Jack Harris and Aaron O’Regan dominated Class 2 on the Carlow Stages Rally with a commanding 39.2-second victory, claiming top points in the Motorsport Ireland Junior Rally Series (MIJRS) after a masterful drive in tricky conditions.
The Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy crew delivered five fastest times, including a stunning 16.4-second margin on the penultimate stage, to seal their Class 2 win. Harris took the lead on stage three and never relinquished it despite challenging weather throughout the day. It is the Donegal driver’s second win in a row after his recent success on the Moonraker Forestry Rally.
“Great day back on the tar, with a first in class,” said Harris. “We took the lead on stage two and never looked back in the tricky conditions. Going into stage seven, we had slicks on the Fiesta, but thankfully, we had two spare wets which we put on before the stage as a downpour of rain arrived. Thankfully, we managed our lead well over the last three stages.”
Academy co-driver Darragh Mullen fought back from fourth in Class 2 to finish second in class and claim Stellantis Rally Cup honours alongside Oran England. The crew overcame a wrong tyre choice on stage three and a small incident with a bank to secure crucial championship points.
“Carlow proved to be a really difficult event with constantly changing conditions making tyre choice tricky throughout the day,” said Mullen. “We got off to a decent start on stage one, but catching a car on stage two cost us some time. Despite that, we were delighted to come away with second in Class 2 and first in the Stellantis Cup, which gives us good momentum in both championships heading into the next round.”
Ross Ryan and James Deane had held a top-five position in Class 2 before getting caught out on a slippery right-hander on stage six, getting stuck in a drain and losing around ten minutes. The Fiesta Rally4 duo did well to complete the remaining stages.
Academy co-driver Declan Boyle had been tenth overall with Ryan MacHugh after fighting back from early shock absorber damage. Unfortunately their charge was halted when they got stuck for three minutes on a notoriously slippery part of the final stage.
Unfortunately, Rally4 debutants Jack Kennedy and Dylan Harrington had to retire on stage three after getting caught out on Kellymount’s infamous gravelly section.
Several MI Rally Academy members used Nordic events as a warm-up for the European Rally Championship’s Royal Rally of Scandinavia.
Casey Jay Coleman and Killian McArdle finished tenth overall and top Rally3 car on the 12-stage Rally Nyköping in their Ford Fiesta Rally3.
“We had a good weekend here in Sweden,” said Coleman. “Perfect preparation for the ERC round in Karlstad next weekend. It has been 11 months since we drove on gravel so it took us a while to get back into things. With lots of stages and service breaks, we got to make plenty of changes to the car and explore set-up to give me more confidence on these incredibly fast Swedish roads.”William Creighton and Liam Regan had fought up to a top-five position in their Citroen C3 Rally2 before retiring with a mechanical issue with two stages remaining.
“It was good to get mileage under our belt to learn the C3 on gravel,” said Creighton. “The rally was quite tricky, there was a lot of rain leading into the event so the grip was really low. Despite quite changeable conditions and having to retire in the afternoon due to a mechanical issue, we feel prepared heading into our ERC pre-event test on Tuesday. I enjoy competing in Sweden and have some great memories from the winter rallies here, so thanks to the organisers for making us feel very welcome once again. Thanks also to TRT for their effort during the event and to the Academy, along with all my other sponsors, for their support.”
Kyle McBride and Liam Callaghan finished second out of the Rally4 starters as they prepare for their Junior ERC debuts. They used the event to gain experience of both their Peugeot 208 Rally4 and Swedish gravel conditions, finishing all stages cleanly.
Meanwhile in Finland, Craig Rahill and Conor Smith finished second overall on Kuljetus J. Kuusela Oy Ralli. The crew picked up two stage wins in their Ford Fiesta Rally3, making it a KMS Racing one-two on the Finnish event.