Rahill and Caldwell star in Baltinglass battle for fourth

Craig Rahill and Conor Smith held off Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy team-mate Cian Caldwell to claim fourth overall and top Rally3 honours on the GSMC Baltinglass Mini Stages Rally, impressing against a competitive field of Ireland's high-powered modified cars.

Rahill's Ford Fiesta Rally3 was seventh after stage one, but a third-fastest time on stage two lifted him to third overall. He slipped behind Johno Doogan's Ford Escort Mk2 on the penultimate stage, finishing just 6.1 seconds off the podium.

"Great day yesterday being back on Irish tarmac," said Rahill. "We started off well in the damp conditions and were sitting third, only eight seconds off the lead, even though we lost around ten seconds catching the car in front on stage two".

“Then both stages in the middle loop were cancelled, which was unfortunate as we were hoping for a good push when it was still damp. The last loop dried up a lot and the more powerful cars could get their power down, so we dropped back to fourth, but we're still delighted to finish fourth overall and first in class in a very strong field.”

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Caldwell and co-driver Coel Leonard kept Rahill honest all day. Second-fastest times on stages two and six put the Fiesta Rally3 crew in a close fight for fourth, and they went 4.6 seconds quicker than their team-mate on the final stage but it just wasn't enough to usurp Rahill who finished three seconds ahead.

"We had a fantastic weekend in Baltinglass," said Caldwell. "After two and a half months out of the car, we were delighted to return to competition and come away with a strong result.

“Setting two second-fastest overall stage times was a real highlight and a great indication that the hard work we've put in throughout the year is starting to pay off.”

Academy co-driver Killian McArdle had been seventh overall with Ford Escort Mk2 pilot Michael Cahill before they retired on the second loop. Jack Kennedy switched back to a Ford Fiesta R2T and welcomed Darragh McEnroe for his first-ever event as co-driver. The pair were third in Class 2A before dropping out on the final stage.

In the United States, Josh McErlean swapped seats to co-drive for Academy supporter Paul Rowley on the Missouri-based Show Me Rally. The pair claimed second overall in their Ford Fiesta Rally2 as Rowley gained experience ahead of next year's Rally USA.

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Behind them, Billy Coleman Award nominee and incoming Academy member James McShea tackled the event alongside Academy co-driver Liam Callaghan. The duo impressed on their way to fourth overall in a Peugeot 208 Rally4 on McShea's first event outside Ireland. A brake failure on stage two cost them two and a half minutes and dropped them to 12th, but they fought back to fourth overall and second in class.

"I was extremely happy with how the weekend went, said McShea. It was my first overseas rally and my first time doing a gravel recce, and on the opening stage we were quickest in the two-wheel-drive category and only seven or eight seconds off Paul and Josh, which gave us third-fastest overall.”

"We completely lost our brakes on stage two, but we managed to get the problem sorted in service. The final loop was another big experience as it was my first time on night stages, and we went second-fastest overall on the final stage.”

Academy driver William Creighton was in Hungary coaching Stellantis Rally Cup winners Danny Brady and Luke Constantine on the Zemplén Rally.

"It was a typical Hungarian tarmac event, with a mixture of gravel roads and some really good-grip concrete sections running through the vineyards," said Creighton. 

"The guys did really well to get through without any major issues. To finish first and second in class, while showing such strong pace, was excellent. It demonstrated to the local Hungarians the level of speed we have in Ireland and the UK.”

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