Aoife Raftery’s first Irish Tarmac Rally Championship class win
Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy driver Aoife Raftery secured her first-ever Irish Tarmac Rally Championship class win on Saturday’s Modern Tyres Ulster Rally.
Piloting her Peugeot 208 Rally4, the Craughwell-based driver dominated the class battle leading from start to finish.
The Ulster Rally served as a valuable tarmac shakedown for Raftery ahead of the ERC Rali Ceredigion in Wales – the fifth round of the Hankook Tires Junior FIA European Rally Championship – at the end of August.
This was only her second Irish tarmac event of the year, as she has been focusing on gravel rallies across Europe.
The challenging wet and mucky conditions posed no obstacle for the Galway native, who consistently set the pace throughout the event.
The Rally4 class in the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship is renowned for its fierce competition, making Raftery's achievement even more impressive.
Together with co-driver Hannah McKillop, she not only clinched the class victory but also secured an impressive 24th overall and was the first front-wheel-drive car across the finish line.
“It has been fantastic, we had a great day, really enjoyed the stages and it is great to be back home, great preparation for Wales,” she said on the finish podium of Saturday evening.
“The stages were great, thanks to everyone for running a great rally. We are really happy. We have put in a lot of hard work over the last few years. The Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy puts in a massive effort, so it's great to come away with this win today.”
Raftery fended off a late challenge from fellow Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy driver Cian Caldwell.
He and co-driver Liam Egan were attempting to close the gap to the long-time leader when they were forced to retire their Ford Fiesta Rally4 two stages from home with mechanical issues.
“We were on the wrong tyres,” said Caldwell after the morning loop of stages. “We went for a wet and did not get the rain, I made a few silly mistakes too.”
Jack Brennan and John McGrath were forced to retire their Peugeot 208 Rally4 on the opening stage with gearbox issues.
Barum Czech Rally Zlin
Jon Armstrong and Eoin Treacy were forced out of ERC Barum Czech Rally Zlin, the sixth round of the FIA European Rally Championship on Saturday after suffering a double puncture.
The M-Sport Ford Fiesta Rally2 crew were setting the top-15 times in the highly specialised rally until their retirement.
They returned on Sunday under SuperRally rules.
Armstrong punched in a series of top-ten stage times and gathered extra tarmac running data ahead of ERC Rali Ceredigion at the end of the month.
“Sunday has been more positive pace-wise, especially in the wet conditions in the morning. The afternoon has been close to the front runners. I think we can continue to grow and let's see what we can do in a couple of weeks’ time in Ceredigion,” said Armstrong.
The Czech event marked the start of a very busy period for Treacy.
Watch:
Olijbwe Forests Rally
The Cork-based co-driver will join Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy patron John Coyne in the Olijbwe Forests Rally next weekend.
”I am looking forward to Ojibwe, it’s the most technical of the ARA championship rallies with a 2023 winning average speed of 95kph, compared with the fastest, 100AW, which had a 123kph winning average this year! There’s lots of driving in this one, with never-ending crests and turns on really smooth gravel roads, a real challenge for driver and co-driver alike, particularly if the weather turns wets,” said Coyne
The Minnesota-based rally is the sixth round of the American Rally Association’s national championship. Coyne, currently fourth overall and leading the RC2 class in the championship, is driving a PCRS Rallysport Hyundai i20 N Rally2.
Treacy will return directly from the United States to rejoin Armstrong for the Welsh round of the FIA European Rally Championship. Two weeks later he and Coyne are back stateside for the Overmountain Rally in Tennessee.
Harris claims MIJRS Title in Cork last weekend
“Its not every day you become a national champion!” beams Jack Harris as he stands before an excited bunch of friends, family and service crew. He’s right to be delighted, as over a challenging 82km route, he delivered a true Champions drive to claim the MIJRS Class 2A title on last weekend’s Cork Forest Rally.
Text By Sean Moriarty / Pics by MIRallyAcademy, M-Sport and D Harrigan / Reel by Lefthand.ie
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