EverGreens: Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy crews in action abroad
This prestigious event marks the seventh round of the FIA European Rally Championship, the fifth round of the Junior European Rally Championship, the British Rally Championship, and the sixth round of the Stellantis Motorsport Rally Cup
Despite facing challenges on Saturday including losing time with a puncture, Jon Armstrong and Eoin Treacy took their first-ever FIA European Rally Championship stage win on Sunday morning. The M-Sport Ford Fiesta Rally2 crew finished sixth overall in the ERC category and second in the Sunday BRC rally.
Their M-Sport teammates Willaim Creighton and Liam Regan scored a maiden British Rally Championship victory on Sunday. The rally counted as two separate rounds of the championship and after a difficult opening leg, they re-set for Sunday morning.
Creighton suffered two punctures on the opening day and was later caught out by loose gravel, losing valuable time.
Their BRC category win keeps their title bid on track ahead of the final round, The Cambrian Rally, in late October.
“Our win here today positions us well for the final round of the championship,” he said.” Yesterday wasn’t good for me, too many mistakes, and everyone in the team got behind me, thanks to them.” Creighton is now in a great position for a championship win heading to the final BRC round.
Former Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy driver Devine and his co-driver Noel O’Sullivan were also competing in Wales.
They achieved a remarkable top five finish in their return to the European Rally Championship. Competing in a Skoda Fabia Rally2, the duo displayed impressive speed and consistency throughout the event.
The Irish pair set several top five overall times over the weekend as they narrowly missed a podium finish, falling just 20 seconds short.
“I really enjoyed it,” said Devine. “In fairness, it has been a lotto get my head around, it would have been a good result, but we made a wrong tyre choice in the last loop, big thanks to the team, absolutely delighted.
Devine hinted that he could make more European Rally Championship appearances in the future.
Cork co-driver David Moynihan guided Matt Edwards to eighth overall. The Ford Fiesta Rally2 scored a fastest overall stage-time during the event.
Rally3
Eamonn Kelly, a contender in the Junior World Rally Championship, led the ERC3 category after the opening day. He and his co-driver, Rory Kennedy, made suspension adjustments throughout the day to optimise their performance.
Their hard work came undone on Sunday’s second stage when they left the road and retired from the event.
Junior ERC
In the Junior European Rally Championship category, Aoife Raftery finished in seventh place and equalled her career-best ERC tarmac rally finish from the Barum Rally Zlin last season.
Raftery and co-driver Hannah McKillop had to contend with ill handling car in the morning loop, but they made improvements at the midday service and their pace dramatically increased in the afternoon.
She was particularly impressive during Sunday’s very wet final loop setting top five times in the Junior ERC class.
Rally4
Craig Rahill, the leader of the Motorsport Ireland Junior Rally Series, prioritised Rali Ceredigion over the Galway Summer Rally and was the top Irish driver in the highly competitive Rally4 class after the opening leg.
However, he and co-driver Conor Smith suffered disappointment on Sunday morning when the gearbox in their Ford Fiesta Rally4 failed on the road section to the day’s first stage.
The remaining Irish Rally 4 competitors saw very little action on Sunday. The two opening tests were cancelled due to previous incidents.
Ryan MacHugh and Arthur Kierans marked one of the biggest rallies of the young Donegal driver’s career with a seventh-place finish in the RC4 category of the international rally.
He felt there was more to come over Sunday’s loop and he duly delivered by winning the Junior British Championship category, his second win of the season.
Kyle McBride and Darragh Mullen made their debut in the FIA European Rally Championship having been offered a wildcard entry on the eve of the event.
The Donegal/Sligo crew finished third in the Stellantis Cup category.
A puncture hampered progress on Saturday, and they admitted it took a while to get comfortable with their new Opel Corsa Rally4 after spending the earlier part of the season at the wheel of a Peugeot 208 Rally.
He was holding second in the one-make championship ahead of the final stage, but the car developed an engine water leak at the start. The applied lateness penalties dropped him to third in the class.
Cian Caldwell and Liam Egan’s Fiesta Rally4 was battle-scarred after day one, but they held on to 13th place in the class in what was also their biggest undertaking to date.
Keelan Grogan and Ayrton Sherlock were in the running for Stellantis Cup honours but were also caught out on loose gravel and were unable to get their beached car back onto the road. They rejoined on Sunday morning under SuperRally rules.
Kalum Graffin and Mark McGeehan finished second in this category in their Peugeot 208 Rally4.
