Robert's Rally Buzz - July 2026
Greer Wins Battle of Loughgall
Jonny Greer & Niall Burns (pictured below) may have led the Loughgall Stages Rally from start to finish, but my goodness they had to work hard for the victory! Going into the final stage, the Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 pairing were LESS THAN A SECOND in front of a hard charging Sam Moffett/Pierce O’Callaghan in their Hyundai i20 Rally2. By the end of that 5-mile Springhill test, Greer had won the rally by 4.1seconds from Moffett. Niall McGonigle was third. The VW Polo GTI R5 Strabane man and co-driver Caolan McKenna survived an high speed spin early in the event to finish 17.3 seconds behind the Hyundai. Best 2WD finishers were Barry
Morris/Denver Rafferty who were sixth in their Darrian T90 GTR+.
North Armagh Motor Club were the organisers of this the third round of the 2026 Brown & Brown MSUK Northern Ireland Rally Championship. Based In Loughgall Country Park, the rally consisted of six closed-road stages (two tests run three times) SS1/3/5 Callan River was eight miles long while SS2/4/6 Springhill finished in the Country Park at the end of a 5.06 mile run. 91 cars started (19 Rally2/R5) and 74 finished.
I was on start radio for the three Springhill stages. Despite set up delays to begin with, everything ran smoothly and by the third run we were back on schedule. Other club members were involved in timekeeping, radio cover and stage marshalling on what turned out to be a very wet Saturday 4th July in County Armagh.
Another Donegal Tragedy
As I am sure you are all well aware by now, there was a tragic accident on the 2026 Donegal International Rally. Unfortunately a 15-year-old schoolboy lost his life and two other spectators were injured when they were struck by a competing car which left the road during stage 12 at Gartan on day two, the afternoon of Saturday 20th June. The car involved was the second competitor to start the 8-mile stage, the Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 of Callum Devine and his co-driver Noel O’Sullivan. A full investigation into the incident has been launched by Motorsport Ireland and the Garda Siochana (national police).
With their rally once again in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons, the organisers, Donegal Motor Club, must learn lessons from this tragic incident and try to ensure that it cannot happen again.
The three-day Donegal International Rally, the biggest and most popular closed-road special stage rally in Ireland, is perhaps a victim of its own success. Huge crowds lined the stages this year due to the perfect summer weather. It is almost impossible to control such large numbers of spectators. Stage marshals can only do their best and cannot cover all the vantage points. With competing cars now so fast and running at 30 second intervals, everyone on the stages, marshals and spectators, have to be vigilant at all times, there is no room for complacency.
Sadly, it’s not the first time that a fatal accident has occurred on the Donegal International Rally. If the event is to survive into the future, corrective steps must taken. Dedicated spectator areas could be introduced, with the organisers limiting the numbers by charging entry to all stages (such as was introduced on WRC Rally GB in the past). I do realise that this may be extremely difficult to enforce!
The remaining 8 stages of the 2026 Donegal Rally were cancelled following the fatal accident on SS12. Northern Ireland drivers finished 1-2-3: Winners were Kris Meeke and Liam Regan in their Toyota GR Yaris Rally2. Josh McErlean/Eoin Treacy finished second in their Ford Fiesta Rally2 while Philip Allen/Craig Drew were third in another Toyota GR Yaris Rally2. Altogether 165 cars started the rally, 42 of them were top class Rally2/R5 machines.
I wish to offer my condolences to the family and friends of the young boy, Tadhg Callaghan Carter, who was killed in the incident. Best wishes to those who were injured and I hope they fully recover. My thoughts are with Calum Devine and Noel O’Sullivan plus all the medical and rescue services, officials and marshals who were involved.
LOOKING BACK
Marshalling Memories
40 YEARS AGO
I was timekeeping on the 1986 Donegal International Rally with David Corbett and Greg Earl. Billy Coleman and Ronan Morgan won the rally first time out in a Rothmans MG Metro 6R4. We covered starts and finishes on stages like Kindrum
Lake & Atlantic Drive. Vincent Bonner crashed on the finish line of SS2, when I was timing, but he carried on and would eventually finish seventh. James Cullen was second in a Nissan 240RS while Cyril Boulton took third place in another Metro 6R4. John Lyons was magnificent in a little Honda Civic, finishing a superb eighth overall!
30 YEARS AGO
Dennis Biggerstaff won the 1996 Ulster Rallycross GP at Nutts Corner. The Dromara driver borrowed an engine for his final rallycross in his British Championship winning MG Metro 6R4 and dominated the Larne MC event.
20 YEARS AGO
There was “Metro Boy Magic” on the 2006 Donegal Rally. Colin McRae and Nicky Grist were competing in the National section of the rally in a hired MG Metro 6R4. The 1995 World Champion won the National Rally hands down in the amazing 20-year-old machine. Had McRae been challenging for overall honours he would have finished in eighth place!
Andrew Nesbitt won the 2006 Donegal International Rally in his ultimate 2005 Mitsubishi Lancer WRC and his teammate Mark Higgins was second in a similar car. The rally was celebrating its 35th anniversary and an Irish record of 23 World Rally Cars took part. We were timekeeping (mostly in the rain) for all three days of the event. You can watch this event and other old RPM produced Donegal Rallies on Motorsport Ireland’s YouTube channel at anytime.
10 YEARS AGO
Ray, Ross and myself were stage finish timekeepers on the three days of the 2016 Donegal International Rally, including the “rally-deciding” final stage. Star of the show was Keith Cronin in his little Citroen DS3 R5. He may have lost the rally win by just half-a-second to local ace, the late Manus Kelly in his “full fat” Subaru S12, but the Cork youngster gave his all. He and co-driver Mikie Galvin were nine seconds in front of the more powerful WRC car of Kelly and Donall Barrett starting the 20th and final stage at Fanad Head. Unfortunately the Citroen lost fuel pressure half way through the 9-mile test and try as he might the Cronin win was just not to be. A remarkable drive nonetheless! Scottish driver David Bogie won the National section from Frank Kelly, both were in Ford Escort Mk.2’s.
RALLY DIARY
SAT. 25th JULY
CARRYDUFF FORKLIFT RALLYE LECALE
- Round 4: Brown & Brown Motorsport UK Northern Ireland Rally Championship.
Organised by Ballynahinch & District Motor Club and based in Downpatrick. Four closed-road (repeated) stages in that area of Co.Down make up this new-for-2026 event. Going into this his local event, BADMC club member Jonny Greer leads the NI Championship by four points from Monaghan’s Sam Moffett. These two contenders were in a-class-of-their-own on the last round in Loughgall. A big entry is expected. BMMC (NI) will be covering rescue, stage marshalling and radio cover. Sign-on at rallyscore.net
FRI. 7th—SAT. 8th AUGUST
MODERN TYRES ULSTER RALLY
- Round 6: Irish Tarmac Rally Championship
- Round 6: FIA European Historic Rally Pre-2000 Rally Championship
Organised by the NI Motor Club. Rally HQ & Service Park are based at Ballymena Showgrounds in Co. Antrim. There are 12 closed-road stages totalling 100 miles. BMMC (NI) are providing support as usual including Rescue, Stage marshalling, timekeepers and radio cover. Francois Delacour is competing in the EHR Pre-2000 Championship in a Peugeot 306 Kit-Car so can expect to see the former French WRC star in Ballymena hi?
Ian Evans
It is with great sadness that I have to report that Club member and long-time rallying friend Ian Evans passed away on Sunday 17th May 2026, after a short illness.
Many of you will remember Ian as a Stage Commander on the Alwyn stage of the WRC for more years than I care to remember, the Roger Albert Clark, the Anglo-Caledonian, Galloways Hills, Scottish, Plains, Carlisle Stages, Cambrian, Clacton and East Riding Stages to name but a few and if he was not in charge he was assisting in the running of many more events. He was also the Chief Marshal of the Nicky Grist Stages for many years.
We can only imagine how our sense of loss is magnified for Debbie, Tru and Ryan, and for his family. We can only offer our heartfelt condolences and our support, both now and going forward.
In time, the pain will ease, but the loss remains and we will all be the better for knowing Ian and having him as a friend.
John Jones
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
07766 723066
2025 Marshal of the Year
David Hodgkinson wins the British Rally Marshals Club Marshal of the Year Award 2025 (The Jimmy McRae Award)
The British Rally Marshals Club (BRMC) are proud to announce that the winner of the 2025 Marshal of the Year Award (The Jimmy McRae Award) is David Hodgkinson.
David became a member of BRMC on visiting our stand at Autosport International some 10 years ago and has supported the club ever since. A regular on BRMC stages, he can usually be found around stage time controls working enthusiastically whatever the situation. Always willing to help and assist.
The Jimmy McRae Award is presented each January and recognises a current BRMC member who has best represented the club throughout the preceding year. It is not intended simply to reward attendance, but to mark someone who has made a real difference.
So, if you know a BRMC club member who stands out, who really makes a difference? Why not nominate them to become the next recipient of the Jimmy McRae Award. You can do this at any time by completing the on-line nomination form, HERE. Just remember they must be a current BRMC member.
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