Rahill shines on Barum Rally as McBride claims season-best Junior ERC result
- Admin
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
Craig Rahill and Conor Smith claimed a strong second in ERC3 and the M-Sport Fiesta Rally3 Trophy on Barum Czech Rally Zlín, while Kyle McBride and Liam Callaghan delivered their best Junior ERC result to date with fourth place on one of the championship's most challenging events.
The Cavan crew of Rahill and Smith climbed from fourth after a steady opening day to seal second in ERC3 and the M-Sport Fiesta Rally3 Trophy, ending the event with the fastest M-Sport Fiesta Rally3 time on the Katerinice Power Stage.
"Absolutely delighted to come away with second after a very tough and demanding event," said Rahill. "We took a different approach to this rally by just focusing on our own rally and keeping it clean and tidy and it paid off. This is exactly how we wanted to bounce back and build the confidence again.”
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A cautious approach to Friday night's super special left Donegal’s McBride 11th in Junior ERC, but the Billy Coleman Award winner quickly climbed into the top five on Saturday before edging into fourth on the final Bunc test. Consistent top-five times through Sunday's stages sealed his best Junior ERC result so far this year.
"I am very happy to get to the finish of a tricky Barum Rally," said 2025 Junior British Rally Champion McBride. "It was my first experience of the event and a massive challenge but the stages were incredible. We were learning on every stage and it was so interesting to see how the roads developed.
"We are super happy to come home fourth in Junior ERC, it is a really competitive class. We set some good stage times and we can be really happy with our pace. A massive thanks to Liam who did a great job on the pacenotes, all of my sponsors, the MI Rally Academy, and TRT for looking after the car.”
During the event Kyle also participated in the Fit4Race Junior ERC performance and physical and mental support coaching. Click here to read more.
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It was a difficult weekend for the remaining Academy crews. William Creighton and Liam Regan had been fighting for another top-ten ERC finish before an accident on stage four. Both Creighton and Regan were taken to hospital, with Creighton subsequently discharged. The Academy wishes Liam a full and speedy recovery.
Casey Jay Coleman and Killian McArdle were leading the M-Sport Fiesta Rally3 Trophy and just 8.2 seconds off the ERC3 lead when a rock in the driving line on stage six caused suspension damage, forcing them out.
They returned under super-rally regulations on Sunday before a mechanical issue forced a second retirement on stage nine.
“It was a disappointing end to our M-Sport Fiesta Trophy campaign in Barum. With a good chance of winning the title, we had a great feeling before the rally, as we were very well prepared. It was a perfect start, being fastest on the opening two stages and heading into Saturday afternoon loop with a lead of just 0.1s; unfortunately, we clipped a rock just inside a right-hand corner, breaking the steering on our Fiesta.” said Coleman.
“A big thanks to the RLA Autosport team who repaired the car, which let us restart on Sunday morning with still a slim chance of the trophy if Ville retired from the rally. But it was more bad luck on Sunday; on the second stage the auxiliary belt snapped on the engine, which we then replaced in the stage, but we went OTL, so that was the end of our event.”
Click below to read the Casey Jay post-event press release.
Cian Caldwell and Paul McPhillips had been fifth in the M-Sport Fiesta Rally3 Trophy before retiring on stage three.
"A disappointing weekend for Paul and I, especially in the final round of the Fiesta trophy when we wanted to put in a strong performance. Our first year competing at this level, we are learning so much though. Big thanks to our friends, family, sponsors and everyone at Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy for the continued support and belief. We move on to Ceredigion in three weeks and get back to work," said Caldwell.
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