers as they would not be able to compete in any future apprentice or professional race going forward.
It was decided that the replacement driver for the race, should be a licensed driver, who has not competed in a professional race in France nor should it be a young IHRA apprentice. The board agreed that a grade A or B driver should represent the IHRA in the event. After some consideration, the board nominated Tadgh Murphy for the race.
Thankfully, Tadgh has agreed to compete in the race, knowingly all of the possible future implications involved.
Best of luck to Tadgh and his family who will travel to France this coming weekend!
The Board would sincerely like to apologise to the entire Cowden family on nominating Jonathan in the first instance as this rule of racing was not initially pointed out prior to the close of nominations.
We would like to acknowledge Jonathan’s great success in such a short driving career and wish him well in any future competitions which he may represent the IHRA in.
