Robert's Rally Buzz - July 2025

McLaughlin is Northern Ireland Champion

Second overall in the penultimate round of the 2025 Brown & Brown MSUK Northern Ireland Rally Championship was enough to secure the drivers title for Aaron McLaughlin and the co-drivers title for Darren Curran. The first time a driver from Co.Donegal has won the NI Championship. McLaughlin is from Carndonagh while Curran lives in Redcastle, also on the Inishowen Peninsula.

The Loughgall Stages Rally had attracted only 62 starters for the single-venue-six-stage event. Organised by North Armagh Motor Club, round four of the 2025 NI Championship was based entirely within the confines of Loughgall Country Park.

For the past two years the Loughgall event ran as a non-championship clubman rally. As well as the Country Park stages there was also a nearby repeated closed-road test. Unfortunately, North Armagh MC did not have a road closing order this year (they alternate each year between participating motor clubs) so the rally was confined to the short technical park stages, perhaps more suited to 2WD cars. This was reflected in the start list, only 8 of the 62 cars were 4WD (four  R5 machines plus 3 Mitsubishi Evo’s and a Subaru Impreza).

My job was to cover mid-point radio on all six of the tricky 3.33 mile stages. In the morning we had three runs then after a lunch break the stage was reversed. The weather was good, dry and warm with just a light shower. The tarmac rally ran almost to schedule and the action was fast and furious with cars starting at 30 second intervals. There were a few incidents during the day, the biggest of which was on SS1 when a Mk.2 Escort crashed into a high metal fence just past my location, although the car was badly damaged, thankfully the crew were uninjured.

Local men Marty Toner and David Wright in their unusual 2WD Super 2000 Proton Satria Neo led the Loughgall Rally from start to finish. This is the first time a Proton has won a round of the Northern Ireland Rally Championship. Aaron McLaughlin and Darren Curran, were second, only 1.9 seconds down in their usual VW Polo GTI R5 despite a spin dropping them to 14th after the first stage! The recovering Donegal crew were then fastest on all of the remaining five stages as they tried to catch Toner. Third place went to the flying Toyota Starlet of Jason Black/Karl Egan. Altogether 54 cars finished the rally.

With winner Toner not registered for the NI Championship, McLaughlin and Curran claimed maximum points and thus the 2025 titles. Fourth place overall and second of the registered crews went the way of another Carndonagh driver, Conor Wilson and his co-driver Kyle McDaid from nearby Buncrana in their Hyundai i20 R5. As a result they have been confirmed runners up in both championships.

Devine’s Donegal Again

The 2025 three-day Donegal International Rally, round five of the Irish Tarmac Championship was a great success. Held over one of the hottest weekends of the year (temperatures on day one, Friday, peaked at 26%) the Letterkenny based event attracted a maximum entry of 160 cars. Huge crowds packed the ditches on all 20 stages. Saturday was very warm and dry while overnight and early morning rain made the final six Sunday stages challenging.

There were no less than 35 Rally2/R5 cars, including two-time European Champion Hayden Paddon from New Zealand in a Hyundai i20, current ERC M-Sport Ford Fiesta contender Jon Armstrong from Kesh and Moira driver William Creighton who leads the 2025 British Championship in a Toyota Yaris.

Despite the star-studded opposition (all three of them fell by the wayside) it was Claudy man Callum Devine who prevailed and won his third Donegal International in succession. The Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 driver and his Killarney co-driver Noel O’Sullivan led from stage three. Second was Welshman Meirion Evans (accompanied by Ger Conway) in his Toyota Yaris Rally2 while local Letterkenny driver David Kelly made it the same top three as in 2024. Kelly and co-driver Arthur Kierans were in a VW Polo R5.

In a Donegal Rally first, three of the well known local Boyle family finished in the top ten. Michael was fifth in his Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 while Dad, Declan, finished sixth in a similar car and younger son Matthew completed the rally in tenth place driving a Ford Fiesta Rally2. Best of the 2WD competitors was the Toyota Starlet of Aaron McIntyre/Derry Long, they finished eleventh. All 20 stages ran without any major problems.

Callum Devine is the clear leader of the 2025 Irish Tarmac Rally Championship having won the last three events. Only two rounds remain. Next up is Round 5 the Ulster Rally 15/16 August. All details of the Ulster Rally are available on the Sportity app, password UR2025.

Rally Diary

Sat. 19th July
R Kings Down Rally

The fifth and final round of the 2025 MSUK Brown & Brown Northern Ireland Rally Championship.

Round 5 of the 2025 MSUK Protyre Asphalt Rally Championship.

The Down Rally is organised by Rathfriland Motor Club and sponsored by “R Kings competitions” (an online lottery platform) There are four closed-road stages run twice including Hamiltons Folly. Based in Banbridge at the Boulevard Outlet Shopping Complex with Rally HQ at the nearby Belmont Hotel. We are out in force as usual providing rescue and radio cover as well as stage marshals. Sign-on via rallyscore.net  Full details of the Down Rally are available on the Sportity app. Password RKDR25.