Eurovision Returns- European Rallycross Championship 2026

Thirty years ago English fans sang " Three Lions " (it's coming home) for the first time in hopes of their teams European glory. Fast forward thirty years and they are still singing it in vein of their original hopes but alas it still hasn't come home. Also thirty years ago the European Rallycross Championship visited Irish shores at Mondello Park. 

The Kildare track hosted round five of the series that year. The County Kildare Motor Club ran the event and some of the local hero's like Tommy Graham and Michael Coyne competing that day are on the entry list all this time later. Ludvig Hunsbedt from Norway ran out the eventual winner on the day in his Ford Escort RS 2000 T16 4x4. Swedish driver Tommy Kristofferson who competed in his Audi S2 Coupe that day made his return to Mondello Park to watch his son Johan, the current leader in this years championship take to the Irish track for the first time. Sadly Dermot Carnegie and John Moloney who were Irish Rallycross royalty back then are no longer with us but still remain in their fans minds, as the big circus rolled into Naas town centre on Thursday evening. 

A parade of cars made their way through the town to give the locals a glimpse of both the sport and the machinery involved. It created a great atmosphere for the event as engines were revved and launch control systems demonstrated before gathering in Lawlors Hotel gardens. It was a chance for the fans to get up close to the cars and drivers and inspect the engineering and debate would our local lads have a chance against their European counterparts. 

The evenings visitors did not disappoint and brought with them stickers and photocards for young and old to get signed. They posed for photographs, answered questions for the curious onlookers and helped created a wonderful event in glorious weather.  

The serious action began on Saturday with the opening qualifying rounds. Andreas Bakkerud Johan Kristofferson and his team-mate Ole Christian Veiby would be the top three to beat. That said the Irish contingent of Derek Tohill, Michael Leonard, Niall Murray, John McCluskey, Patrick O'Donovan, Ollie O'Donovan, Tommy Graham, Gary Donoghue and William Carey would be there to put it up to the professionals.

Speaking to them all over the course of the weekend they all said it was a dream come through to be competing in an event of this stature in their home country. 

It was early drama for Tohill who had an engine problem and only just managed to complete the compulsory 1 lap minimum in practice to take part in the event. His team worked their magic and had the engine out and replaced in time for qualifying one. In the FIA European Championship there are 4 qualifying races followed by 4 quarter finals, 2 semi - finals and then the final. Points are scored in each qualifying races which determine your starting places on the grid for the quarter finals. only the top three make their way to the semi-finals and the same for the final. Its though to make your way through but if you have problems in the qualifying races it still leaves you with a chance to progress albeit a lot hard in the quarter finals. 

The luck of the Irish was missing on Saturday with turbo pipe problems for Graham and Carey, Puncture and a black flag for Leonard dropped him down the field after showing very quick paces early on in qualifying 1.Tohill lacked speed in his Peugeot and worst of all for Murray who went out with engine problems. For the O'Donovan's it there were both highs and lows. Competing in front of their home crowd Patrick while competing at the front when contact ended his great qualifying 1 race. However he bounced back and won his qualifying 2 race to leave him in eight place going into Sunday. His father Ollie had a much better day with victory in both his qualifying races leaving him in fifth.

Up front in was Norwegian Ole Christian Veiby who would sit at the top of the overnight standings. He went into Sunday with a slight advantage over Juha Rytkönen and Andreas Bakkerud.  It was nearly almost over after heavy contact in Qualifying 1, at turn one when his VW Polo's rear window shattered after contact with René Muennich. He fought back brilliantly to recover from the back of the field and win his heat. In Qualifying 2, lining up alongside Kristoffersson, Andreas Bakkerud, Juha Rytkönen and Joni Turpeinen. A brilliant five-car battle kept the large crowd entertained. Veiby used his joker lap perfectly to emerge ahead of Bakkerud in the closing stages to finish second. With Kristoffersson's later recieving a black flag, it elevated the Norwegian to the top of the session classification and, crucially, to the top of the overnight leaderboard.

Bakkerud completed the top three. The Norwegian demonstrated excellent racecraft in Qualifying 1, following Joni Turpeinen throughout before a perfectly judged late joker strategy to snatch victory on the final lap. He lead his Qualifying 2 race, early on which was a five-car fight before losing out to the Kristoffersson and Veiby. Kristoffersson's later exclusion, moved him up to third overnight.

Sunday brought in an even larger crowd with many old faces who were once regulars to the county Kildare circuit. Credit has to go to the Mondello staff who's hard work in the week leading up to the event paid off as the track looked pristine in the glorious weather. The locals flocked to get their pictures, autographs and t-shirts of the visiting professionals with Andreas Bakkerud clearly the fans favourite going by the sales of his t-shirts being worn throughout the weekend. On track it was all change after the two morning qualifying sessions with Kristofferson now topping the leaderboard from Bakkerud and Veiby. For the the Irish fans Patrick O'Donovan remained their highest hope in fifth as Leonard once again punctured and both Honda civic men McCluskey and Donoghue both having first corner excursions. Both Graham and Tohill were driving well but just didn't have the pace to make it higher up the leaderboard. With only the top three making it through to the semi-finals it was going to be tough for the Irish drivers. Sadly Graham, Carey, Donoghue and McCluskey were knocked first but a brilliant drive from the back of the grid to third for Leonard got the crowd cheering on the local man. Tohill and both O'Donovan's got through also adding to the hope of at least one making it to the final. 

It was the visitors however who remained in control as Bakkerud won his semi-final ahead of Joni Turpeinen and Juha Rytkonen. Both O'Donovan's and Tohill were out and in the second semi-final it was the same ending any hopes of an Irish finalist as Leonard who had contact at turn two resulting in him dropping time and taking an early joker lap which was close to paying off but fourth was best he could do. Still it was a great drive after all the problems he had throughout the qualifying races. That left Bakkerud against the VW team-mates of Kristofferson and Veiby. Bakkerud got the best start and lead into the first corner ahead of Veiby as Kristofferson and Turpein made contact. Kristofferson stuck behind both Turpeinen and Rytkonen again made contact into turn two but Turpeinen and Rytkonen kept the power on and managed to hold their places. 

Turpeinen took his joker on lap one which allowed Kristofferson into third and a chance to close the already growing gap to the front two. Veiby now right on Bakkeruds tail was next to joker in the hope the clearer track would allow him to gain enough time to overtake Bakkerud once he went to do his joker lap. Bakkerued now under immense pressure from Kristofferson who had closed the gap right down kept his lines tidy and soaked it up. The VW Polo having edge on the straights and under braking over the Ford just couldn't find a way past. Lap five and it was Kristofferson who went to joker and on the exit he came alongside his team-mate Veiby. They made contact at turns one, two and three which cost both vital time and ending their chances of the win as Bakkerud would have enough in hand when he jokered. Veiby held his place in second and they had enough built up to overtake Turpeinen with ease as he jokered but Bakkerud was home and dry in an excellent drive to take the win and close the gap to Kristofferson in the championship.So after a thirty year wait it was all over but it was well worth it as the large sundrenched crowd went home happy and already looking forward to the European Rallycross circus coming back to town next year.

McCluskey Does the Double - PartsForCars IRX Irish Rallycross Championship

After the long winter break the change of season to spring saw the return of the PartsForCars IRX Irish Rallycross Championship to Mondello Park for rounds 5 and 6 of the series. Rallycross continues to grow especially in the junior classes with a brilliant grid of sixteen cars lining up on the grid at the weekend and with at least two more to join them in the near future it bodes well for the future of the sport. 

The announcement of Mondello Park hosting a round of the FIA European Rallycross Championship on the 19th of July has also boosted the grid in Supercars with Gary Donoghue and John McCluskey arriving to the event with a pair of Honda Civic's. Michael Leonard was back out for some time in a VW Polo. The IRX Modified class was boosted by English visitor Jason Bleasdale in his Vauxhall VX220 as well as the strong Northen Irish contingent. 

In the IRX Juniors Eoin Dooley from Tallaght debued his new mini having outpaced his old ford fiesta in the last few rounds it was time for a change and improve his results. This he did immediately with topping the results in three of his heats over the weekend. He scored a third place in the final on Saturday but his first final win came on Sunday with a brilliant drive. All weekend he pushed champion Logan Hoey and series leader to his limits for the first time this year the talented county Louth man didn't have it all his own way. He took the win in the final on Saturday from Hugo Loonam with Dooley in third. Dooley now more familiar with his new car set about taking his first win of the series. 

Once again it was between him Hoey and Hugo Loonam. Throughout the heats they all battled hard but fair and all lined up on the front row of the grid for the final. Loonam got the best start and lead the field and held Hoey off but a mistake at the final corner meant Hoey got a better run down the straight and took the lead. Dooley took the joker lap early and made up time on those ahead while they battled. Then the red flags came out and it was a re run where once again Dooley took an early joker lap which he again used to his advantage. He held the lead over Hoey on the final lap to take his maiden win. 

" It's been a fantastic weekend. We finally got the mini finished but didn't know where we would be in terms of pace. I got to grips with the car very quick and swapped lap records with Logan Hoey all weekend. I used the early joker in the first run of the final and it worked so I did it again in the re-run and it proved the right thing to do as it gave me the advantage to hold the lead to the line and take my first win."

Hoey was happy with his weekend too, " The weekend went well taking the win on Saturday and a second on Sunday. I had trouble on the grid ahead of the re-ran final as the car cut out and wouldn't start for a few minutes. It did eventually but I didn't make a good start and dropped to second and then third but got back to second in the end. It's more points for the final championship rounds in May."

In the IRX Modified Jason Bleasdale made the trio over the Irish Sea worthwhile as he took the win on Saturday comfortably from Peter McGarry. That said McGarry was battling hard with championship rivals Sam Bovill and Willie Coyne. Bleasdale using this event for the next round of the British series that visits Mondello in May broke clear early and wasn't headed by the time the chequered flag came out. 

In Sunday's final however it was mayhem at the first corner where McGarry and Bleasdale collided causing a lot of damage. Bleasdale kept the shoe in and managed to keep going but McGarry's car was too badly damaged. Afterwards the stewards excluded Bleasdale from the result for dangerous driving. Despite this Sam Bovill drove superbly to stay clear of the Coyne brothers. 

Willie nursing his Opel Corsa all day had said he was "doing enough to make the final and get as many points for the championship as he can" Michael was clearly getting to grips with his Citroen DS3 now which he got for this year. The hard work in between events was paying off and the car looked visibly much more competitive this time out. 

In the IRX Supercar class it was a case of last man standing by the end of Sunday. Everyone seemed to have trouble of some sort over the weekend. Poor Gary Donoghue didn't make the start as his new Honda Civic had mechanical problems in testing that were unable to be fixed for the races over the weekend. 

Current series leader Derek Tohill looked to be continuing from where he left off in November until an engine change caused him to miss the second heat but was back for the final. Michael Leonard was getting used to his rented VW Polo and put in some quick times ahead of Tommy Graham and Barry Morris. However it was McCluskey in his new Japanese Supercar ran by the Murray Motorsport team that was happiest of all. Taking to his new car like a duck to water he drove brilliantly to edge out Tohill for the win in Saturday's final.

Sunday looked like more of the same until the mechanical gremlins came out in force. William Carey's Ford Fiesta devoloped differential problems forcing his retirement and a broken timing belt in Derek Tohill's newly fitted engine in heat 3 saw him sidelined for the day also. Still the final still had plenty to choose from to pick a winner. Leonard was looking more competitive each time out but a front left puncture forced his retirement on lap one. 

McCluskey already in the lead just put in the times and pulled clear of Graham and Morris who were having a good battle themselves. McCluskey having to adapt from driving his Ford Fiesta for so long was putting in some very near record lap pace during the day and the switch to the new machine paid off with a brilliant drive to the chequered flag for the second time of the weekend.

Speaking afterwards the man from Stepaside in Dublin was glad to have made the change " I'm absolutely delighted at winning the two finals this weekend. The car is amazing and we were using it as a shakedown really and we were making little tweaks as we went along but to win to competitive finals like that is brilliant. It suits Mondello as it's a fast track and it seems to suit fast tracks and I'm looking for to going to Lydden Hill in the UK with it shortly. Its much more stable and has more power than the fiesta I had before. We could have turned the power up on it but we didn't to make sure we got through the weekend but the traction is the big thing with this car. Once you keep the wheel straight and not drive it sideways which I like to do, you gain much more time out of it. I am looking forward to having it for the British round in May and the European round in July and hopefully we can get a result then too."

Derek Tohill did have to celebrate something over the weekend by winning the Superfinal on Saturday and put one hand of retaining his IRX Championship crown again. Tommy Graham also had a cause to celebrate after winning the Superfinal on Sunday.

Thomas McManus also did the double by winning the IRX Clubman Modified class over series leader Abbie McGuinnes this weekend. The Rallycar class was won by Stephen Lispsett in his Citroen C2 with Pat Masterson taking the honors in the BMW120d class. Matthew McGaffin and Liam McMullan shared the spoils in the IRX Buggy class.

The last two rounds of the IRX Irish Rallycross Champship will be on May 23rd and 24th. This is also a round of the British Rallycross championship and a different layout will be used for this event which will make things interesting and provide another action packed weekend of rallycross.

O'Donovan and Tohill Share The Spoils In Season Opener - IRX Championship 2025/ 2026

The opening two rounds of the PartsforCars.ie Irish Rallycross Championship took place at Mondello Park. It was also a counting round for the Motorsport UK British Rallycross Championship which saw a welcome return of the top UK drivers who love coming across and battling it out with their Irish counterparts. 

The premier class in rallycross are the Supercars and a welcome return to Mondello for local man Ian Barrett in his VW Polo who was out to upset the favourites in Derek Tohill, John McCluskey, Ollie O'Donovan and Julian Godfrey. Other local men Gary Donoghue, William Carey and the Morris brothers Darragh and Michael would also be in the mix.

The Modified class saw a great entry with six county Antrim drivers alone travelling down. Indeed the overall entry saw an increase in northern drivers which was great to see and which bodes well for the futre of rallycross. Niall Carey would be making his debut in the class and would be one to watch in his BMW Compact. Peter McGarry had to make a switch to a Ford Fiesta as his VW Polo is still not ready from a rebuild. Tommy Graham another local man was back out in his old Ford Fiesta and ex Dermot Carneige car but this time it has been converted to rear wheel drive. The Coyne brothers would also be ones to watch out for and and all eyes would be watching Michael in his new Citroen DS3. That said Bovill brothers, Derek Lenehan in his Toyota MR2 and Ricky McAlonan in his nova would also be ones to tach out for. The increasingly popular IRX Junior class saw a health entry of youngsters take to the grids in a mixture of Mini's and fiestas. Add the IRX Clubman, Rallycar, Autocross, Super Buggies, BRX Super Retro classes it would be a busy and action packed weekend. 

The weather also played its part as the tail end of storm Amy lingered on Saturday morning leaving conditions very wet and the track more slippy than usual. It dried out as the day went on but some showers came down which left tyre choice difficult. The track layout on the Saturday saw the drivers skip the usual second corner on the rallycross circuit and use the long run down to the hairpin on the normal race circuit. It would provide another overtaking place and give the drivers a chance to stretch their cars legs. The sight of the Supercars making their way down the straight really showed how quick these top level rallycross machines really are.

In the supercars the heats saw wins for William Carey, Derek Tohill and Ollie O'Donovan overall on times. The early heats saw the heaviest rainfall leaving the drivers fighting to keep their powerful machines on track as they tried to find grip. As the day wore on the weather improved and the track dried but the odd shower of rain kept making setup and tyre choice difficult. As semi final one got under way in was Derk Tohill on pole from Ian Barrett with John McCluskey and Darragh Morris behind. Sadly WIlliam Carey didnt make it out due to mechanical problems. As the lights went out it was Barrett who got the better start but as he moved across Tohil was right alongside and both men touched, hitting the armco barrier in the process. Tohill had to back out or it could have been a bigger incident. They still were ahead of the pack though and raced to turn three. Barrett held him off but a nice move into rallycross 3 saw Tohill take the lead and immediately pull away. McCluskey took the joker lap on the first lap which payed off as he was up to second on the final lap when Barrett took his. Tohill was too far ahead though and took the win.

In the second semi final Ollie O'Donovan was on pole from Garry Donoghue and Julian Godfrey with Michael Morris behind, sadly Derek Jobb once again had mechanical problems with his Ford Escort and was a non starter. O'Donovan got a bad start and it was Godfrey who lead into turn one from Donoghue with O'Donovan in third with all the work to do. As they made their way to turn two both he and Godfrey collided which at first didnt look that much but a rear link arm broke on O'Donovan's car leaving the rear wheel hanging on only just. He did well to avoid hitting anyone else but his race was run and would leav him at the back for the final. The race was restarted after O'Donovan's car was remved from the track. The re run saw a great battle with Donoghue being pushed all the way to the end to take a great win. 

For the final it was Tohill on pole from Donoghue and Godfrey, with O'Donovan at the back with all the work to do. It would not be easy but if he wanted a chance of a win he would have to get past McCluskey and Barrett early on to give himself a chance with the front three. He got ahead of the Morris brother off the line and made a much better exit out of turn one and got up the inside of Godfrey and Barrett on the run to turn two. Godfrey then ran wide and into the gravel at turn two but got back on just ahead of Darragh Morris but as he came back across before turn thee he hit the front of Morris and spun ending his chances on a decent result. 

Up front Tohill lead but only just from Donoghue and McCluskey and O'Donovan. The front four were now right together giving the crowd lots of entertainment. O'Donovan made his next move into turn one and got ahead of McCluskey. He was on a charge and with Tohill not breaking away as he did in the semi final a win was still on. A mistake into the final corner saw O'Donoghue run wide letting O'Donovan get on his inside and with better drive again made another spot into turn one and into second. The second half of the lap saw him close right up to Tohill with both still having to do their joker lap. O'Donovan went first and did it very well neat and tidy not loosing anytime. Tohill needed to put in a quick first half a lap to keep his lead after he did his joker. It was close and as he exited the second chicane O'Donovan was halfway through rallycross two. He had done enough and pipped Tohill going into rallycross three. A brilliant drive and a tight defence line into the final corner sealed the win with Tohill unable to make it a drag to the line. A very entertaining final and also a clean and fair battle too. From last to first is not an easy thing to do at Mondello. As O'Donovan isn't doing the Irish Championship Tohill opened up his new campaign with maximum points and spoke afterwards " Yeah a solid result for round one, didn't, get the win today but Ollie drove well. Your have to get though a lot of races to get to a final in Irish Rallycross but I'm Delighted to start off the new campaign with a win."

In the modified class it was battles between the both the Coyne's and Bovill's with Peter McGarry in there also. Willie Coyne, Stanley Bovill and Peter McGarry all came out on top in the heats which were all close run races with all cars very evenly matched. The conditions made it twice as hard as they have only two wheel drive unlike the 4wd Supercars. In the semi-finals Willie Coyne had a comfortable win over Niall Carey but the second semi final was a closer run thing between the two Bovill's both with just over a second separating them in the end. For the final it was Willie Coyne on pole from Stanley and Samuel Bovill. Niall Carey qualified a great fourth for his first modified final with Michael Coyne beside him. As the lights went out Samuel Bovill got a lightning start and shot into the lead from the outside of the front row. Stanley Bovill got a great start two to slot into second leaving pole man Coyne back in third. A mistake at turn two by Bovill saw Coyne take advantage and move into second. It was the like the opening heat all over again the little Opel Corsa chasing the fiesta with the inside rear wheel on both cars lifting in the corners. 

The fiesta had the power advantage though as  a couple of times coming out of turn one Bovill went very sideways but had the legs on the straight to hold the lead. Coyne took his joker at the halfway mark timing it to perfection to stay ahead of Carey. Noe he had to put in quick laps to get an advantage when both the Bovill's did theirs. He didn't need the escort ahead to hold him up if he was to take the lead. It didn't matter though as Samuel Bovill had also put in quick enough times to keep his advantage as he exited the joker on the final lap and held the lead to the flag. It was a close finish but very deserving to the Antrim man. A happy 'Maun' as they say in his part of the world spoke after the race " Very pleased with the day, I got a great start in the final and had to go really deep into the corners as I knew Willie was behind me. At he started of the day I forgot the car was setup for the dry from Pembrey but everything went well in the end and hopefully it will again tomorrow."

In the Juniors Logan Hoey picked up where he left off last season winning two of the three heats and his semi final. Cody Mahon however kept him honest winning heat two and his semi final. So it was really going to be between these two for the final. As the lights went out both got a similar start but Hoey had the inside line and squeezed Mahon out wide on to the loose which dropped him to third allowing David McAdams into second. These junior cars are very evenly matched which leads to close racing and this race was delivering this. Hoey's circuit racing experience came into effect at turn three making better exits each time allowing him to open a gap to McAdams and Loonam. Ailish Sexton was also going well and her increase in speed since last season was noticeable hold third by the halfway mark. She still the joker to do but a strong fifth was on the cards but a mistake exiting the joker cost her time and dropped to sixth. Up front Hoey was well clear and in command. He took his joker with ease and took the win carrying on his form from last year. Speaking after the race Hoey was happy at how his day went " It was a good day, I wanted to get a good start to the season and give myself some breathing room come the end of the year. I hope to do the same tomorrow and win again but anything can happen".

In the Buggies Jack Newman and Ben Walsh battled all day with Newman coming out on top with Paul Brogan in third. Stephen Lipsett took the win from Ken McGrath and Ian Lawlor in the rallycar class. One of the best races of the day came from the visiting SuperRetro class from the UK. Charles French in his beautiful Forst Escort and Alan Crokett in his equally beautiful Opel Kadett swapped places all day and again in the final. It brought back memories of rallycross meetings of old to those old enough to remember these cars being the ultimate machines to have. French took the win by just under a second.

For Sunday the weather was much better although cloudy no rain fell and the tyre choice was made easier. Sadly Gary Donoghue was missing in the supercar class as he his father Joe a great motorsport man sadly died earlier in the week and he decided to sit out the Sunday races. In his place though Niall Murray former circuit racing champion got behind the wheel of Donoghues car. A heavy impact in the third heat between McCluskey and O'Donovan brought out the red flags. Once restarted it was O'Donovan who came home first to add to his earlier heat win. Tohill was avoiding the drama as much as he could but after a win in heat one he got hit from behind by Ian Barrett and went into the gravel exiting turn two. Come the final it was important Tohill won it for his British championship bid. 

It was O'Donovan who lined up on pole position from William Carey who had a brilliant run all day, with Tohill on the outside of the front row Niall Murray and Ian Barrett were behind on row two with McCluskey, Julian Godfrey and Darragh Morris on row three. Tohill got the best start from the outside and lead into turn one from William Carey who made an excellent startto get ahead of O'Donovan in third. Behind them though it was carnage as Niall Murray hit the back of Ian Barrett which spun him into the unfortunate Julian Godfrey who had nowhere to go. The polo was badly damaged and Barrett's race was run there and then. Murray's car wasn't in great shape either but he managed to get going and get back into the race. Carey ran wide at turn two letting O'Donovan by and now it was going to be a battle between him and Tohill. Tohill was flying though kept putting in fast laps and it showed as try as he might O'Donovan was using all the road and more in his efforts to stay with him. He would close right up to him from turn two across the loose up to the final corner but loose the gained ground down the straight. On the penultimate lap Tohill took the joker first and would need to be pin perfect to keep his lead once O'Donovan took his joker lap. He did and he retained his lead and held it to the line to take the win and maximum points in British championship to bring it to the final round. William Carey came home in third with Niall Murray in fourth. 

Speaking after the race Tohill was very pleased with his day "I knew I had to win that race so I threw the kitchen sink and everything else at it. It was really important for the championship and also for the Irish too making it a double is a great way to start the season".

In the Modified class it was Peter McGarry who took the honors in heat one from Samuel Bovill who carried on Saturday's good form to take second ahead of Willie Coyne. Once again in heat two it was McGarry ahead of Coyne but Bovill finished down in eight but in heat three in was a repeat of heat one as the top three finished in the same order. That said it was closely fought all the way in the heats between the top three. Local Man Tommy could not be counted out either with a fourth and a third in two of the heats. For the semi final one it was Peter McGarry who won from Samuel Bovill and Pete Dornan. In semi final two it was Willie Coyne from Ricky Alonan and Niall Carey. So for the much anticipated final it was McGarry on pole from Coyne and Bovill. McGarry got the best start and lead into turn one from Bovill and Coyne. the front two drifting round turn on in unison. Coyne tried to go down the inside at turn two but Bovill blocked him straight away. Coyne who never gives up tried to cling on to the back of Bovill who was driving very well but could not get close enough for a move. This let McGarry open a slight gap in front. Coyne took the joker first but got stuck behind Carey on the exit for a couple of corners and dropped time. Which let Bovill stay in second when he took his joker. McGarry reeled of the final laps and too the flag in comfort. Not as close a race as Saturday's but one that made up the disappointment that McGarry had in the semi final after breaking a wishbone. 

Speaking after the race McGarry was delighted to get the win " We had good pace all weekend really, I just got caught out in a newly formed pothole out the back and broke a wishbone. From this morning on I knew we had a good chance. The car is brilliant and handles so well and does what you want it to do ans we were setting some really good times. There is serious pace in modified and a great mix of cars, front wheel drive rear, wheel drive and great bunch a drivers too. I'm hoping to have the polo out the next day as we spent the time since the end of last season rebuilding it and trying a couple of different things while we can. "

In the juniors true to his word Logan Hoey was again the man to catch as he won all the heats and his semi final with ease. Cody Mahon was the only one to stay within some distance of Hoey all weekend but its early days yet in the championship and anything could happen. For the final it was Hoey on pole from Mahon and Ailish Sexton. Once again it was Hoey and Mahon got fairly similar starts but Hoey had the inside line and lead into turn one but drove Mahon wide and onto the loose. This let Hugo Loonam up the inside into second. Sexton dropped back at turn two but made up places as the race went on and cam ehome a solid fifth place in the end. Try as he might Loonam could not catch Hoey who once again put in the times and pulled a gap which was enough to hold to the end. Mahon got back up to third but could not catch Loonam. It was the perfect week end for Hoey who did the double and started off his title defence in style. 

In the Clubman modified class Abbie McGuinness was in a league of her own all weekend and did the clean sweep winning her heats, semi finals and finals. Although she was dominant all weekend, Dessie Martin and Leah McManus were not too far away either and will get quicker in the coming rounds. In the IRX Super Buggies it was Ben Walsh who too the honors from Kevin Sharkey and Paul Brogan. In the Super Retro class Alan Crokett and Charles French had another brilliant battle with Crockett taking the win on the way to the line by.2 of a second!

So after a long wait the first round of the 2025/2026 IRX Rallycross Championship was over. Some great racing throughout all classes all weekend in various weather conditions was put on by own home talent and overseas visitors. Thanks to all the marshalls and volunteers who helped run the meeting and to our visitors from across the water for coming. 

The next round of the championship takes place on November the 29th and 30th of November.