After a short mid-season break, the 2024 Motorsport Ireland Junior Rally Series (MIJRS) roars back into life this weekend as the Tipperary Light Car & Motorcycle Club host round five of the campaign with the Stonethrowers Rally.
Based in Clonmel, this mid-summer feast of Tarmac Rallying will see our eager and talented MIJRS crews tackle a challenging 107km route over eight high-speed stages, giving some of the finest young driving talent in Ireland yet another opportunity to develop their skills and compete for the incredible rewards on offer.
In Class 2, Dylan Eves leads the way having claimed maximum points finishes in his Ford Fiesta Rally4 on both surfaces this year already with MIJRS victory on the Mayo Stages Rally and the Carrick-on-Suir Forest Rally.
Right on his tail is a similar Ford driven by Craig Rahill, the Monaghan ace took home maximum points from the Carlow Stages Rally, capitalising on the absence of Eves to slice the lead at the top of the standings to just two points at the halfway point of the season.
Eves and Rahill go head-to-head again this weekend, but sure to be in the fight aswell is Tommy Moffett who currently sits in third place even after a disappointing retirement last time out.
Oran England makes a second start of the season and will have intentions to make a statement on the time sheets following a fine second place finish in Carlow, while this weekend see’s 2023 MIJRS Class 1 Champion and Billy Coleman Award winner Jack Brennan also competing as he prepares for future rounds of the European Rally Championship in his Peugeot 208 Rally4.
The action this year in Class 2A has been absolutely red hot as a trio of young stars in the making have pushed themselves and their driving talents to the limit in their breakout seasons outside of J1000.
Just two points behind Harris, Ciara Duggan is right in the heart of the battle this year and arrives to Clonmel fresh from a tarmac victory already this year, taking the spoils last time out in Carlow. Jack Kennedy sits slightly off the leading two, but victory on the Carrick Forest Rally and the prospect of dropped scores later in the year mean he is also still firmly in the mix.
