Kelly dominates Donegal Forestry Rally; tough Rally Japan for Irish hopefuls
- Admin
- Nov 10
- 3 min read
Eamonn Kelly and Conor Mohan enjoyed a perfect homecoming after an intense Junior WRC season. The Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy crew clinched the Irish Forest Rally Championship event by a huge 31.1 seconds on their Skoda Fabia Rally2 debut - their first overall win in Ireland.
Kelly's last Rally2 outing was two years ago on the Donegal Harvest Rally where he finished second, making this victory all the more special.
Three stage wins on the first three stages allowed Kelly breathing space to bring home the victory with a second-fastest time on Donegal's Lough Aghvog test.
"Saturday was a really nice day," the 26-year-old reflected. Beyond it being my first overall victory and it being my local rally; it was great to be out rallying and enjoying the feeling of driving fast.”
"Doing that in a Rally2 car was even better because they are such amazing machines. It has been a while since I have driven a Rally2 car so it was really enjoyable on what was a great set of stages. I drove every stage with a smile, loved every minute, and just wished it could have gone on for longer.”
"I can't thank everyone behind the scenes enough, the whole RLA team, and Conor as well, they did a great job. It was nice to be rallying at home again too, seeing lots of familiar faces, that's what it is all about.”
On Rally Japan, Josh McErlean and Eoin Treacy suffered an early exit from their first Rally1 outing in the land of the rising sun. The MI Rally Academy crew were caught out on stage three, with slippery conditions causing their Ford Puma Rally1 to understeer off the road and into a tree. The damage sustained meant they had to retire, though thankfully both McErlean and Treacy were okay after the accident, albeit a bit sore.
"It's a really disappointing way to end a rally I was really looking forward to, said McErlean. We'd done our homework and knew how demanding Japan would be. The plan was to ease into it, but I just got caught out by the conditions and the lack of margin for error in these stages.”
“It's tough to take, especially when the team and our supporters have been behind us all the way, and as predicted, the fans have been amazing. I'm sorry to M-Sport, the whole team has worked so hard to get us to Japan, and this isn't what we wanted at all.”
"The important thing is that both Eoin and I are okay. We'll take the lessons from Japan, reset quickly, and put all our focus on Saudi Arabia. It's a brand-new rally for everyone, on very different terrain, and I'm really looking forward to that fresh challenge. It's been a year of learning and development, and that continues right to the end.”
Aaron Johnston had been chasing a podium alongside home favourite Takamoto Katsuta before their rally unravelled on Saturday. Consistent top three times, including a stage win on Japan's third test, put the Toyota Yaris Rally1 crew in second after Friday's action, just 7.9 seconds shy of the lead.
A slide into a barrier on Saturday's fourth stage damaged their Yaris’s power steering, ending any hopes of a top result and eventually forcing them to retire. They returned under super-rally regulations to score more stage wins on Sunday's final day of action, demonstrating the pace that had put them in contention for victory.
James Fulton made his third Rally Japan start, and first alongside Yuki Yamamoto in the Toyota Yaris Rally2. A strong start put the Irish co-driver and Japanese driver combination fourth in WRC2 halfway through the rally before an accident on the final Power Stage forced them to retire, ending what had been a promising performance on Yamamoto's home event.
Back in Ireland, Jack Harris and Aaron O'Regan were involved in an unfortunate accident that put them out of the Donegal Forestry Rally on the event's first stage. They had been eyeing up a strong result to end an impressive year on gravel aboard their Ford Fiesta Rally4.
Meanwhile in Spain, MI Rally Academy co-driver Killian McArdle returned to continental action with Aoife Raftery on the Rally de La Nucía Mediterráneo - Costa Blanca. The pair retired on the Spanish rally's third stage while in 21st overall aboard their Ford Fiesta Rally3.
MIJRS Round 8 Review: "It was a thrilling end to the 2025 Motorsport Ireland Junior Rally Series as the final podium spots amongst the class battles were decided on an exciting Donegal Forest Rally, the eight and final round of the 2025 Calendar......"
Click below to download the final MIJRS points standings after the Donegal Forest Rally
Pics by M-Sport / Cian Donnellan / On The Pace Note
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