Robert's Rally Buzz - April 2026

Here’s Jonny!!

Twelve months ago Jonny Greer (above right) & Niall Burns (left) had a huge rally-ending accident on the second stage of the Race & Rally Stages @ Bishopscourt. Fast forward to the same event this year and, from stage 2 onwards, the pair totally dominated the opening round of the 2026 Brown & Brown MSUK Northern Ireland Rally Championship.

Driving the same Toyota Yaris Rally2, five-time champion Greer and co-driver Burns were fastest on six of the eight stages to win the rally by 8.5 seconds from the VW Polo GTI R5 of last year’s winners and current NI Champions Aaron McLaughlin & Darren Curran. The 2010 NI Champion, Stuart Biggerstaff, was third in his Ford Fiesta R5.

The record-holding eight-times Northern Ireland Champion, Derek McGarrity, was fastest out of the blocks on stage one in his new Hyundai i20 Rally2 but he dropped back to finish fifth behind the similar car of Sam Moffett, the 2017 Irish Tarmac Champion tackling the NI series for the first time.

Top 2-Wheel-Drive finishers were Joe Hegarty & David Turkington who were tenth in their Ford Escort Mk.2. Best of the seven Nissan Micra Challenge contenders were Philip White and Geraldine McBride in 35th place.

There were 76 starters (22 Rally2/R5 cars) and 56 finishers at Bishopscourt. The single-venue rally was organised by Ballynahinch & District MC and ran to schedule (starting at 9am and finishing before 4.30pm) without any major problems. I was part of the start timekeeping team for all stages, while other BMMC/BRMC members were covering time controls and stage marshalling. The weather was dry all day, for a change, but very very cold

The encouraging news is that all the leading crews who started round one have registered for the 2026 Northern Ireland Championship. Let’s hope they all enter the four remaining closed-road rallies! Could be an interesting year!

Incidentally; Jonny Greer’s Bishopscourt success was the first win anywhere in Ireland for the Toyota Yaris Rally2. Then just a week later, Josh Moffett took victory on the ITRC West Cork Rally in a similar car! How will they do on the Circuit of Ireland against the many Skoda’s? Although only Saturday’s stages counts for points, most NI Championship crews, including Greer, have entered for the full two days at Easter.

Taka & Aaron’s Safari Rally Win

Takamoto Katsuta (above right) and his Northern Ireland co-driver Aaron Johnston (on the left) won the Safari Rally in Kenya last month. This was the Japanese driver’s first WRC victory in 94 attempts. Taking advantage of the retirements of his more illustrious Toyota Yaris Rally1 teammates; Elfyn Evans, Oliver Solberg & Sebastien Ogier, Katsuta climbed from a lowly fourth position to inherit the rally lead on day three of the four-day marathon. He and Aaron held on to win by over a minute from the Hyundai i20 of Adrien Fourmaux. Sami Pajari was third in another Toyota Yaris. Katsuta was the first driver Japanese driver to win a WRC round since Kenjiro Shinozuka won the Ivory Coast Rally in 1992.

The 2026 Safari Rally was the toughest in years; the rough stages were very muddy following heavy rainfall in the area preceding and during the event. Only five of the ten rally1 cars that started on the Thursday completed the full four days. Those five included Northern Ireland’s Jon Armstrong, pictured below in his Ford Puma. Although he finished way back in 15th place, the M-Sport driver battled with various time consuming problems including punctures and a broken driveshaft. Josh McErlean in the other Puma retired from 15th position (one ahead of Armstrong) with engine problems after the third day.

Aaron Johnston, who hails from Fintona, was the third co-driver from Northern Ireland to win the Safari Rally. Terry Harryman from Bangor won in 1983 with Ari Vatanen driving an Opel Ascona 400 while Holywood man Fred Gallagher won the rally three times. In 1985 Juha Kankkunan & Gallagher were in a Toyota Celica and then in 1986 & 1990 Fred partnered Bjorn Waldegard to victory in another Celica.

Yet another co-driver from Northern Ireland, Allan Harryman (son of Terry), won the WRC3 category by over 50 minutes on this year’s Safari Rally with veteran Greek driver Georgios Vasilakis in their Ford Fiesta Rally3. Vasilakis also now tops the WRC Masters Cup standings. NEXT WRC ROUND: Croatia Rally April 9-12.

WRC Deal for Rally Scotland

As I predicted last month, the World Rally Championship is now almost certain to return to the British Isles (for the first time since 2019) next year. An all-new Rally Scotland should take its place on the WRC calendar in the Autumn of 2027; pending a successful Candidate Event, which will be held later this year. A three-year deal has been secured with WRC Promoter by Motorsport UK and backed by the Scottish Government. Based in north-east Scotland, with Rally HQ and an indoor service park in Aberdeen, the gravel event will use forest roads in the surrounding regions of Aberdeenshire and Moray. All I can say is, wrap up warm! It will be cold and wet!

The question is, where does all this leave Motorsport Ireland plans to resurrect Rally Ireland in the near future? With so many countries worldwide interested in joining the WRC, it’s hard to see how a second event in the British Isles would succeed. The only saving grace could be the fact that Rally Ireland would be a unique and challenging asphalt event, and that may appeal to WRC Promoter. Who knows?

Rally Diary

Fri. 3rd—Sat. 4th April
Circuit of Ireland Rally

• Round 3…2026 NAPA Auto Parts Irish Tarmac Rally Championship
• Round 2…2026 Brown & Brown Motorsport UK Ireland Rally Championship

Organised by the Ulster Automobile Club and sponsored by McKinney Competitions. The two-day short, sharp, circuit is based in Dungannon for the third year in succession. Both days count for the ITRC while NI Championship points are awarded on Saturday only. There are four stages on Friday and eight on Saturday. We are providing rescue, timekeepers, radio crews and stage marshals. 

All leading contenders for the 2026 ITRC have entered the Circuit of Ireland, including last year’s winner and current champion Calum Devine, in one of 9 Skoda Fabia RS Rally2’s on the 130 car entry list (see standings after West Cork below). William Creighton will start second on the road in his Citroen C3 in preparation for his ERC challenge which begins in Spain later this month. The longest COI stage is the 14.40 miles of Bantry Lough, run twice on Saturday. Full entry list and itinerary is available on the Sportity app. (passcode COI2026) All Officials and Marshals can sign-on remotely at rallyscore.net

Sun. 12th April
BMMC (NI) Marshals Training Day

Our annual Training Day will take place at the same venue as the past few years, Transport Training Services @ Nutts Corner. Organised by BMMC (NI) in collaboration with the NI Motorsport Marshalling Partnership. Sign-on 9am for a 9.30 start. Contact Rory O’Neill if you plan to attend.

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.