Top results for MI Rally Academy in BRC and Irish Forest rallies

William Creighton and Liam Regan extended their British Rally Championship lead with a runner-up finish on Saturday’s Kielder Carlisle Stages.

The East Riding Stages Rally winners had held Kielder’s top spot after stage two, the 19.7-kilometre Kershope test. A small mistake close to the end of stage four, after coming in too fast to a chicane, cost the Toyota Yaris Rally2 crew over ten seconds, forcing them to settle for second behind Romet Jurgenson.

“We are really happy to come away from Kielder with a second-place finish,” reflected Creighton. “It is solid points for the championship, so we continue to hold our lead which is pretty nice.

“The rally was really enjoyable - fast, classic Kielder stages. They were narrow with fast corners over crests so it was really important to be accurate, otherwise you can easily end up in a ditch with quite big consequences."

“It was quite slippery running first on the road as we got used to the effect of road cleaning, but overall we had a good, strong day."

“There is plenty to work on going into the next few rallies to try to improve but overall the team, Liam, Melvyn Evans, and the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy helped me prepare really well. It is thanks to them and my sponsors that we came away with another strong result, and we are looking forward to the rest of the season.”

Click here to read the William Creighton press release around this story

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Junior BRC’s opening round winners, Kyle McBride and Darragh Mullen, held second in the Rally4 category after Kielder Carlisle Stages’ third test. Unfortunately, a puncture and subsequent off-road moment on stage four, Chirdonhead, forced the Peugeot 208 Rally4 crew into retirement.

Back in Ireland, Craig Rahill and Conor Smith continued their impressive form with a 56.6-second Class 2 victory on the Moonraker Forest Rally.

Fresh from his Junior European Rally Championship debut a week earlier, Rahill claimed four fastest times from five stages with his speedy performance good enough for second in two-wheel-drive.

Eamonn Kelly and Conor Mohan also showed their international experience with another giant-killing performance in the Ford Fiesta Rally3. Preparing for their next Junior World Rally Championship round in Portugal, Kelly was quick to build up his pace, eventually finishing fourth overall amongst the more powerful Rally2 cars.

The Donegal driver's consistent, strong times, which featured a second-fastest time on stage four, ensured he only finished 13.8 seconds behind rally winner Pat O’Connell.

MI Rally Academy founder and patron John Coyne enjoyed his return to Irish rallying as he finished 11th overall alongside academy co-driver Killian McArdle. The Moonraker was Coyne’s first event in Ireland since 2019 and his first rally since sealing the American Rally Association’s Rally2 title last August.

Coyne switches to asphalt this weekend as he takes on the Circuit of Ireland in his Hyundai i20 Rally2.

Jack Harris and Aaron O’Regan were unable to repeat their Circuit of Kerry success after brake issues forced them out on the Moonraker’s opening stage. 19-year-old Harris returned under super-rally regulations to set two-wheel-drive’s fastest time on stage five, a hint at his future gravel promise.

“Unfortunately it wasn’t the day we had hoped for,” said Harris. A brake issue on stage one meant that we had to return to service early to get the problem fixed.

“Thankfully we were able to return on stage four and we were happy with the pace we displayed, setting the fastest two-wheel-drive time on stage five on our first drive over it.”

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Next up for the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy is its J1000 Junior Development Day on Wednesday 16th April, featuring a few extra surprises this year.

Academy members will demonstrate and display examples of each step of the FIA rally-car pyramid at the Mondello Park event, with Josh McErlean and Eoin Treacy bringing their M-Sport World Rally Team Ford Puma Rally1, a unique opportunity for Irish rally fans to see the car and crew up close on home soil.

The special event starts at 09:30 and offers fans the chance to not only see a fantastic line-up of rally cars but also meet the crews that drive them. Full details can be found here.