After a thrilling day of high-speed action and incredible drama, it was a home-town win as Junior WRC stars Eamonn Kelly and Conor Mohan took a first ever win on an Irish event as they raced to victory on the 2025 Donegal Forest Rally, the final round of the Sligo Pallets Forest Rally Championship.
Behind the wheel of a Skoda Fabia RS Rally2, Kelly & Mohan took the lead from the very start with a fastest time on the opening Loughfad stage, and maintained his advantage across the day with two more quickest time before returning to the Donegal Town finish ramp with 31.1 seconds to spare over fellow local crew David Kelly & Shane Buckley.
In the 2WD category, it was a spectacular performance by Marty McCormack & Rory Kennedy as they took the win in their incredible sounding BMW E30 M3, the straight-six howl delighting the large crowds out on the stages even in foggy conditions early in the day.
Second place would go to Ben McFall and Damien McCauley in their Ford Fiesta Rally 4 which sees him also secure second in the MIJRS standings, while recently crowned Sligo Pallets Forest Rally Championship 2WD winners Hugh McQuaid and Declan Casey came home third in their Ford Escort MK2.
In the J1000 battle, it was all smiles at the finish ramp, especially for the Wray family as twins James and Matthew shared a podium, with James & Peter Ward taking an emphatic victory, while James & Joe McNulty finished in third.
Splitting the Wray pair were James McShea and Grace O’Brien, the second-place finish saw the pair claim the J1000 title by a single point, and with it McShea claims the 2026 Craig Breen Foundation prize package, and will join Kyle Drury on a trip to Norway in January to visit the John Haugland Winter Rally School.
The winner takes all battle between Jack Kennedy and Ross Ryan for the 2025 MIJRS Class 2A title looked set to be heating up nicely, but the punishing Loughfad stage on the edge of Lough Derg had a sting in the tale for the fate of the series.
Sadly Ross stopped on Stage 3 and with an advantage in the standings to Furlong heading to the final round after an incredibly consistent season, Jack Kennedy was able to enjoy the final few stages of the event knowing that the 2025 MIJRS Class 2A title was his, and in the process he secures a Shortlist nomination for the Billy Coleman Award.
