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Irish Examiner
11-07-2025
- Automotive
- Irish Examiner
Motorsport calendar is still experiencing uncertain conditions
The impact of Storm Éowyn, which brought widespread damage with its record-breaking wind speeds with gusts reaching 184km/h in Co Galway late last January, has led to some unfinished business within Irish rallying, particularly in the Tribal city. The Corrib Oil Galway International Rally and the Donegal Forest Rally were amongst those hit, and both were postponed. Now, almost six months on and in the midst of a heatwave, the Irish motorsport calendar is still experiencing uncertain conditions as the possibility of rescheduling the Galway event is fraught with indecision and lack of comment, except when sought. The Donegal Forest Rally was rescheduled for early November, ironically on the same day as the awards ceremony for the NAPA Auto Parts Irish Tarmac Rally Championship. As for the Galway International, there has been a still silence with the exception of a statement from the Tarmac Rally Organisers Association (TROA) while the organising Galway Motor Club was due to hold a meeting to discuss the matter last night (Thursday). Communications between Motorsport Ireland, the governing body of Irish motorsport and the Galway Motor Club have been somewhat truncated, so far, neither has made a decision. The toing and froing hasn't been good for Irish motorsport. Indeed, relationships between the governing body and the club have not always been straightforward and whilst they're not akin to Storm Éowyn, they led to court proceedings some two years ago that forced Motorsport Ireland to do a u-turn on a decision not to allow Galway Motor Club to run rally events in 2024/2025. Earlier this week, the TROA, through its championship manager Sean Hayde, advised its competitors that the "Galway International Rally 2025 will not be partaking in the championship this year." At least that was some initiative and may propel the long-awaited and much-needed decision on the rally itself. As per the championship regulations, competitors can count their best five scores from the six rounds with the Ulster Rally (August 15/16) and the Cork '20' Rally (October 4/5) to complete this year's series. Recently, a spokesperson for Motorsport Ireland told the Irish Examiner that they had informed the Galway Motor Club that only applications for a two-day event would have international status. GMC has requested MI to provide a date as their previous requests were turned down because of objections from other clubs. The entire situation has dragged on for over four months and is unacceptable. Motorsport Ireland has a duty to govern the sport responsibly, provide leadership and show respect to all parties and in this context that includes the TROA. It should never be forgotten that those within organising clubs are volunteers, who need the co-operation of residents along the rally routes to hold their events. That was key last February for clerk of the course Joe O'Donoghue and his team. At the time, he said: "Our principal concern is for the residents and farming communities along the rally route in the Headford, Tuam and Monivea region." He underlined the great relationship the club has with all the people involved and the desire to continue that into the future, emphasising that such will always be the case. The general consensus is that the event will not be rescheduled, so why the delay in bringing a conclusion to the matter with MI reimbursing GMC for their outlay (suggested to be around €25,000) - hopefully that is not a factor in the delay.
Belfast Telegraph
25-06-2025
- Automotive
- Belfast Telegraph
Josh McErlean opens up on the challenges he will face in his second crack at the ‘Rally of the Gods'
McErlean's maiden Rally1 campaign with new team-mate Eoin Treacy continues in Greece at an event that is notorious for its rough and narrow mountain tracks that are not only hard on cars but crews, too, due to the twisting stages limiting natural airflow into the cockpit. This is only the 25-year-old's second career start at the 'Rally of the Gods', although the experience gained from having to open the road and create a clean line for those following behind him on the second and third days of Rally Italia Sardegna at the start of this month should prove useful in his quest to equal — or better — his best result of 2025 so far — an eighth-place finish at May's Rally de Portugal. The Kilrea man was handed the indignity of road sweeping duties on the Mediterranean island as punishment for bowing out with suspension damage on only the second speed test and rejoining on the Saturday under Super Rally rules after M-Sport Ford mechanics worked their magic to correct his Puma Rally1. 'Sardinia was unfortunate for us, but at the same time, we were able to gain so much valuable information for the future, and this season is all about building the full toolkit,' said McErlean, who knows solid results between now and the final round in Saudi Arabia will go some way to helping him retain his M-Sport seat with Motorsport Ireland's support. 'Greece is another rally where survival matters because the roads are so abrasive, the temperatures inside the car can hit 50C, and you have got long loops with no mid-day service. You have got to be smart — and even Sunday's final leg is longer than usual at 62 miles — so this is one of those rallies that keep throwing challenges right to the finish. 'After the disappointment in Sardinia, I want to deliver a solid result for the team. 'They have worked incredibly hard — they deserve something to show for it. Our aim is to manage the conditions and hopefully come away with a strong, trouble-free rally.' Acropolis Rally Greece begins with a traditional ceremonial start beneath the Parthenon on Thursday afternoon before crews set off to tackle a Spectator Special Stage at 4.05pm UK time. A further 16 special stages totalling over 200 competitive miles will follow. McErlean will share garage space with M-Sport Ford team-mate Gregoire Munster who is making his fourth Acropolis Rally start, event debutant and Rally Poland winner Martins Sesks, and gentleman driver Jourdan Serderidis for whom this is the eighth time contesting his home round of the FIA World Rally Championship.
BBC News
04-03-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
Armstrong ready to 'push' for European rally title
Jon Armstrong says he wants to "push" for the European Rally Championship (ERC) title after announcing a full campaign driving a M-Sport Ford 30-year-old, from Northern Ireland, recorded four top-10 finishes and earned a podium, second place at the season-ending Rally Silesia in October, in the ERC last was ERC3 champion in 2023, the second tier of European rallying, and is a two-time runner-up in the Junior WRC, which runs as part of the World Rally by Motorsport Ireland, Armstrong will be co-driven by Shane Byrne for the first time."I'm really looking forward to being back with M-Sport again for the ERC, we can now really build upon everything we learnt from last year," said Armstrong. "We had a really good end to the season, so hopefully we can work on the areas we didn't capitalise on last year, try to have a really good season and hopefully push to be in the championship fight."M-Sport team principal Richard Millener said it was a "huge pleasure" to welcome Jon and Motorsport Ireland back to the team for 2025."We saw some really positive development in his pace and maturity throughout last year in the Rally2 car, and I think we can set our sights on some top results from him and Shane this season," he and Byrne will start their partnership at the West Cork Rally from 14-16 March before embarking on their European Sierra Morena in Spain opens the ERC season in April before events in Hungary, Sweden, Poland, Italy, Czech Republic, Wales and Croatia.
