Robert's Rally Buzz - August 2026
Jonny Greer is a Six-Time NI Champion
Victory on the first ever Carryduff Forklift Rallye Lecale last month was enough to secure a sixth MSUK Northern Ireland Rally Championship for Jonny Greer, with a round to spare. The Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 driver and co-driver Niall Burns (pictured above) won the Ballynahinch & District MC’s Downpatrick-based event by 54.1 seconds from the Hyundai i20 Rally2 of their nearest championship rivals Sam Moffett and Pierce O’Callaghan.
The rally consisted of eight closed-road stages, which would have been familiar to most competitors as versions of them were previously used over the past few years on the Down Rally. The new event attracted a starting list of 86 cars which included 28 Rally2/R5’s.
My job was start radio operator on SS3/7 Lougherne. Victor joined me for the day which was mostly fine although there were a few welcome rain showers after what had been a long dry spell. Both stages ran smoothly and without incident, despite an exceptionally long break of around three hours between them! Apparently the competitors loved all the stages. Other BMMC/BRMC club members were covering rescue, radio & timekeeping.
Cathan McCourt was fastest on stage one at Bucks Head and on the first run of Lougherne, but the Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 pilot crashed out on stage four while leading by just 0.1 of a second from Greer. Then Niall McGonigle in a similar Fabia took up the persuit of the flying Yaris, but he too crashed out on the final stage while some 26 seconds behind the eventual rally winner.
Jason Dickson/Neil Shanks were third overall in their Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 while best of the 2WD cars was the famous forty three-year-old (MSD 222W ex-George Robinson) Toyota Starlet of Richard Moffett and Martin Connolly (see photo) which finished in eleventh place behind ten class one 4WD machines.
Including Jonny Greer, there were four Northern Ireland Rally Champions on the Lecale start list. Stuart Biggerstaff was 10th in his first outing with a VW Polo GTI R5 while Derek McGarrity finished 13th in a similar car. Unfortunately last year’s champion Aaron McLaughlin retired his Polo on SS6 with mechanical problems. Altogether 73 cars finished the event.
Rallye Lecale was a new and successful fourth round of the 2026 Northern Ireland Rally Championship, but some of the stages were far from the service base in Downpatrick and perhaps the organisers needed to think of this when planning for next year’s event.
Looking Back
Marshalling Memories
20 Years Ago
I attended three events during exceptionally good weather in July 2006. The Loughgall Country Park Rally featured a furious battle between two Mk.2 Escorts. Wesley Patterson led Camillus Bradley until the final stage when a spin by Patterson handed the win to Bradley. We covered various radio points on the North Armagh MC event.
The following weekend we were on mid-point radio at a single venue rally run by Lough Neagh Marshals Club over concrete lanes in a country estate at Moneyglass near Toombridge. Then there was the Bishopscourt Summer Clubman Stages event run by Ballynahinch & District MC. We were on timekeeping duties for all eight stages here.
10 Years Ago
Garry Jennings won the last ever Lurgan Park Rally in July 2016. Garry was driving a Subaru Impreza S12B WRC in which he and co-driver Michael Moran had won the popular County Armagh single-venue event for the previous three years. In fact the same car was driven to victory here by Kevin Lynch in 2008.
2016 had been my 36th year assisting North Armagh Motor Club on the Lurgan Park Rally, and my 20th year as Fire Officer. In its glory years the event attracted 10,000 paying spectators to the park. The rising cost of providing the required safety measures on the challenging narrow stages was the main reason for the Lurgan Park Rally ending in 2016. North Armagh MC now concentrate on running the successful Loughgall Stages Rally.
Rally Diary
Fri. 7th—Sat. 8th August
Modern Tyres 50th Ulster Rally
- Round 6…2026 Irish Tarmac Rally Championship
- Round 6…2026 FIA European Historic (Pre-2000) Rally Championship
Organised by the Northern Ireland 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 operators. There are 87 entries in the National Rally (Irish Tarmac Championship) but disappointingly only 7 (3 British 4 Irish) in the FIA European Historic (Pre-2000) section. A bit of a damp squib then! Josh Moffett in his Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 heads the National competitors followed by Eddie Doherty and Circuit of Ireland winner David Kelly, both in Skoda Fabia RS Rally2’s. New Northern Ireland Champion Jonny Greer is a late entry in his Toyota GR Yaris. On Friday there are six stages; two runs over Knockboy (9.32 miles) the classic Glendun (9.04) and Torr Head at 7.90 miles(the second of which finishes in darkness). Then on Saturday the itinerary includes three more tests run twice: Tardree (6.44 miles), Cairncastle (8.52) and Slemish (9.08 miles).
Sat. 22nd August
R Kings Down Rally
- Round 5…2026 Brown & Brown Motorsport UK Northern Ireland Rally Championship
- Round 6…2026 Protyre Motorsport UK Asphalt Rally Championship
Organised by Rathfriland Motor Club. The R Kings Competitions Down Rally is based at the Boulevard, Banbridge with Rally HQ at the nearby Belmont Hotel. The closed-road event consists of eight special stages (two run three times, one run twice) totalling 61.40 miles including the classic Hamiltons Folly. We are providing rescue cover plus radio operators, timekeepers and stage marshals. With Jonny Greer having already secured the overall NI Championship other places are still up for grabs. Aled Wyn Morgans is the leading Protyre competitor in his Ford Fiesta Rally2. There are over 90 cars on the entry list.
Sat. 5th September
Lakeland Stages Rally
- Round 2…2026 Brown & Brown Northern Ireland Forest Rally Challenge
- Round 5…2026 Trailer Parts & Spares Irish Forest Rally Championship
Enniskillen Motor Club are the organisers of this event. There are 3 classic loose surface stages (run twice) in Lough Navar, Big Dog and Ballintempo forests. We will be assisting as usual with rescue, radio cover and stage marshalling.
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.
Follow us on:-
