Moira’s William Creighton and his Belfast co-driver Liam Regan are the 2025 Probite British Rally Champions. The Northern Ireland pairing, who were 2021 Junior BRC and 2023 Junior WRC champions, clinched the title on the sixth and final round, the Cambrian Rally in the world-famous North Wales forest complexes of Brenig, Clocaenog & Alwen.

Runners-up last year in an M-Sport Ford Fiesta Rally2, Creighton & Regan led the 2025 British Rally Championship from round one in their Melvyn Evans Motorsport Castrol Toyota GR Yaris Rally2. A measured fourth place, in very difficult conditions on the gravel of the Cambrian, was more than enough for the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy backed duo to seal the coveted BRC title.

Estonian youngsters Romet Jürgenson and Siim Oja finished the season in second place with their M-Sport Ford Fiesta, while Creighton’s MEM Toyota teammate Meirion Evans and co-driver Dale Furniss were third. Irish pair Kyle McBride (Carndonagh) & Darragh Mullen (Sligo) won the 2025 Junior BRC in their Peugeot 208 Rally4, they were also backed by MI Rally Academy.

Max McRae & Cameron Fair won the Cambrian Rally in a Skoda Fabia Rally2. Max of course is Alister’s son and the late, great, Colin McRae’s nephew. This was his first BRC victory and returns the McRae name to the top of the British Rally Championship time sheets after an absence of 27 years.

NIALL DEVINE DOMINATES DOGLEAP

Storm Amy raged over Northern Ireland on October 3/4. A week later the Dogleap Rally took place in the forests near Limavady in Co.Derry. Fortunately, all planned six stages were almost unaffected by the storm and, after some clearing-up, they ran as scheduled. Organisers, Maiden City MC struggled to attract a viable entry for the fourth round of the 2025 Brown & Brown MSUK NI Forest Rally Challenge. Just two weeks before the event they only had a handful of competitors on their books! Then, after appealing for support and extending the closing date, the rally started with a reasonable 63 cars, 21 of which were Rally2/R5 class 1 machines.

As I indicated, there were three repeated gravel tests totalling 28.02 stage miles; SS1/4 Loughermore West (3.9 miles) SS2/5 Loughermore East (2.06 miles); SS3/6 Cam (the longest at 8.05 miles). The Service Park and Rally HQ were based in Ballykelly at the Shackleton Complex. I was start radio on the flagship Cam stage and had Rory and his rescue crew for company. Both of our stages ran without any major incidents, although three cars went off during SS3 and a further six retired on the final test. The day was good weather wise, “calm”, dry and reasonably mild for mid October.

Winners of the 2025 Premier Car Parts Dogleap Rally were Donemana man Niall Devine (his first ever rally victory) and Letterkenny’s Liam McIntyre in their Volkswagen Polo GTI R5. They led the event from start to finish and were fastest on four of the six stages including both the long Cam tests. It was an emotional victory for Devine, his father Sean won the Dogleap back in 2009. Second place (12.2 seconds down) went the way of the Ford Fiesta Rally2 of Gareth Mimnagh/J Barry McCarney while a similar car, crewed by Alan Smyth and Martin Brady, finished third. Best 2WD were Sam Stewart/Alan Johnston who were 12th in their Ford Escort Mk2. Only 45 cars finished.

Three interesting entries on the Dogleap came from Northern Ireland Rally Champions. Best of them was current champion Aaron McLaughlin who finished 10th in his Fiesta R5 with his usual co-driver Darren Curran. The legend that is Kenny McKinstry finished in last place following a day of problems with his Ford Fiesta Rally2, son-in-law Kenny Hull was on the notes. Meanwhile Jonny Greer and Niall Burns eventually retired their newly-built Historic-Spec Ford Sierra Cosworth with mechanical issues. They were on a testing exercise for the forthcoming marathon Roger Albert Clark Rally with its classic gravel stages in Wales, England and Scotland, scheduled for 19th -24th November.

FOREST CHALLENGE GOES DOWN TO THE WIRE!

No fewer than SIX drivers can win the 2025 Brown & Brown MSUK Northern Ireland Forest Rally Challenge going into the fifth and final round later this month: Stephen Dickson (5th on the Dogleap Rally) leads on 104 points from his dad Ashley who finished the Dogleap in 8th. Both were in Fiesta Rally2 cars. Ashley Dickson has 95 points followed by Jordan Hone (who retired on the Dogleap). Jordan, driving an older Fiesta R5, has 89 points. Sam Stewart leads the 2WD section and is fourth overall with 84 points. Fifth is the Dogleap winner Niall Devine who has 82 points. 2024 champion Derek Mackarel is sixth on 77 points. When dropped scores are taken into account (the best four count) it’s all to play for on Samsonas Rally Fivemiletown (22 November). Any one of the “super six” can take the title!

LOOKING BACK

40 YEARS AGO….1985

Kevin O’Kane and Noel Alexander won the 1985 Omagh Car Auction Centre Bushwhacker Rally in their Talbot Sunbeam with a special BRM engine! (photo below). I was covering radio on the Omagh MC event in the forests of West Tyrone. This was my third successive year officiating on the Bushwhacker. Since then I have worked on all 38 rallies that have taken place, either as a radio operator or part of the timekeeping team. The annual event (also known as the “Tyrone Gravel Grand Prix”) was cancelled on just two occasions: in 2001 due to a foot and mouth outbreak, and then again in 2020 due to the covid pandemic.

We were timekeeping at Nutts Corner when a bright new star, 18-year-old Stephen Finlay, driving a Talbot Sunbeam Lotus (PIA 21), won the SC Engines sponsored Autumn Stages Rally organised by North Armagh Motor Club. Finlay was co-driven by Norman Kittle (photo below from Carsport) Second overall was Dungannon’s Kenny Colbert in a similar car. Harry Burke finished third in a Ford Escort 1600. The event included 14 special stages on a variety of surfaces, with a total of 20 stage miles. The majority of the tests were in and around the old runways of the Nutts Corner complex In Co.Antrim.

30 YEARS AGO…..1995

Derek McGarrity won the Castle Inn Bushwhacker Rally driving an MG Metro 6R4 when local star Robbie McGurk surprisingly rolled out of the event in a borrowed Ford Sierra Sapphire Cosworth. Peter McCullagh was second and George Elliott third, both in Ford Escort Cosworth’s. There were 93 entries. We were timekeeping. There were 11 stages in Lough Bradan, Carrickaholten and Killeter Forests. George Robinson had already won the 1995 Maxol Northern Ireland Rally Championship.

Colin McRae became Britain’s first World Rally Champion when he and fellow Scot Derek Ringer clinched the title on the final round, the 1995 Network Q RAC Rally based in Chester. We were there to see it! John Hughes and I marshalled on the two Hafren Sweet Lamb stages on the Tuesday (SS16/21) in mid-Wales and witnessed McRae blow Prodrive Subaru teammate Carlos Sainz into the weeds! Colin’s speed in the iconic blue 555 Impreza (L555 BAT) was mesmerising, especially on the second run of the stage which was in darkness. This was when he stamped his authority on the rally. We marshalled on a total of five stages, from SS1 Tatton Park on Sunday through to SS23 Dyfi on the Wednesday morning. A total of 200 cars entered the 28-stage event.

20 YEARS AGO….2005

Kevin Lynch won the McGillin Bros. Bushwhacker Rally, and as a result the 2005 Pacenotes Northern Ireland Rally Championship, in his Subaru S9 WRC. There were 13 gravel stages in Gortin Glen Forest Park, Lough Bradan, Carrickaholten and Killeter. We were timekeeping on SS1 in Gortin Glen and then on SS6/11 Slievedoo in Killeter Forest. 110 cars started and 71 finished. John Hughes’s car was damaged by a large stone which left a huge dent in the bonnet of his Seat Leon. Part of our timing team, John was at the start of SS1 when this happened, and in my report back then, I highlighted the dangers of parking at stage starts and how organisers should insure safe locations for us volunteers! (nothing has changed in the 20 years since, see last month’s RallyBuzz) Glenn Allen was second on the rally and runner-up in the Championship.

October 2005 saw the first Rally Ireland test event. We provided a team of 11 timekeepers for the Sligo-based mixed-surface WRC prequel. After just two hours of training on the Friday evening it was straight into action on Saturday when we covered SS1/6. The Lake Isle of Innishfree (Easterly and then Westerly) was a twelve-mile tarmac stage between Sligo and Drumahair. Day two Sunday saw us on a nine-mile gravel stage; Lough Navar Forest near Derrygonnelly in Co.Fermanagh. The event ran well and we would be back for another trial WRC event the following March, this time it would be a full tarmac rally.

10 YEARS AGO…..2015

Back in 2015 the McKelvey Asbestos Removal Bushwhacker Rally was celebrating its 40th anniversary. This was the eighth and final round of the 2015 MSA McGrady Insurance Northern Ireland Rally Championship, which had been already won by Derek McGarrity. Organisers Omagh MC had obtained a “mini road closing order” which meant they were able to join their two Lough Bradan stages together using a short tarmac section and the same with the normal two Killeter stages. SS3/6 Lough Bradan ran at 6.57 miles and SS2/5 Killeter was now 9 miles long. A third stage in Carrickaholten was 100% loose surface. The three stages were run twice. Victor and I were timekeeping at the finish of the 4.55 mile SS1/4 Carrickaholten tests. There were 108 starters and 78 finishers. Winners were Mark Donnelly/Barry McNulty in a Subaru S10 WRC by 20 seconds from the Mitsubishi Evo.9 of Josh Moffett and Jason McKenna. Desi Henry/David Moynihan in a Skoda Fabia S2000 were third. Jon Armstrong finished down in 19th place on the 2015 Bushwhacker. He missed out on a “Road to Wales” prize drive by one point to Killarney’s Rob Duggan, but the young Kesh man did enough to win the 2WD Northern Ireland Rally Championship driving a Peugeot 208 R2. Fast forward ten years and the same Jon Armstrong has just finished runner up in the 2025 European Rally Championship with co-driver Shane Byrne in their M-Sport Ford Fiesta Rally2.

Rally Diary

Sat. 22nd November
Samsonas Rally Fivemiletown

Omagh MC are the organisers for this the fifth and final round of the 2025 Brown & Brown MSUK Northern Ireland Forest Rally Challenge. As I indicated earlier, six drivers can win the title. Based at Campbell Contracts Yard in Tempo, County Fermanagh. There are eight gravel stages (four repeated) totalling 29 miles in the forests to the south of Fivemiletown, Co.Tyrone. We are due to cover radio, stage marshalling, rescue and timing on this event which was postponed from February due to the extensive damage caused to the forests by Storm Eowyn. Let’s hope the late autumn weather will be kind to the event!

Second Down Rally Win for McCourt

It’s been two years since the Down Rally last took place. Back then the winner was Cathan McCourt in his Ford Fiesta Rally2. Fast forward to 2025 and the result was the same, but this time the Omagh driver was in a latest-spec Skoda Fabia RS Rally2.

The Down Rally was the fifth and final round of the 2025 MSUK Brown & Brown NI Rally Championship and round five of the 2025 MSUK Protyre Asphalt Rally Championship. Organised by Rathfriland Motor Club the closed-road event was based in Banbridge and consisted of eight bumpy-roller-coaster special stages in the Dromara hills area of County Down.

Stage one was new to the rally. At 8.75 mile in length, Thornhill proved to be a challenging start. McCourt & Barry McNulty were fastest, 2.9 seconds ahead of Jonny Greer/Niall Burns in their Toyota Yaris Rally2. This was Greer’s first NI Rally since his big crash on round one at Bishopscourt back in March

On a foggy and damp second 8.71 mile test, the famous Hamilton’s Folly with its many bumps and jumps, McCourt beat Greer by 12 seconds to stamp his authority on the event. Following a service halt in Banbridge a repeat of Thornhill was followed by another new stage, the short but technical 4.65 miles of Beechgrove. By the end of SS5, Hamilton’s Folly 2, Cathan McCourt led the rally by 39.3 seconds. Jonny Greer remained second while Jersey visitor Sam Touzel and Max Freeman from Stafford were the leading Asphalt Championship contenders in third with their Ford Festa Rally2.

A final visit to the service park and it was back to Thornhill for the third time. Beechgrove 2 followed and then the last stage SS8 Hamilton’s Folly 3. The top three remained the same in the end. Cathan McCourt had dominated the 2025 Down Rally leading throughout and with six fastest stage times. Jonny Greer finished 58.6 seconds behind while Sam Touzel was a further 17.1 back in third, enough to secure the Protyre Asphalt Rally Championship with one round remaining. Greer & Touzel each had a fastest stage time. Best 2WD finishers were Lee Edwards from Oswestry and Sam Spencer in their Ford Escort G3. There were 99 starters (22 Rally2/R5 cars) and 73 finishers.

With regards to the NI Rally Championship; last year’s champ Jonny Greer scored maximum points while second was the already crowned champion, Aaron McLaughlin who finished fifth overall in his VW Polo GTI R5, this time giving his mechanic Kevin McLaughlin a run in the hot seat (usual partner Darren Curran had already won the co-drivers title). Championship runners up, Conor Wilson/Kyle McDaid, were the next registered crew to finish (7th) with their usual Hyundai i20 R5.

The 2WD NI Rally Championship for drivers was decided when Draperstown’s Joe Hegarty and his Cookstown co-driver David Turkington finished 14th on the Down Rally in their Mk.2 Escort. Somewhat disappointingly, due to a lack of top class Rally2/R5 competitors this year, Hegarty & Turkington actually finished up third overall in the drivers and co-drivers championships.

Attention now turns to the woods for the 2025 Brown & Brown MSUK NI Forest Rally Challenge. The five-round gravel series runs through the Autumn months. In September we have the Lakeland Stages & the two-round Bushwhacker. October sees the Dogleap Rally. The Challenge then finishes with Rally Fivemiletown in November.

Pat McAleer

My job on the Down Rally was covering start radio on SS4/7 Beechgrove. As well as this I offered my services as Chief Timekeeper for the event at the last moment. Unfortunately two days before the rally, Pat McAleer sadly passed away. Most motorsport marshals, officials and competitors in Northern Ireland will have known the legendary Omagh man. Pat was in his 95th year and father of Declan who was scheduled to be Chief Timekeeper on the Down Rally. Pat (as always) had been helping Declan and his other sons, Ronnie and Dessie, operate the timing equipment on all events this year right up until his passing. I first came across him many, many, years ago when Pat and his late wife Mary were covering time controls on various events. They always had time for a chat and a cup of tea in their camper van at stage starts/ends.

On behalf of us all in BMMC/BRMC NI Region I wish to pass on my condolences to all the McAleer family circle. Father Time has left the stage. Pat McAleer’s funeral was on the same day as the Down Rally. Those of us who couldn’t be there were thinking of him and knew that he would have wished for the rally to go ahead. I organised a minute’s silence in memory of Pat before the start of our stage. My thanks go to all the timekeepers (many of whom were BMMC members) involved on the Down Rally, and particularly to Eamon McGee and Tony from Donegal MC plus our own Rory O’Neill who set up the timing equipment on all three stages.

Friends Rally Round

Both runs of the Down Rally Beechgrove stage were dry and ran to schedule, but after the last car left the start of the first run, all services were ordered into the stage. Apparently one of the final cars to start caught fire around a mile into the test. Both crew members (Josh Baird and his very experienced Armagh co-driver John Henderson) managed to escape unharmed but the fire became so intense that their Vauxhall Corsa was totally destroyed in the blaze. Our rescue crew had to call in the local Fire Brigade to assist them. Friends have since set up a gofundme.com page on Facebook to help the young Portadown driver Josh Baird replace his car and eventually get back out on the rally stages. As a Club, BMMC have donated £100 to the fund. To date a total of £13,275 has been raised.

No WRC for British Isles

The 2026 World Rally Championship calendar has been announced, and once again there is no place for an event in the United Kingdom. Of course Motorsport Ireland revealed last year that they had (for the meantime) abandoned ambitious plans for a three-year WRC deal due to lack of funding from the Irish Government.

The last time Wales Rally GB took place was back in 2019, now six years ago. It had been reported that MSUK were close to securing a deal with the FIA and the WRC promoter to run an event in Scotland as soon as next year, it would now appear that those plans may indeed come to fruition in 2027. Watch this space!

The 14-round 2026 World Rally Championship calendar features 13 of the events used in 2025. The only exception being Rally Croatia replacing the Central European Rally. Some of the other events have changed dates. Oh! and contrary to rumours, Hyundai have decided to remain in the WRC next year.

Looking Back

40 Years Ago…..1985

The British Midland Ulster Rally was won by Russell Brookes in his new lightweight Opel Manta 400 with the Co. Antrim registration number ADZ 31. The GM Dealer Sport team manipulated the result as it had done on the Circuit of Ireland, only this time Jimmy McRae lost out to his teammate Brookes. Finn Mikael Sundstrom was third in his Peugeot 205 T16. There were 28 stages in Counties Antrim, Armagh, Fermanagh and Tyrone. We were timekeeping as usual plus covering other marshalling duties. The Ulster started and finished in Belfast. The rally was a round of the Shell Oils RAC Open Championship and the STP Irish Tarmac Rally Championship.

In Lurgan Park, Kenny McKinstry took his second Burmah Rally win. Co-driven by Brian McNamee this would be the Banbridge man’s last win in a Ford Escort Mk.2. Second were Bertie Fisher and Austin Frazer in their Opel Manta 400 while sprint and hillclimb expert Fred Crawford (second in 1984) was third in his usual Escort Mk.2 with Drew Todd in the hot seat once again. Austin McHale and Vincent Hogan were fourth in another Manta 400. We were covering a sector under the control of Neil Boulton. An estimated 10,000 paying spectators watched an enthralling sunlit battle as Fisher was never more than 7 seconds behind McKinstry but ultimately unable to close the gap. Cannot believe it was 40 years ago!

30 Years Ago…..1995

David Greer unexpectedly won the Burmah Rally in Lurgan Park. Driving his Ford Escort Cosworth with Michael Reid co-driving, Greer was in second place 8 seconds behind Kenny McKinstry’s Subaru Legacy going into the final stage but Kenny crashed out leaving David to take the victory by 4 seconds from the similar car of Frank Meagher. I was acting as an area controller for the bridge section that year. 1995 marked the final year of Burmah Oil sponsorship.

20 Years Ago…..2005

Magherafelt man Barry McKenna won the third round of the NI Clubman’s Rally  Championship at Bishopscourt. Wesley Patterson was second 28 seconds down. Both were driving Ford Escort MK.2’s. I was Chief Timekeeper for the eight stage event which had an entry of 50 cars. Ballynahinch & District MC were the organisers.

Cathal Arthurs in his Hyundai Accent WRC was the winner of the Maiden City MC’s Lark in the Park which took place in St. Columbs Park, Londonderry. We were marshalling a sector of the 5-stage event. Kevin Lynch joined us as he was unable to compete due to a back injury (see below)

In 2005 the Lurgan Park Rally was sponsored by Triton Showers and Kevin Lynch scored his second win in a row. The Dungiven Subaru S9 WRC driver started the event against doctors orders due to the aforementioned back injury. Lynch was fastest from the first stage and controlled his pace thereafter to take the victory by almost 7 seconds from Eugene Donnelly’s Toyota Corolla WRC. Kenny McKinstry was third in his Subaru S9. We covered the various fire points that year.

10 Years Ago.….2015

Garry Jennings, fresh from his second Donegal victory just two-weeks before, romped to a third consecutive Lurgan Park Rally win. Driving his usual Subaru Impreza S12B WRC (which also won in 2008 with Kevin Lynch) the Kesh man finished the 8-stage event 6.8 seconds ahead of Kenny McKinstry’s S14. Derek McGeehan, who led briefly through the early tests, completed the podium places with his Mini WRC. Northern Ireland Champion Derek McGarrity had a few spins in the slippery conditions and could only manage fourth in his beautiful S14. Wesley Patterson won the Escort Mk.2 Challenge from David Bogie and Frank Kelly. 58 cars started and 51 finished. I was Fire Officer for the 19th year in succession and a dozen or so BMMC/BRMC members turned out to cover the important fire points on the stages. We had supported the event each year since 1981.

Peadar Hurson and Damien Connolly in a Subaru Impreza S10 led the fifth round of the NI Championship, The Tyrone Stages Rally from start to finish. Hurson was driving the only World Rally Car on the start list so he had an unchallenged run to victory. For me the real “drive of the rally” came from Frank Kelly who finished second, 56.9 seconds behind, after a rally long battle with local driver Camillus Bradley. The gap between the two Ford Escort Mk.2 drivers was less than 4 seconds at the finish. Kelly had led throughout but Bradley put in a scorcher of a time on the penultimate stage to close to less than 2 seconds behind, meaning Frank had to drive the “stage of his life” on the last test to take the 2-wheel-drive win! This was the first time Cookstown Motor Club had organised a round of the NI Championship and they had assembled a huge entry of 103 cars for the POC NI Oils sponsored six-stage closed-road event. BMMC/BRMC marshals were out in force covering time controls.

Rally Diary

Fri 15th-Sat 16th August
Modern Tyres Ulster Rally

Round 5 of the 2025 Irish Tarmac Rally Championship

Championship leader Callum Devine heads a 90-strong entry list (plus 10 Micra’s/Juniors) on the two-day Ulster Rally. Based at the Modern Tyres complex in Newry, there are 12 closed-road stages in counties Down & Armagh. On Friday there are 6 stages (3 run twice) SS1/4 Slieve Row (11.80 miles) SS2/5 Camlough (4.43 miles) SS3/6 Slieve Gullion (6.04 miles). The second runs will end in darkness. On Saturday there are a further 6 tests run twice; SS7/10 Kernan Lough at 5.91 miles SS8/11 Banbridge North (9.32 miles) and SS9/12 Bronte Homeland (12.60 miles). We will be out in force over the two days covering rescue, radio points, timekeeping and stage marshalling. Sign-on via rallyscore.net

Sat. 6th September
Lakeland Stages Rally

Round 1 of the 2025 Brown & Brown MSUK Northern Ireland Forest Rally Challenge

Based as usual in Enniskillen and organised by the local motor club. Sponsored by Trailer parts & spares.com. The first of five rounds of the 2025 Gravel series. If you remember the original round one (Fivemiletown) was postponed back in February due to severe storm damage. That event is now scheduled to take place in November! All I can say is, good luck with that! We are due to provide rescue, radio cover plus timekeepers and stage marshals on the Lakeland. No stage details as I write, but all will be available on the Sportity app. Sign-on via rallyscore.net as usual.

Fri. 19th-Sat. 20th September
50th Bushwhacker Rally

Rounds 2 & 3 of the 2025 Brown & Brown MSUK NI Forest Rally Challenge

A special two-day-10-stage-event to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the famous Bushwhacker Rally. Organised by Omagh Motor Club and sponsored by McKelvey Construction. Based at Omagh Showgrounds where there is a centralised service park. On Friday (Round 2 of the challenge) there are two stages run twice, the second of which will be in darkness. Then on Saturday (Round 3) will see a further three stages run twice. Further details next month or on the Sportity app. Sign-on via rallyscore.net

O’BRIEN’S GRAVEL DOMINATION

Patrick and Stephen O’Brien made their annual trip to the forests of counties Fermanagh & Tyrone last month aboard their usual, now-ageing, 2017 Skoda Fabia R5, and in the space of two weeks, the Omagh-born brothers dominated two loose-surface events. Despite being up against several crews in more modern cars, the duo won the Lakeland Stages Rally for the third consecutive year and the Bushwhacker Rally for a record-equaling fifth year in succession! Patrick O’Brien commutes from his home in Perth, Western Australia while co-driver Stephen still lives in Omagh.

The Lakeland Stages on Saturday 6 September consisted of six stages (three repeated) in the Carrigan & Ballintempo Forest complex near Derrygonnelly totalling 30.32 miles. Altogether 104 cars left the Enniskillen start headed for SS1 Carrigan. In what is possibly a gravel rally record, no less than 30 of the starters were in class one R5/Rally2 machines. My job was to cover start radio on SS1/4. BMMC rescue joined me for the two stages.

Enniskillen MC decided to run two-wheel-drive cars first on the road this year, to give them a better chance at tackling the slippery gravel tests before the 4WD cars really cut them up. There were 56 2WD starters on stage one followed by a further 48 four-wheel-drive cars. The 3.60 mile stage started on schedule at 11.06 and no incidents occurred, but because the start of the next stage (SS2) was close to the stop line of stage one, a few delays occurred due to a back-log of competitors. It took 2 hours 14 minutes to put all 104 cars into stage one! Then one hour later we did it all over again! Second time round we had a total of 91 competitors into SS4, once again without any major problems. We were stood-down at around 16.40.

The weather was fine & dry all day and temperatures were average for the time of year at around 16%C. As I said earlier, the O’Brien brothers won the rally. Second were Cathan McCourt and Barry McNulty just 5.3 seconds back in their latest spec. Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 while Kevin Eves/Chris Melly finished third in their Ford Fiesta Rally2. Top 2WD finishers were Sam Stewart/Stephen Peoples in 15th place with their Ford Escort Mk2.

The Lakeland Stages Rally was round one of the 2025 Brown & Brown Motorsport UK NI Forest Rally Challenge. Top points finishers here were Jordan & Paul Hone who finished the rally in 7th with their Ford Fiesta R5. The rally was also round six of the 2025 Sligo Pallets Irish Forest Rally Championship and top registered driver was 8th placed Stephen Dickson and co-driver Ben Teggart in a Fiesta Rally2.

SAFTEY CONCERNS ON GRAVEL RALLIES

On the Lakeland Stages Rally there was a major problem with the set-up of the start control for stages 1/4 Carrigan. There was insufficient parking for service vehicles. The timekeepers and myself just about managed to park but rescue, doctor, stage commander and the ambulance had to base themselves at the arrival control. Not an ideal situation if there was an emergency. I expressed my concern to rally control, but apparently there was insufficient time to move the start to a safer location. I suspect the real reason was that they didn’t wish to shorten the stage! During the event my car was hit by a stone thrown up by a competitor and, even though they were positioned at arrival control, the service vehicles were peppered with stones as competitors warmed up their tyres! The organisers (Enniskillen MC) have since agreed to compensate me for the damage to my car. Apparently similar problems at stage starts occurred on the Bushwhacker Rally.

Stage rally organisers need to protect us all. We are volunteers who give up our time and drive considerable distances to insure a safe running of their events. We expect to have an enjoyable and stress-free day! Clubs should give a bit more thought to safety, risk assessment and what is required when setting up gravel stage start and finish controls. Incidentally, the MSUK Safety Delegate did not question the start set-up on SS1/4 of the Lakeland Stages. Why does that not surprise me!

BUSHWHACKER’S 50th ANNIVERSARY

The Bushwhacker Rally (19-20 September) celebrated its 50th anniversary this year. Organisers Omagh MC decided to mark the occasion by running a two-day event which included three night stages. The event was sponsored by McKelvey Construction. Altogether a huge entry of 125 cars started the 3-leg 65.02 stage-mile event. There were 29 class one cars (Rally2/R5). A further 5 competitors in the Nissan Micra Challenge were added on Saturday only.

Leg 1 on Friday evening comprised of four stages; SS1/4 Lough Bradan (7.09 miles) SS2 Killeter (5.51 miles) and SS3 Carrickaholten (4.85 miles)

Legs 2/3 on Saturday included a further six tests; SS5/8 Killeter (8.30 miles) SS6/9 Carrickalolten (4.85 miles) and SS7/10 Lough Bradan (7.09 miles)

Although some BMMC members were on duty both days, my contribution was to cover radio at the finish of the Killeter stages on Saturday. The weather was dry on Friday but mixed on Saturday, wet for the first run but dry by the time of the second pass. A wealth of experienced rally officials gathered together at the Killeter finish controls. I was joined by Robert McDaid, Elkin Robinson and Michael Carlin from Maiden City MC who, along with Cookstown’s Malcolm McQueen, covered the time controls. The craic was mighty as we reminisced events over the years which we were all involved in, including WRC Rally Ireland. It is now, unbelievably, 16 years since the second and final one in 2009.

Both Killeter stages ran almost to schedule and without incident, apart from one car failing to stop at the finish time control on the first run! The driver of car No. 39 drove past the timekeepers at rally speed; thankfully none of us were injured nor indeed were our vehicles damaged! Unbelievably, car 39 continued in the rally and reappeared on run two! I would have thought he should have been excluded?

There were 120 finishers on SS5 and then 104 on SS8. Patrick and Stephen O’Brien led the Bushwhacker from start to finish in their usual 2017 Skoda Fabia R5. No one else came close to them, except Cathan McCourt who actually won two stages in his newer Fabia Rally2. Unfortunately McCourt retired from second place with mechanical issues on the final stage of the event.

This was Patrick O’Brien’s fifth Bushwhacker Rally win in a row, which equals the record set by Robbie McGurk between 1998 and 2003 (there was no rally in 2001 due to foot-and-mouth disease) Conor McCourt/Caolan McKenna finished second in their Skoda Fabia RS Rally2, but they were 1 minute and 57.6 seconds down! Third overall were Darragh Cairns and Mark Preston in a VW Polo GTI R5. Meanwhile best of the 2WD finishers were Martynas Samsonas/Ugnius Vainevicius who were 15th in their fabulous BMW M3 E36.

Good to see multiple Bushwhacker winners doing “stage demo runs” during the anniversary event. Four-time winner Hugh O’Brien was driving a Ford Escort Mk.2 similar to the one he used on each of those four occasions, while eight-time victor Robbie McGurk was out in an Opel Manta 400. McGurk won the rally driving a Manta in 1991 and 1993.

The 50th Bushwhacker Rally was a double-header in the Brown & Brown NI Forest Rally Challenge. On the Friday stages (Leg 1) the winners were Jordan and Paul Hone in their Ford Fiesta R5 while on Saturday (Legs 2/3) Niall McCullagh and Martin Brady scored top points in their Skoda Fabia RS Rally2. The Hone’s lead the Challenge heading for the next round, the Dogleap Rally on October 11th. In the final round of the Micra Challenge, all five cars finished with Ben Fallis and Louise McBarron taking the win. Andrew Bush and Geraldine McBride had already won the series on the Lakeland Stages.

The Bushwhacker was also the penultimate round of the 2025 Sligo Pallets Irish Forest Rally Championship. Jason Mitchell and Paddy McCrudden did enough to win the title with a round to spare. The Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 crew finished the rally in 8th place.

RALLY DIARY

Sat. 11th October
Dogleap Rally

Round 4 of the 2025 Brown & Brown MSUK Northern Ireland Forest Rally Challenge. Organised by Maiden City Motor Club. Sponsored by Premier Car Parts. Rally HQ & service park based at the Shackleton complex in Ballykelly. There are six gravel stages (three repeated) totalling 28.02 miles; SS1/4 Loughermore West (3.90 miles) SS2/5 Loughermore East (2.06 miles) SS3/6 Cam (8.05 miles) BMMC are covering rescue, radio and stage marshalling. As I write, there are 65 cars on the entry list, 20 of which are Rally2/R5 machines.

Sat. 22nd November
Samsonas Rally Fivemiletown

The 5th and final round of the 2025 Brown & Brown MSUK Northern Ireland Forest Rally Challenge. Postponed from February due to storm damage. Organised by Omagh MC. The rally uses gravel stages south of Fivemiletown in Co. Tyrone. This is due to be our last stage rally of the year. Full details next month.

McLaughlin is Northern Ireland Champion

Second overall in the penultimate round of the 2025 Brown & Brown MSUK Northern Ireland Rally Championship was enough to secure the drivers title for Aaron McLaughlin and the co-drivers title for Darren Curran. The first time a driver from Co.Donegal has won the NI Championship. McLaughlin is from Carndonagh while Curran lives in Redcastle, also on the Inishowen Peninsula.

The Loughgall Stages Rally had attracted only 62 starters for the single-venue-six-stage event. Organised by North Armagh Motor Club, round four of the 2025 NI Championship was based entirely within the confines of Loughgall Country Park.

For the past two years the Loughgall event ran as a non-championship clubman rally. As well as the Country Park stages there was also a nearby repeated closed-road test. Unfortunately, North Armagh MC did not have a road closing order this year (they alternate each year between participating motor clubs) so the rally was confined to the short technical park stages, perhaps more suited to 2WD cars. This was reflected in the start list, only 8 of the 62 cars were 4WD (four  R5 machines plus 3 Mitsubishi Evo’s and a Subaru Impreza).

My job was to cover mid-point radio on all six of the tricky 3.33 mile stages. In the morning we had three runs then after a lunch break the stage was reversed. The weather was good, dry and warm with just a light shower. The tarmac rally ran almost to schedule and the action was fast and furious with cars starting at 30 second intervals. There were a few incidents during the day, the biggest of which was on SS1 when a Mk.2 Escort crashed into a high metal fence just past my location, although the car was badly damaged, thankfully the crew were uninjured.

Local men Marty Toner and David Wright in their unusual 2WD Super 2000 Proton Satria Neo led the Loughgall Rally from start to finish. This is the first time a Proton has won a round of the Northern Ireland Rally Championship. Aaron McLaughlin and Darren Curran, were second, only 1.9 seconds down in their usual VW Polo GTI R5 despite a spin dropping them to 14th after the first stage! The recovering Donegal crew were then fastest on all of the remaining five stages as they tried to catch Toner. Third place went to the flying Toyota Starlet of Jason Black/Karl Egan. Altogether 54 cars finished the rally.

With winner Toner not registered for the NI Championship, McLaughlin and Curran claimed maximum points and thus the 2025 titles. Fourth place overall and second of the registered crews went the way of another Carndonagh driver, Conor Wilson and his co-driver Kyle McDaid from nearby Buncrana in their Hyundai i20 R5. As a result they have been confirmed runners up in both championships.

Devine’s Donegal Again

The 2025 three-day Donegal International Rally, round five of the Irish Tarmac Championship was a great success. Held over one of the hottest weekends of the year (temperatures on day one, Friday, peaked at 26%) the Letterkenny based event attracted a maximum entry of 160 cars. Huge crowds packed the ditches on all 20 stages. Saturday was very warm and dry while overnight and early morning rain made the final six Sunday stages challenging.

There were no less than 35 Rally2/R5 cars, including two-time European Champion Hayden Paddon from New Zealand in a Hyundai i20, current ERC M-Sport Ford Fiesta contender Jon Armstrong from Kesh and Moira driver William Creighton who leads the 2025 British Championship in a Toyota Yaris.

Despite the star-studded opposition (all three of them fell by the wayside) it was Claudy man Callum Devine who prevailed and won his third Donegal International in succession. The Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 driver and his Killarney co-driver Noel O’Sullivan led from stage three. Second was Welshman Meirion Evans (accompanied by Ger Conway) in his Toyota Yaris Rally2 while local Letterkenny driver David Kelly made it the same top three as in 2024. Kelly and co-driver Arthur Kierans were in a VW Polo R5.

In a Donegal Rally first, three of the well known local Boyle family finished in the top ten. Michael was fifth in his Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 while Dad, Declan, finished sixth in a similar car and younger son Matthew completed the rally in tenth place driving a Ford Fiesta Rally2. Best of the 2WD competitors was the Toyota Starlet of Aaron McIntyre/Derry Long, they finished eleventh. All 20 stages ran without any major problems.

Callum Devine is the clear leader of the 2025 Irish Tarmac Rally Championship having won the last three events. Only two rounds remain. Next up is Round 5 the Ulster Rally 15/16 August. All details of the Ulster Rally are available on the Sportity app, password UR2025.

Rally Diary

Sat. 19th July
R Kings Down Rally

The fifth and final round of the 2025 MSUK Brown & Brown Northern Ireland Rally Championship.

Round 5 of the 2025 MSUK Protyre Asphalt Rally Championship.

The Down Rally is organised by Rathfriland Motor Club and sponsored by “R Kings competitions” (an online lottery platform) There are four closed-road stages run twice including Hamiltons Folly. Based in Banbridge at the Boulevard Outlet Shopping Complex with Rally HQ at the nearby Belmont Hotel. We are out in force as usual providing rescue and radio cover as well as stage marshals. Sign-on via rallyscore.net  Full details of the Down Rally are available on the Sportity app. Password RKDR25.