2022
The season kicked off with Jonny Greer and Darragh Mullen securing victory at the Kirkistown Stages Rally. Greer snatched the lead from early leader Stephen Wright after stage two and stayed in front until the finish. The fight for second position went right down to the wire between Phillip Allen and Derek McGarrity.
Going into the final stage, it was Allen who held the upper hand by 1.1s from his rival. However, a delighted McGarrity turned the deficit on its head with another fastest time to seal the runner-up spot by just seven-tenths of a second, leaving Allen to settle for third in his Fiesta R5.
Next up it was the Race & Rally (Bishopscourt) Stages amd once again Jonny Greer showed his superiority with victory at the event. Greer dominated the six-stage event from start to finish. He was inch-perfect through the morning’s slippery conditions, quickly building up a sizeable advantage and catching his rivals on the hop.
In the space of two stages, he had amassed a lead of more than 20 seconds – a huge margin on the single venue event. From there, he managed his lead and with the sun shining, Greer powered home in his Citroen C3 to eventually win by 31.1 seconds and claim another maximum points haul in his bid for 2022 Championship spoils.
Spring Break
After a two month break it was the Maiden City Stages where we seen an unforced error from Greer so early in the event which would see a different winner from the 2022 season. This allowed Desi Henry to pick up the win with much vital championship points.
Cathan McCourt with the runners up spot and Gary Jennings taking a well-deserved 3rd place finish.
The penultimate event, The Tyrone Stages. Driving their Citroen C3, Greer and Roberts moved into the lead after the second stage and never looked back. They went on to set fastest times on six of the nine competitive stages to claim victory by 17.1s at the Cookstown Motor Club event.
Arriving home in second position for the second championship event in succession were Cathan McCourt and Liam Moynihan. Peadar Hurson and Damien Connolly just managed to hold on to third overall after they stalled their Fiesta WRC briefly at the start of the final stage.
The Finale
Going into the final round (Down Rally) a possible four drivers were still mathematically in the hunt for the prestigious title with Derek McGarrity, Joe McGonigle, Aaron McLaughlin and reigning champion Jonny Greer all capable of lifting the crown!
In the end Jonny Greer kept his cool and secured his third NI Rally Championship title with victory at the event while the rest of his title rivals was lacking the speed and reliability to keep up with the Carryduff man!
Navigated by Dai Roberts, Greer claimed a start-to-finish victory aboard his Citroen C3. The crew powered to the top of the leaderboard after the opening stage and eventually sailed into the distance, leaving the destination of this year’s NI title beyond doubt.
2023
For next season, the Championship, won by Jonny Greer in 2022, once again consists of five events; the first three are single venue offerings and the remaining two will be played out on closed public roads.
The Calendar will retain the Kirkistown Stages (18 February); Race and Rally Bishopscourt Stages (March 11); Maiden City Stages (April 22); Tour of the Sperrins (May 20); and finally, Carryduff Down Rally (July 22).
As before, neither the Circuit of Ireland nor the Ulster rallies are part of the action in 2023, while there is not going to be a reserve round to fall back on as was previously the case.
