The O’Brien boys delivered the goods once again as they secured there second forest event win within two weeks as they triumph in the two day Bushwhacker Rally.
Three stage wins from four give Patrick and Stephen O’Brien a 12.5-second overnight lead from Cathan McCourt and Barry McNulty.
By the halfway mark McCourt came to the end of Saturday’s opening stage ruing a mistake on one of Killeter’s chicanes. His Skoda was up on two wheels but such was the pace of McCourt through the Bushwhacker classic, he still set the fastest time.
Patrick and Stephen O’Brien have built a healthy cushion at the front of the Bushwhacker pack. They returned to service ahead of Cathan McCourt who has battled on with a misfire over the past two tests. Unfortunately Vivian Hamill’s impressive run in third has came to an end after an off on Lough Braden.
McCourt as he approached the final stage was trying to chipp away a lead 23.5 seconds heading into stage 10.
However disaster struck as McCourt suffered suspension damage on the final stage thus retiring soon after. This gave the O’Brien brothers a comfortable win in what was the fifty anniversary of the event.
Conor McCourt secured a well deserved second with Darragh Cairns taking the final podium position.
Elsewhere, A storming drive on the Bushwhacker’s Friday night stages secured maximum Brown & Brown NI Forest Rally Challenge points for Jordan and Paul Hone on round two.
Niall McCullagh and Martin Brady pipped Jordan and Paul Hone as top Brown & Brown NI Forest Rally Challenge finishers over the initial two days of rallying.
Bushwhacker’s special visitors Martynas Samsonas and Ugnius Vainevicius took the 2WD win in their stunnung BMW M3 while Jason Mitchell & Paddy McCrudden where crowned 2025 Sligo Pallets Forest Rally Championship Winners.
