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!