The second round of the Triton Showers Motorsport Ireland Rally Championship arrives in Tralee this weekend, with Kerry Motor Club organising the Rose Hotel Circuit of Kerry Rally on Sunday.
The ‘Rally Town’ event run with support from the Tralee Chamber Alliance, will include a static display of rally cars in the Mall area of the town. This year’s event is kindly sponsored by ‘Tralee Quickfit’ on Rock Street for the second time.
Rally Town will run from 1pm until 5 pm on March 29, the day before the rally.
Nine West Kerry stages, renowned for their challenging nature, await the 150-strong entry, in what is the 50th anniversary of the first running of the club’s flagship event.
Josh Moffett and Keith Moriarty, driving a Citroen C3 Rally2, are the clear favourites.
Their recent victory in Longford, along with their win in Tralee two years ago mean they bring form and additionally Moffett is in pursuit of a record-breaking fifth consecutive championship title.
Desi Henry and Shane Byrne, also piloting a Citroen, occupy second place in the championship, but this is their first visit to the Kingdom are the second seed.
Eddie Doherty and Tom Murphy, in a Skoda Fabia R5 despite their previous Kerry Winter Rally experience, have never contested a Circuit of Kerry before and currently hold third championship position.
Declan Boyle and Patrick Walsh, past champions and previous winners in Kerry start at four in another Skoda.
Sam Moffett has recruited the services of local co-driver Shane Buckley for the 2025 season and they will start in fifth place in a Hyundai i20 Rally2.
Kevin Gallagher and Ryan Moore lead the modified entries in their Darrian GT90 Gtr. The all-Donegal crew were category winners in Kerry in 2023. Johno Doogan/ Paul Lennon (Cavan) was the top Ford Escort crew in Longford.
The Motorsport Ireland Junior Rally Series sees a strong contingent of drivers vying for championship points and, ultimately, a Billy Coleman Award nomination.
Former Billy Coleman award winner Jack Brennan and his co-driver Eoghan Doherty from Kilkenny lead the fray in their Peugeot 208 Rally4.
Jack Harris (whose great grandparents hail from Ballyduff) and co-driver Aaron O’Regan will pilot a Ford Fiesta, aiming to build on their series experience while Dylan Donoghue and Tommy Moffett are two more drivers in Fiestas as is local ace Mossie Costello.
