Craig Rahill’s third-place finish in Class 2 on Saturday’s Clare Forestry Rally secured the Motorsport Ireland Junior Rally Series class title for the Cavan-based driver.
The championship win means he has also secured a nomination for the Billy Coleman Young Driver of the Year Award for 2024.
Rahill and co-driver Conor Smith knew ahead of the Scariff-based event that a finish would be enough to secure the MIJRS title.
Despite a pre-event promise to take a conservative approach to the rally, Rahill was surprised to find himself as the category leader after the opening loop.
Not only did the Ford Fiesta Rally4 driver lead Class 2, he was also the fastest competitor in a two-wheel drive car – ahead of Ford Escort Mk2 drivers who usually dominate the two-wheel drive category in Irish forest events. Rahill promised to stick with the plan ahead of time in the afternoon loop.
“We just need to keep our noses clean,” he said at the day’s first service halt. “The championship is in the forefront of our minds and we are trying not to get sucked into any battles.”
Nevertheless, he picked up the Drive of the Day Award for setting the fastest overall two-wheel time on the event’s fifth stage and on his way to an eventual tenth-place overall finish.
“Going into the final stage we found ourselves leading the class and, in a position, to potentially push for the two-wheel drive win but we kept a level head as we knew what was at stake,” he added.
“Our focus now turns to the Donegal Harvest Rally next weekend for the final round of Triton Showers Motorsport Ireland National Rally Championship where we need a win to secure that championship.”
A win in Donegal will ensure Rahill adds the National Class 2 title to the Class 2 title he won in the Forest Rally Championship on Saturday.
Keelan Grogan’s prime reason for entering the Clare Forestry Rally was to get some gravel rally mileage under his belt ahead of a Stellantis Cup showdown in Wales in two weeks.
The Peugeot 208 Rally4 driver is one of three drivers that can win the one-make series and with it, a tyres and entry fee package for the 2025 Junior FIA European Rally Championship.
Grogan and co-driver Ayrton Sherlock finished second in Class2 and eighth overall but their chief Stellantis Cup rivals loan Lloyd and Sion Williams won the class.
“It was great day’s racing with Ioan and Craig where it could have gone anyone’s way,” said Grogan. “It was to see an all Rally4 two-wheel-drive podium as well.”
Saturday’s results mean Motorsport Ireland Academy drivers Grogan and Kyle McBride (who was not competing in Clare) and Welsh driver Lloyd will all face a fascinating three-way fight on the Cambrian Rally at the end of October.
“The Clare Forest Rally sets us up nicely for the last round of the Stellantis Cup later this month where we are in for a big push,” he added.
Ryan Caldwell and co-driver Stephen O’Hanlon won the first forest rally in the Banner County in 41 years. After a dry Bushwhacker Rally last month, the Skoda Fabia R5 crew admitted it took a few stages to get accustomed to the wet conditions and arrived at the first service halt in second place.
Once they hit the front on stage three, they never looked back and recorded a 5.8-second victory over Andrew Purcell and Liam Brennan (Ford Fiesta Rally2).
Their next event is the Dogleap Rally on October 19.
Cian Caldwell and co-driver Mark McGeehan were fifth in the Rally4 class and 15th overall. A puncture and a visit to a dyke hindered the progress of the Ford Fiesta Rally4 crew.
Jack Brennan and Eoghan Doherty were sixth in the class and like Caldwell, they too suffered a puncture in their Peugeot 208 Rally4 on the opening test but set good times for the remainder of the rally.
Jack Harris, who will join the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy in 2025, won class 2A in his older Ford Fiesta R2. He and co-driver Aaron O’Regan endured a puncture, brake issues and a spin on their way to the class win.
Read more about this event by clicking below:
Heartbreak for Aoife Raftery on Rally Terra Sarda
There was heartbreak for Aoife Raftery Rally at the Terra Sarda in Italy on Sunday morning.
The Sardinian Rally was the fifth and penultimate event of the 2024 Tour European Rally championship and marked Raftery’s debut at the wheel of a Renault Clio Rally5.
The Galway-based driver received a last-minute invite to contest the event last week.
Driving a Renault Clio Rally5 alongside Swedish co-driver Ida Lidebjer-Granberg, Raftery held second place in the Rally5 class after the first day of competition.
Raftery set the fastest time in the Rally5 class on the penultimate stage of Saturday's action. This put her in a strong position heading into Sunday's final six stages.
Despite the cancellation of the final stage on Saturday, Raftery held second position in the Rally5 class and was just 9.6 seconds behind Croatian driver Karlo Pelicar.
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However, Raftery and Lidebjer-Granberg were left bitterly disappointed when their car failed to start in Parc Ferme on Sunday morning and they were left on the sidelines.
“I am very thankful for the experience and a massive thank you to the organisers for having me,” she said.
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“Sardegna was a lovely place and we enjoyed this event and the stages. We had a strong first day learning the Renault Clio Rally5, and it was unfortunate not to get out on Sunday to push. We felt like we were really getting to grips with the car. Thanks to Ida on the notes and Baldon Rally team for service.”
FIA European Rally Championship Rally Silesia
M-Sport driver Jon Armstong and Eoin Treacy’s 2024 FIA European Rally Championship campaign will close this weekend with Rally Silesia in Poland.
An exciting new addition to the ERC calendar for 2024, the Tarmac event from 11 - 13 October is set to be one of the highlights of the season with super special stages planned in central Katowice and around the Silesian Stadium, as well as several challenging and spectacular countryside tests.
Armstrong described the event as being similar in characteristics to other European rallies he has contested in the past.
He is looking forward to another tarmac outing following a strong performance in Wales in September.
“The stages look to be quite technical with a lot of variation. The character and surface types are a bit like a mixture of Ypres and Barum,” said Armstong.
“We just really need to get our heads down and try to pick up we left off in Wales and carry the pace so we can get a strong result.”
Armstrong tested both his and William Creighton’s Ford Fiesta Rally2 cars at M-Sport last week.
“That was a good chance to get back into the rhythm of driving,” he added. “It has been a long wait since Ceredigion.“
Rally Silesia gets underway on Friday with Free Practice, the Qualifying Stage and Shakedown in Zabrze.
Later in the day, the opening ceremony takes place in Katowice, ahead of a 1.85km super special in the host city.
A total of 14 stages over 180kms are scheduled with the event concluding with the Silesian Voivodeship / Województwo Śląskie PowerStage just after 4 pm on Sunday.
Text By Sean Moriarty / Pics By CianDon, James Burke, M-Sport & MIRallyAcademy
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