Academy crews tackle forest rallies as Coyne returns to Irish stages
Six Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy crews will take on gravel events this weekend, the British Rally Championship’s Kielder Carlisle Stages and the Sligo Pallets Forest Rally Championship’s Moonraker Forest Rally.
William Creighton tops the Kielder Carlisle Stages entry list as BRC’s early championship leader. Along with co-driver Liam Regan, Creighton produced a magnificent debut drive behind the wheel of his new Toyota Yaris Rally2 to seal a 23.8-second victory on BRC’s East Riding Stages opener.
It will be the 27-year-old’s first gravel rally since finishing second on October’s Cambrian Rally but he has completed a successful pre-event test to get his Rally2 Yaris dialled into loose-surface competition.
William Creighton
“We are looking forward to competing in Kielder this weekend,” said Creighton. “We have good memories from there when we competed on the Pirelli Rally back in our Junior BRC days.
“The stages look like they will offer a nice mix of characteristics. There are the typical fast, high-speed Kielder stages on quite a narrow road with dykes either side so we will have to be very accurate. There are also twisty, technical sections on the first stage.
“It will be our first time rallying with number one on the door so that will be a nice feeling along with its own set of challenges.”
Darragh Mullen and Kyle McBride
Junior BRC leaders Kyle McBride and Darragh Mullen join their academy team-mates for BRC’s second round. McBride leads the front-wheel-drive entry and is looking for a hat-trick of Rally4 wins to continue his perfect start to the year.
Wins in East Riding and West Cork have given the 21-year-old a lead in both Junior BRC and the Stellantis Motorsport Rally Cup heading into their second round.
“I am excited to head back to the British Rally Championship,” said McBride. “The Carlisle Stages will be the second round for both my Junior BRC and Stellantis Cup campaigns.
“It will be nice to be competing on gravel again, it has been a while since the Cambrian Rally last year. Hopefully we can get back up to speed and try a few new things with the car’s set-up through the rally.
“The Kielder stages look to be in incredible shape; fast, loose, and some places with good grip.
“We want to keep up our positive momentum from West Cork and East Riding - it won’t be easy to grab another win but we are up for the challenge.”
The Kielder Carlisle Stages consists of 81.5 competitive kilometres over five stages on Saturday.
Eamonn Kelly
Four MI Rally Academy cars will compete for top results on the second round of the Sligo Pallets Forest Rally Championship, the Moonraker Forest Rally.
Eamonn Kelly and Conor Mohan will make the long trip to Cork in a bid to gain gravel seat-time in their Ford Fiesta Rally3. Kelly lies third in the Junior World Rally Championship ahead of round two, May’s Rally Portugal.
Seeded fifth, the Donegal driver pits himself against higher-spec Rally2 cars, although a searing runner-up finish on last year’s Lakeland Stages Rally has Ireland’s gravel fans anticipating another giant-killing performance.
“We haven’t competed since Rally Sweden two months ago,” explained the 26-year-old. “It has been quite a while since we got out of the driving seat, so we are looking forward to getting back behind the wheel on the Moonraker.
“Moonraker offers a good chance to start to build up some gravel seat-time ahead of Rally Portugal, and its one-day format makes it time-friendly as well.
“It looks like we are going to get a nice set of stages in some good weather which will add to the enjoyment.
“We are going to be swamped in Rally2 cars so our aim is just to get our driving and speed back to a place we are happy with on gravel.
“I am really excited to be rallying again especially after having to watch everyone else in action recently.”
Less than a week after picking up a fourth-place Junior European Rally Championship finish in Spain, Craig Rahill and Conor Smith jump straight back into action on this Saturday’s Moonraker Forest Rally. The Peugeot 208 Rally4 crew leads the front-wheel-drive pack and is joined by recent Circuit of Kerry class winners Jack Harris and Aaron O’Regan.
“The Moonraker will be our first gravel event in the Rally4 car,” commented Harris. “The aim is to build our confidence and learn more about the car’s set-up for future gravel events coming up.”
Finally, a welcome surprise to the Moonraker’s entry list comes in the form of MI Rally Academy patron John Coyne who is set to take on the event in a Hyundai i20 Rally2 with academy co-driver Killian McArdle alongside.
“I am looking forward to getting back in the car for my first rally in Ireland since 2019’s Cork 20,” said Coyne. “My last Moonraker was also in 2019, when we retired on the first stage with technical issues. Hopefully we'll have a better run this time out.
“I will have academy member Killian McArdle co-driving, fresh from his recent ERC debut with Casey Jay Coleman at Rally Sierra Morena. An opportunity for him to further develop his skills and experience.
“I have quite a busy month in store, en route from California to WRC’s Canary Islands Rally. The Moonraker, the MI Rally Academy’s J1000 development day, and the Circuit of Ireland will keep me in touch with the basics, so that my advice and mentoring remain experience-based and fresh.
“A lot of the time it is don't do as I do but do as I tell you - but the knowledge of what not to do is also valuable!”