It’s a case of a one last rush to the finish line as the 2025 Sligo Pallets Forest Rally Championship is set to play out to a thrilling conclusion with the eight and final loose surface event of the season sees crews take on this weekend’s Donegal Forest Rally.
Having been postponed at the last minute in February due to the damage caused as a result of Storm Eowyn, the team in Donegal Motor Club worked quickly with Motorsport Ireland to secure an alternative date for the event, and deliver a hugely anticipated final round of the season that has attracted a bumper entry right across the field.
Heading off to the first of five special stages and a high speed 64km route are newly crowned Irish Forest Rally Champions Jason Mitchell & Paddy McCrudden, the pair wrapping up the title in style taking a maximum points haul on the Bushwhacker Rally.
Behind the wheel of a Skoda Fabia RS Rally2, Mitchell & McCrudden claimed victories on the Tipperary & Mayo Forest Rallies as well as maximum Championship points in Carlow and Cork in what was a remarkable season.
The returning Donegal event, last ran in 2019, will see local star Eamonn Kelly make his Rally2 debut on Irish Gravel behind the wheel of a similar Skoda to Mitchell.
Guided by Conor Mohan and fresh off a second season in the Junior WRC that included a win on Rally Finland, the pair finished on the podium on the 2024 Lakeland Stages in a Rally3 car, while they also took on this years Moonraker Forest Rally in a similar machine.
At third seed are recent winners of the non-Championship Dogleap Rally Niall Devine & Liam McIntyre in a VW Polo GTi R5, while behind them a pair of previous Irish Forest Championship event winners return to the series with Mark Donnelly returning after a two year break and guided by Martin Brady in a similar VW, and Jordan Hone & Paul Hone making a late entry in their Ford Fiesta R5.
While Mitchell & McCrudden have secured the title heading to the final round, there is still a lot to play for in the Sligo Pallets Forest Rally Championship as Stephen Dickson & Ben Teggart and last years champions Derek Mackarel & Eamonn Creedon are locked in an incredibly tight battle to secure second in the 2025 standings.
In the 2WD section, the field is led away by the massively in-form Sam Stewart who has Alan Johnston navigating in their Ford Escort MK2, but they will have a huge battle on their hands dealing with recently crowned 2WD champions Hugh McQuaid & Declan Casey, while a third Ford in the reckoning is sure to be Damien Tourish & Kevin Duggan, with all three having claimed a 2WD win this year.
It’s a simple scenario for Jack Kennedy & Ross Ryan, if either come out on top they claim the title. The incredible battle to the end of the season is as a result of a stellar season for the pair of incredible young stars who have shared the win on all seven rounds so far this year.
Heading to Donegal, Jack Kennedy holds an advantage in the points, but he is yet to count his Gravel drop score. The most experienced driver in Class 2A have competed in last years series, Kennedy began the year with wins on the opening brace of Tarmac rounds in his Ford Fiesta R2, the Midland Stages Rally and Circuit of Kerry, as well as adding a max score with victory on the Cork Forest Rally.
Another battle is set to go down to the wire is the race for the 2025 MIJRS J1000 title, the first step on the ladder to a future in the sport the class now attracts well over 20 entrants on each event with youngsters from 14-18 competing on a range of Rally and Sprint events across the season.
In pole position heading to the final round is James McShea who has shone remarkably on his debut season, taking wins in Mondello Park way back in December, before adding a brace of wins in Tipperary and Mayo.
With a strong points haul, McShea knows that finishing 4th or better will secure the title, no matter what his rivals do in Donegal.
Keeping McShea sweating right to the end is Kyle Drury, he arrives to the final event of the season off the back of a win last time out in Cork and a remarkable season that has seen him finish no lower than third on any round he has competed on.
