Killarney Forestry Rally (Castleisland) - 18 Feb 24

MIJRS Season kicks off with Killarney Forest Rally

Posted: February 17, 2024 12:52 PM

The start of a new season is always exciting. There are new crews itching to go, new cars ready to be learned and a host of off-season learning and preparation set to be put on the line in the hunt for glory. There’s a buzz in the air, a heady mix of nerves and tension being balanced with focus and determination. Heading to the first stage of the 2024 Motorsport Ireland Junior Rally Series (MIJRS), I’m sure all of these emotions and more were pulsing through these future Rally stars.

Ireland’s sole national Junior Mix-Surface championship, the MIJRS is quickly becoming a vital step in the development of a host of upcoming and exciting Irish rallying talent, and looking at the bumper entry for the season opening Killarney Forest Rally, its clear to see the huge buzz around developing young talent at present in Irish Rallying.

Split across rounds of the Sligo Pallets Forest Rally Championship and the Triton National Rally Championship, with bonus Rallysprint rounds for the J1000 crews, the series is designed to give youngsters a balanced learning opportunity across both surfaces early in their career, setting them up for success into the future. Coupled to this is a massive prize fund on offer.

Split across four classes, competitors in this years MIJRS are competing for just under €70,000 in funding and support from the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy, with an additional €12,000 Prize fund announced yesterday with the support of Race & Rally which is open to competitors in certain cars.

For 2024, the MIJRS will incorporate four classes, all of which are set to be incredibly exciting affairs. The largest field of entrants by far is in the J1000 ranks, with Ross Ryan heading into the first of six stages on Sunday seeded first in Class 21, but he will have his work cut out holding off some incredibly experienced competitors heading into their third year at this level such as Tommy Cronin, Tommy Furlong and Danny Brady.

Others return for a second season such as David Travers, Ryan Caldwell, Rhys McElhinney and Ger Hartigan-Dick will have aspirations to make a push for the podium places, while newcomers such as Gemma Hallinan, Adam Ronan, Gareth McGettrick and Jack Cullinane will be relishing the opportunity to gain mileage and experience heading into an eight round MIJRS series.

Class 16 & Rally5 combine in 2025, but J1000 graduate Kallum Graffin is the sole entrant in the class in Killarney, while the newly formed Class 2A for R2 &R2T cars is also full of a trio of ex-J1000 stars as Jack Harris, Jack Kennedy and Ciara Duggan are all set to debut their newly acquired Ford Fiesta’s in the MI Junior Rally Series.

Standings are calculated by getting a maximum score consisting of each competitor’s best performance in 6 out of 8 events across the year, these being the 3 best Gravel results and 3 best Tar results. The Driver must be under 23 years of age on the 1st of January in the year of the award for Class 16/Rally5 or under 24 for Classes 2 & 2A.

Class 2 has emerged as the pinnacle class in recent years, and it looks set to be a phenomenal battle in store with the registered crews absolutely chock full of the finest talent emerging in Irish Rallying. 2023 Billy Coleman Winner Jack Brennan tasted MIJRS success in J1000 and Rally5 in the past two years, and he leads a bumper crop of Rally4 machines away from the Castleisland start line, but he will need to deal with 2023 Champion Cian Caldwell in a similar Peugeot 208 Rally4.

In similar machinery are Kyle McBride, Keelan Grogan and 2023 J1000 champion Tommy Moffett, while a host of rivals also line up in Ford Fiesta Rally4’s such as Craig Rahill, Dan Nash, Dylan Eves and local Kerry star Mossie Costello.

The 2024 MIJRS season begins with the Killarney Forestry Rally on February 18th, while we switch to Tarmac soon after with the Mayo Stages Rally on March 3rd. Full championship information and registration details can be found at www.MIJRS.ie

Preview - Round 1 2024 Sligo Pallets Forest Rally Championship

Posted: February 17, 2024 12:49 PM

If you go down to the woods this weekend, you might just stumble upon one of the most exciting season openers in years as Castleisland plays host to the first round of the 2024 Sligo Pallets Forest Rally Championship with the highly anticipated Killarney Forestry Rally.

Opening Ireland’s loose-surface season for a third straight year, the Kerry event has grown quickly into becoming a competitor favourite, and the organisers efforts have been rewarded with over 90 crews set to take on this year’s event.

Contested over six technical stages amongst the brilliant Coillte Forestry complexes east of Castleisland, the rally stars have a 60km route in store punctuated halfway with a service halt in the Mart right in the heart of the town at mid-day.

The entry list published by Killarney & District Motor Club is absolutely jammed packed with quality right through the field, with Jordan & Paul Hone wearing the number one seed upon their door. After a disappointing last campaign by his high standards, Jordan is determined to make a strong start to the 2024 campaign and his aim to claim the Sligo Pallets Forest Rally Championship aboard the familiar Ford Fiesta R5.

As announced in January, Andrew Mullen from Sligo Pallets has renewed his Title Sponsorship of the series, with a two-year deal announced seeing the ever poplar brand continue to grow alongside the Championship.

Behind the Hone’s at number two is Andrew Purcell & Liam Brennan, their VW Polo GTi R5 fresh from success on the Boggeragh Sprint in December being followed by a similar machine in the hands of Vivian Hamill & Gary Nolan. Stephen McCann finished on the podium on this event last year, and he returns with John McCabe beside him at number four while Derek Mackarel & Eamonn Creedon start next in another Ford Fiesta R5.

The 2WD battle has evolved massively in recent years, but the first four cars on the road are all Ford Escort MK2’s. 2023 Champion Mickey Conlon has a new navigator in James McEneaney alongside him, Sam Stewart & Alan Johnston move up from their giant killing Class 11R days to join Class 13, while Hugh McQuaid & Declan Casey and David Condell & Michael Coady are both hugely experienced crews that will be in the mix for the win.

Throughout 2023, the rise of the Rally4 Front-Wheel-Drive machines was remarkable, and the entry list in Killarney reflects this as 14 of these cutting-edge machines are set to tackle the Killarney Forestry Rally stages. Billy Coleman Award winner Jack Brennan & John McGrath lead the pack away in their Peugeot 208 Rally4, with Kyle McBride & Liam McIntyre, Casey-Jay Coleman & Lorcan Moore and Keelan Grogan & Ayrton Sherlock all in similar machines.

Of all the battles throughout the field, none on paper compare to what is set to be an incredible day on the stages for the J1000 competitors, with a remarkable twenty-four crews set to start the event, a record for the class. With many graduates of the series such as Tommy Moffett, Jack Kennedy, Jack Harris, Ciara Duggan and Kalum Graffin moving into new classes on the Killarney Forestry Rally, its Ross Ryan & Peter Keohane who will carry top seeding.

Behind the pair, Tommy Cronin & Derek Butler, Tommy Furlong & Niall Furlong as well as Danny Brady & Darren O’Brien have all got experience of competing right at the front of the J1000 battle and will be looking to put themselves in contention for a title bid right from the start.

The action kicks off bright and early Sunday morning, with the first of the J1000 field leaving Castleisland at 08.40 destined for the first of six special stages that will make up the opening of six rounds of the 2024 Sligo Pallets Forest Rally Championship.

Seeded Entry List

Posted: February 9, 2024 5:10 AM

1 Jordan Hone/Paul Hone (Ford Fiesta R5) [5]
2 Andrew Purcell/Liam Brennan (VW Polo GTI R5) [5]
3 Vivian Hamill/Gary Nolan (VW Polo GTI R5) [5]
4 Stephen McCann/John McCabe (Ford Fiesta R5) [5]
5 Derek Mackarel/Eamonn Creedon (Ford Fiesta R5) [5]
6 Daniel O'Brien/ TBA (Ford Fiesta WRC) [20]
7 Stephen Dickson/Dean O'Sullivan (Ford Fiesta R5) [5]
8 Gerard Lucey/Donagh Crowley (Ford Fiesta R5) [5]
9 Darragh Cairns/Mark Preston (Skoda Fabia R5) [5]
10 Ian Dickson/Martin Brady (Ford Fiesta R5) [5]
11 Pat O'Connell/Mark Wiley (Ford Fiesta R5) [5]
12 James Dunphy/Alan McCormack (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [4]
13
14 Niall McGonigle/Caolan McKenna (Ford Fiesta R5) [5]
15 PJ O Connor/Denny Greaney (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [4]
16 Peter McCullagh/Killian McArdle (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [20]
17 James McCarville/Conal McNulty (Ford Fiesta Rally 2) [5]
18 Martin O'Brien/James Cotter (Ford Fiesta Rally 2) [5]
19 Damien (Donal) Quinn/Karl Smyth (Ford Fiesta R5) [5]
20 Barry Murphy/Conal Doherty (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [20]
21 Eoin Neville/Brendan Quinn (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [4]
22 Aaron Martley/Ciara Griffin (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 7) [20]
23 Stephen Bawn/John Flemming (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 7) [20]
24 Arthur Kierans/Shane Maguire (Subaru Impreza 555) [20]
25 James Boland/John McCay (Ford Fiesta Rally3) [4]
26 James Lowry/Shaun Forde (Subaru Impreza N12) [4]
27 Eoghan Fogarty/Cian Fogarty (Subaru Impreza) [15]
28 David Fitzsimons/Anthony McDonald (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 3) [15]

201 Michael Conlon/James McEneaney (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
202 Hugh McQuaid/Declan Casey (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
203 David Condell/Michael Coady (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
204 Sam Stewart/Alan Johnston (Ford Escort) [13]
205 Damien McGauran/Shane Maguire (BMW 320) [13]
206 Jack Brennan/John McGrath (Peugeot 208 Rally4) [2]
207 Kyle McBride/Liam McIntyre (Peugeot 208 Rally4) [2]
208 Dylan Eves/Ryan Farrell (Ford Fiesta) [2]
209 Craig Rahill/Conor Smith (Ford Fiesta Rally4) [2]
210 Casey Jay Coleman/Lorcan Moore (Peugeot 208 Rally4) [1]
211 Cian Caldwell/Liam Egan (Peugeot 208 Rally4) [2]
212 Ryan McHugh/TBA (Ford Fiesta Rally4) [1]
213
214 Keelan Grogan/Ayrton Sherlock (Peugeot 208 Rally4) [2]
215 Conor Wilson/Darren Curran (Ford Fiesta Rally4) [1]
216 Diarmuid Lynch/Darragh Lynch (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
217 Tommy Moffett/Domhnall Lennon (Ford Fiesta Rally4) [2]
218 Mark Stewart/Chris Hobson (Ford Escort Mk2) [12]
219 Mossie Costello/Megan Costello (Ford Fiesta Rally4) [2]
220 Jack Harris/Aaron O'Regan (Ford Fiesta) [2A]
221 Jack Kennedy/Eoghan Doherty (Ford Fiesta) [2A]
222 Eamon O'Connell/Paul Bruton (Ford Escort) [11R]
223 Niall McKenna/Mark McGeehan (Ford Fiesta Rally4) [2]
224 Dan Nash/Liam Howlett (Ford Fiesta Rally4) [2]
225 Eddie Doherty/Emel McNamara (Honda EG6) [11F]
226 Donal Connolly/Danny McLaughlin (Ford Escort Mk2) [12]
227 Niall O'Sullivan/Frank Byrnes (Peugeot 208 Rally4) [2]
228 Eugene Ward/Patrick Heaney (Ford Fiesta) [11F]
229 Ian McCarthy/Patrick O'Sullivan (Honda Civic) [11F]
230 Brian Little/Niall McCarron (Ford Escort G3) [12]
231 Derry Long/Mark O'Leary (Honda Civic) [11F]
232 Ciaran McCullagh/Cormac Noonan (Honda Civic) [11F]
233 Hal Lewis/Paddy McDonnell (Ford Escort) [13]
234 Padraig Price/Conor Dolan (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
235 Walter Burke/Bobby Cooper (Ford Escort) [18]
236 Sean Benskin/Angiee Michniewicz (Ford Escort) [12]
237 Padraig McCarthy/Eoghan McCarthy (Peugeot 206 Cup Car) [11F]
238 Colin Neligan/Eoin O'Donoghue (Ford Fiesta) [11F]
239 **In memory of Eoin McCarthy**
240 David McAuley/ TBA (Honda Civic) [11F]
241 Paul O'Connell/Brian Quinlan (Ford Escort) [11R]
242 Damien Brophy/ TBA (Toyota Starlet RWD) [11R]
243 Michael Murphy/Robbie Walsh (Talbot Sunbeam) [10]
244 Kalum Graffin/Richard Morton Crozier (Renault Clio Rally5) [1]
245 Ciara Duggan/Dylan Harrington (Ford Fiesta) [2A]
246 Christy Butler/Ann Hutchinson (Honda Civic) [11F]
247 Paul Cullen/Brian Rowan (Opel Corsa) [10]
248 John Ward/Brian Martyn (Ford Fiesta) [2A]
249 James Sinnott/Brian Hutten (Opel Corsa) [10]
250 John McDermott/Denis Murphy (VW Lupo) [9]

301 Ross Ryan/Peter Keohane (Peugeot 107) [21]
302 Tommy Furlong/Niall Furlong (Skoda Citigo) [21]
303 Danny Brady/Darren O'Brien (VW UP) [21]
304 Tommy Cronin/Derek Butler (Toyota Aygo) [21]
305 David Travers/ TBA (Peugeot 107) [21]
306 Conor Ryan/Conor Hade (Skoda Citigo) [21]
307 Charlie Browne/Just McCauley (TBA TBA) [21]
308 Cameron Crozier/ TBA (TBA TBA) [21]
309 PJ McDermott/Johnny Baird (Toyota Aygo) [21]
310 Ger Hartigan/ TBA (Citroen C1) [21]
311 Ryan Caldwell/Darren Caldwell (Skoda Citigo) [21]
312 Oisin McShane/Fabian McShane (VW UP) [21]
313
314 Rhys McElhinney/Oisin Joyce (Peugeot 107) [21]
315 Daniel Ormond/Paddy King (Peugeot 107) [21]
316 Ronan Adam/Culliney Robert (Peugeot 107) [21]
317 Sam Gorman/Niall Myers (Nissan Micra) [21]
318 Sean White/ TBA (TBA TBA) [21]
319 David Slattery/Ger Somers (Hyundai I10) [21]
320 Morgan Moore/James O'Brien (Skoda Citigo) [21]
321 Frank Adam Wharton/David Leslie (Toyota Aygo) [21]
322 Gareth McGettrick/John McGettrick (Nissan Micra) [21]
323 Jack Cullinane/Robert O'Regan (Peugeot 107) [21]
324 Darragh McEnroe/Mark Reilly (VW UP) [21]
325 Gemma Hallinan/Dean Raftery (Toyota Aygo) [21]

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