Category: NAMC
Jul 17, 2025 | View Post
McLaughlin and Curran are Brown and Brown NI Rally Champions!
Following an early concern with fuel pressure issues Aaron McLaughlin and Darren Curran put them to bed to become Brown & Brown Northern Ireland Rally Championship title winners while Marty Toner and David Wright won their local event for the first time, writes William Neill.
The PRM & RPM Loughgall Rally was already significant for the Volkswagen Polo R5 driver as the rally where he first won an event that wasn’t at an airfield – and now the crowning location as a champion following three maximum scores.
Missing a family wedding – such was the importance of bagging points – Donegal’s McLaughlin arrived with confidence having won the Loughgall event on two occasions prior, albeit in a Ford Fiesta.
While a rally win was on the cards, runner up was the result of those morning car issues that meant, after SS1, the pair sat in 14th. Winning the remaining five stages the team quickly fought back to third by the end of SS2 and moved ahead of Jason Black by mid-event.
The rally itself belonged to Toner in his rare Proton Satria Neo, leading from start-to-finish and winning by just under two seconds – a major turnaround from a non-finish in 2024.
Black, with Karl Egan alongside, hadn’t sat in his Toyota Starlet in ten months but quickly put his mark on the timesheets, although the Armagh man admitted he had to try hard on the closing stage to keep Conor Wilson and Kyle McDaid at bay. Black was 29.7 seconds back from McLaughlin but the place was secured by six seconds.
Wilson, who had a fifth overall finish at the Tyrone Stages last season, went one better with fourth at Loughgall, now their best result, and remain second in the overall Brown & Brown points with one round to go.
Downpatrick’s Shane Murray and Gary Hade had a consistent run throughout to finish a fine fifth in a Ford Fiesta R5.
James and Heather Kenndy put their experience of the park to good use to take third place Brown & Brown points and sixth overall ahead of a run of fellow Ford Escort Mk2 crews with John Devlin and John McCarthy the closest of competitors.
BROWN & BROWN FIA 2WD CHAMPION: SEAMUS GOODFELLOW
Donaghmore’s Seamus Goodfellow was delighted to take the FIA 2WD category title with guidance from Declan Campbell.
The Ford Fiesta Rally4 driver has had much success in the series before taking titles as a Junior, Group N and class winner.
BROWN & BROWN JUNIOR CHAMPION: EOIN KELLY
Eoin Kelly and Shane Maguire set the target of no mishaps and secure the Junior title in a Peugeot 208 R2.
A respectable fourth in class at the North Armagh Motor Club event was enough to clinch the reward despite finding the stage conditions tough.
Jul 17, 2025 | View Post
Park attraction – Loughgall hosts Brown & Brown NI Rally Championship
Brown & Brown Northern Ireland Rally Championship leader Aaron McLaughlin heads the RPM & PRM Loughgall Stages on Saturday July 5 as a two-time winner of the County Armagh round, writes William Neill.
Following maximum points at both Bishopscourt and the Tour of the Sperrins only Niall Devine got the better scoop of points from Donegal’s McLaughlin at the last Maiden City outing.
The six park-based stages have been the home of much success for Damian Toner and he will be a challenger for the rally win in a Ford Escort Mk2, under the guidance of Thomas Traynor in car two.
Jason Black’s local rally has attracted him back in a Toyota Starlet with Karl Egan, while the Proton Satria of Marty Toner adds some early variety to the entry of over 60 cars.
Currently second in the Brown & Brown supported series, Conor Wilson and Kyle McDaid will hope to reduce the ten-point advantage McLaughlin holds. The Hyundai i20 R5 starts as car five ahead of Peadar Hurson and Damien Connolly in a Volkswagen Polo R5 before a duo of Ford Fiesta R5s with Shane Murray/Martin Fitzpatrick and Trevor Ferguson/Michael Laverty.
The Ford Escort Mk2 is a fan favourite at the spectator friendly rally and among the top seeded drivers are Newry’s John Gordon, Bushmill’s based Alastair Cochrane and Antrim’s James Kennedy.
Jaye Nevin has shown great form this season with a rear-wheel-drive Peugeot 205 and will likely upset the run of Escorts come the final results.
Other entries include Stranraer visitor Martyn Erskine in a Mitsubishi Lancer, Kenny Anderson from the Birches at his first rally in a Renault Clio and Donna McElherron will round off the starters – and bring us back in time – with an Austin Mini.
Away from the stages spectators can get up close to the cars in the service area held within the Loughgall Country Park, see a static car display and watch radio control car racing. Admission is £10 per adult and includes both parking and programme while stock lasts. Accompanied under 16-year-olds attend for free. Action starts at 9.30am with prizegiving scheduled for 5pm.
1 Aaron McLaughlin/Darren Curran (Volkswagen Polo R5);
2 Damian Toner/Thomas Traynor (Ford Escort Mk2);
3 Jason Black/Karl Egan (Toyota Starlet);
4 Marty Toner/David Wright (Proton Satria);
5 Conor Wilson/Kyle McDaid (Hyundai i20 R5);
6 Peadar Hurson/Damien Connolly (Volkswagen Polo R5);
7 Shane Murray/Martin Fitzpatrick (Ford Fiesta R5);
8 Trevor Ferguson/Michael Laverty (Ford Fiesta R5);
9 John Gordon/Lucy Gordon (Ford Escort Mk2);
10 Alastair Cochrane/TBA (Ford Escort Mk2).
Photo caption: Photos: www.NeillPics.com
- Conor Wilson sits ten points behind Brown & Brown Motorsport UK Northern Ireland Rally Championship leaders Aaron McLaughlin and Darren Curran with two rounds to go.
Brown & Brown Motorsport UK Northern Ireland Rally Championship 2025
RD1:March 8 Race & Rally Bishopscourt Stages – Ballynahinch & District MC
RD2:April 5 GO Tour of the Sperrins – Magherafelt & DMC
RD3:May 24 Eakin Brothers Brian James Trailers Stages – Maiden City MC
RD4:July 5 PRM Loughgall Stages – North Armagh Motor Club
RD5:July 19 R Kings Down Rally – Rathfriland Motor Club
RD4:October 11 Dogleap Rally – Maiden City MC
RD5:November 15 Fivemiletown – Omagh MC
Jun 29, 2025 | View Post
2025 NI Stage Rally Championship Dates
08th March – Bishopscourt Stages – Ballynahinch & District MC
05th April – Tour of the Sperrins – Magherafelt & District MC
24th May – Maiden City Stages – Maiden City MC
05th July – Loughgall Stages – North Armagh MC
19th July – The Down Rally – Rathfriland MC
RESERVE EVENTS
01st November – TBC
08th November – TBC
Feb 07, 2025 | View Post
Northern Ireland Rally Championships lined up for 2025 season!
The Motorsport UK Northern Ireland Rally Championships will get underway in Fivemiletown later this month with both the gravel and sealed surface events totalling ten rounds at nine rallies in what is set to be a bumper year, writes William Neill.
The NI Forest Rally Challenge opener, supported by Samsonas, already has an almost half-full entry ready to tackle the event prepared by Omagh Motor Club before attention switches to the Northern Ireland Rally Championship schedule that leads us to summer.
The Race & Rally Bishopscourt Stages will return on March 8 with a single-lap format that proved popular last season, using a mix of the main race circuit and surrounding roadways that eliminates splits and merges on the stages. From there it is over to road-closed events starting with the GO Tour of the Sperrins on April 5 and Eakin Brothers Maiden City Stages on May 24.
North Armagh Motor Club has moved its round from Kirkistown to Loughgall for the first time since 2021 and the Down Rally will round out the sealed surfaces where drivers compete alongside the Protyre Asphalt Rally Championship runners.
Heading into the remaining gravel rallies over the course of September and October the event names are familiar but, following the Trailer Parts Lakeland Stages, will be a two-day McKelvey Bushwhacker Rally. Each leg will count as a round in regards to championship points.
The return of the Dogleap Rally last year was a popular decision and Maiden City Motor Club has placed its effort behind the continuation of the event steeped in history.
Rallies themselves will feature the new for 2025 class structure mandated by governing body, Motorsport UK to align regional championships. Additionally the top-spec category eligible for points will be the latest homologated Rally2 and R5 four-wheel-drive cars. Modified cars with larger non-homologated turbocharger restrictors of 34mm (homologated cars use a 32mm restrictor) can take part on individual rallies and compete for class awards, but are not eligible for the championship to keep in line with the Motorsport Ireland Forest Championship set to visit some of the same events.
Motorsport UK Northern Ireland Rally Championship 2025
RD1:March 8 Race & Rally Bishopscourt Stages – Ballynahinch & District MC
RD2:April 5 GO Tour of the Sperrins – Magherafelt & DMC
RD3:May 24 Eakin Brothers Brian James Trailers Stages – Maiden City MC
RD4:July 5 PRM Loughgall Stages – North Armagh Motor Club
RD5:July 19 Down Rally – Rathfriland Motor Club
Motorsport UK Northern Ireland Forest Rally Challenge 2025
RD1:February 22 Samsonas Fivemiletown – Omagh MC
RD2:September 6 Trailer Parts Lakeland Stages – Enniskillen MC
RD3:September 19 McKelvey Bushwhacker Rally – Omagh MC (Leg 1)
RD4:September 20 McKelvey Bushwhacker Rally – Omagh MC (Leg 2)RD5:October 11 Dogleap Rally – Maiden City MC
ATTACHED PHOTOS
Photos may be used free of charge with credit to William Neill / www.NeillPics.com
Captions
DM: The 2024 Northern Ireland Forest Rally Challenge title holder, Derek Mackarel.
JG: Last year’s Northern Ireland Rally Championship winner Jonny Greer.
Feb 07, 2025 | View Post
PRM & RPM Motorsport Loughgall Stages Rally: It goes Wray’s way!
Photo: William Neill / www.NeillPics.com
Aidan Wray won the PRM & RPM Motorsport Loughgall Stages Rally by 6.4 seconds in a Volkswagen Polo Rally2 – outperforming a narrow second-place finish last year – after early leader, Marty Toner was side-lined with an electrical fault, writes William Neill.
Under Peter Ward’s guidance, it was the Pirelli-shod IN Sport driver’s first overall win after a measured start, fifth fastest on the opening 3.1-mile Manor test within the spectator-friendly country park.
Onto the first pass of the 5.9-mile Kinnegoe closed road stage and the Strabane driver moved up three places thanks to a joint fastest time with Eddie Doherty and Tom Murphy who, on their first visit to the County Armagh village, were in testing mode for the upcoming Stonethrowers in Tipperary.
Wray was faster on the repeated loop, 2.2 seconds gained on the Manor test and another 0.2 seconds on Kinnegoe to leave a gap of just half a second before the park stage was reversed. And it was that change where Wray seen the opportunity to pull ahead, 3.8 seconds quicker on the stage to leave a 3.3 seconds advantage with two stages to go.
Doherty took 0.2 seconds back on the unaltered Kinnegoe but Wray was the winner of both the rally and the final stage, again over three seconds quicker than the Skoda Fabia Rally2.
Two-time winner Aaron McLaughlin returned to a Ford Fiesta R5 – the newer-spec Volkswagen Polo Rally2 option not ready following the three-day Donegal International. While the Carndonagh driver and Darren Curran were 51.8 seconds down on Doherty’s pace they secured the final podium spot by 41.6 seconds and took a SS5 win along the way.
Fourth and fastest two-wheel-drive Jason Black was delighted following his home rally result with Karl Egan, ahead of Jason Mitchell who fought back from a costly SS1 spin that seen the second IN Sport car beached for over a minute. In the comeback drive of the rally from 77th to fifth, along with Paddy McCrudden, the position was improved by 32 places on SS2 alone.
Jason’s brother, Gareth Black and Connor Dunlop, in another Toyota Starlet, put last year’s differential-based retirement aside to finish sixth, 6.1 seconds from Mitchell but ahead of category rival and first of the Ford Escort Mk2 runners, John Bradley by 5.3 seconds.
Loughalll newcomer Colin Price was as far back as 12th in a Toyota Starlet before he headed back to Ballymena in eighth, 21 seconds ahead of former event winner Camillus Bradley with John Gordon rounding out the top ten ahead of Joe Hegarty – all Escort runners.
CLASS WINNERS
Class 1: Trevor Wilson/Paul Mulholland (Ford Escort Mk2)
Class 2: Anthony Quinn/Ryan McAleer (Ford Fiesta ST)
Class 3: Andrew Frizzell/James Hedge (Vauxhall Nova)
Class 4: Chris Murphy/Shea Breen (Ford Escort Mk2)
Class 5: Jonathan Strain/Kyle Diffin (Peugeot 205)
Class 6: Gareth Black/Connor Dunlop (Toyota Starlet)
Class 7: Jason Black/Karl Egan (Toyota Starlet)
Class 8: Albert McClenahan/Alexander Preston (Ford Sierra Cosworth)
Class 9: Richard O’Lone/James Turkington (Ford Fiesta Rally3)
Class 10: Aidan Wray/Peter Ward (Volkswagen Polo Rally2)
Class 11: Aaron McLaughlin/Darren Curran (Ford Fiesta Rally2)
RESULTS
1 Aidan Wray/Peter Ward (Volkswagen Polo Rally2) 33m38.8s
2 Eddie Doherty/Tom Murphy (Skoda Fabia Rally2) +6.4s
3 Aaron McLaughlin/Darren Curran (Ford Fiesta R5) +58.2s
4 Jason Black/Karl Egan (Toyota Starlet) +1m39.8s
5 Jason Mitchell/Paddy McCrudden (Volkswagen Polo Rally2) +2m19.5s
6 Gareth Black/Connor Dunlop (Toyota Starlet) +2m25.6s
7 John Bradley/Ryan Crozier (Ford Escort Mk2) +2m30.9s
8 Colin Price/Damian Doherty (Toyota Starlet) +2m34.5s
9 Camillus Bradley/Crawford Henderson (Ford Escort Mk2) +2m55.5s
10 John Gordon/Conor Lavery (Ford Escort Mk2) + 3m09.9s
Jul 07, 2024 | View Post
