The penultimate round of the 2025 Motorsport Ireland Junior Rally Series was a drama filled feast of rally action as we saw a new first-time round winner, the makings of a winner take-all battle on the final round and one of the most dramatic ways to ever be crowned a champion. Its fair to say that last weekend’s Fastnet Rally truly had it all.
With ten crews starting the final tarmac round of the MIJRS, the Bantry based event, renowned for fast stages and tricky conditions, was set to see the coronation of Cian Caldwell as Class 2 Champion, with just a finish required by the Meath youngster to claim a second MIJRS title of his career, as well as the hugely coveted funding prize from the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy and the potentially lifechanging opportunity afforded by becoming a Billy Coleman Award nominee. But to finish first, first Caldwell had to finish, right.
The opening stage saw closest title rival Ben McFall go quickest over the Nowen Hill stage in his Ford Fiesta Rally4, opening an 8 second advantage over Caldwell but huge drama lay in store on Stage 2.
A jump unsettled the rear of the Peugeot 208 Rally4, and a violent spin saw the car collide with banks on both sides of the road, but thankfully for Caldwell the wheels remained on the ground.
In most instances it would be game over, but with a title on the line Caldwell and nav Paul McPhillips pushed the car into a layby to make enough repairs to crawl from the stage, and left their service crew with a mammoth task to get the stricken car pieced together enough to complete the final loop.
With McFall retaining his lead at the first service, it would be Jack Byrne who sat an impressive second place in his Peugeot 208 Rally4, the former Circuit racing star and Sexton Trophy winner has shown remarkable pace all season in what is his debut Rally season.
He would lead fellow Circuit star and local ace Robert Cronin, although sadly for the Ballylickey youngster his day in the Opel Corsa Rally4 would come to an end with a mechanical retirement on Stage 6.
It would be mechanical woe elsewhere for Oran England as his Peugeot 208 Rally4 retired on the opening stage, while a broken driveshaft on the 5th stage saw Ben McFall’s day end with his Ford Fiesta Rally4 left stricken.
With a sizeable gap now on the time sheets and the prospect of a maiden victory and huge points haul, Jack Byrne drove smartly to return to the finish ramp in Bantry as a MIJRS round winner, and with it now jumps to second in the standings heading to the season Finale in Donegal.
After his earlier incident, Cian Caldwell and his crew put in a trojan effort to patch their car up enough to make the final two stages, and getting to the finish saw him claim the 2025 MIJRS Class 2 crown, and with it put himself in contention for the hugely coveted Billy Coleman award.
In Class 2A, the race for the title is set for a winner takes all finale on Donegal Forest Rally on November 8th, as Jack Kennedy and Ross Ryan could both walk away as Champion, although Kennedy holds the advantage in the points standings.
