Aaron McLaughlin and Darren Curran take a well deserved victory at Bishopscourt, surviving pressure from Stuart Biggerstaff and Stephen Jess.
He took the early Race & Rally Stages lead on a tricky opening test. A light shower of rain before the start left little grip on the circuit-based stage.
Peadar Hurson lost over ten seconds and his front bumper after an off-stage excursion while Stuart Biggerstaff was just happy to be back sliding his Ford Fiesta around in the slippery conditions!
Then an unfortunate roll for Jonny Greer and Niall Burns in their Yaris Rally2, both of whom are okay. McLaughlin took a 7.3-second lead on stage 3 over Stuart Biggerstaff who has moved up to second.
A thumping fastest time from Stuart Biggerstaff has thrown him into Race & Rally Stages contention at the eight-stage rally’s halfway point. Aaron McLaughlin still led but only just after a close shave with some armco leaves his Volkswagen Polo R5 wearing a few battles scars.
In the final two stages however McLaughlin made his move, setting fastest times on 7 and 8 to claim the win by over 15 seconds on Biggerstaff in second. Derek McGarrity claimed a solid third place in his Fiesta.
Andrew Bushe and Geraldine McBride took the win on the first round of the 2025 Micra Challenge after a strong performance.
Jaye Nevin and Eoghan Moore who stole the show in two-wheel-drive today aboard their Peugeot 205. They finished 12th overall, 11.8 seconds ahead of Ford Escort MK2 crew James and Heather Kennedy.
