McFall and McShea take MIJRS honours at Donegal Harvest Rally

Admin

Oct 15

4 min read

The Motorsport Ireland Junior Rally Series (MIJRS) is Ireland's premier national junior dual-surface rally championship, open to drivers under 24 years of age, or 14 to 19 in the J1000 class. The series runs across gravel and tarmac for Class 2 (Rally4), Class 2A (R2/R2T) and J1000 crews.

Champions in Class 2 and Class 2A earn a nomination for the Billy Coleman Award shortlist, plus training, coaching and support worth up to €10,000 through the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy the following year. Runners-up receive support worth up to €7,000 and third place up to €5,000. In J1000, the top three receive support worth up to €2,500, €1,500 and €1,000 respectively.

Watch: Donegal Harvest Rally

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/f02687_3a5727b589e9474bb68b8242bd8a6997/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

McFall secures MIJRS title with stylish Harvest win

Ben McFall won the final round of the MIJRS Class 2 championship, finishing 51.7 seconds clear of Danny Brady on a slippery Donegal Harvest Rally.

The Ballycastle, County Antrim pilot’s fourth MIJRS victory of the season was enough to secure the MIJRS Class 2 title and with it a Billy Coleman Award nomination.

Oran England set the pace on the opening stage, going 2.6 seconds quicker than McFall. Jack Byrne, Brady, and Ross Ryan were all within reach of the lead position.

McFall and co-driver Mark McGeehan moved into the lead on Donegal's next test, but Ryan was only half a second behind. The position changes continued on stage three with England usurping Ryan for second.

Brady and Ryan both made moves for the lead after service with the latter moving within 0.7 seconds of McFall heading into Donegal's final three stages.

Unfortunately for Ryan and co-driver James Deane their hunt for a maiden Class 2 victory ended on stage seven when they understeered off the road and got stuck for ten minutes. They persevered, however, to complete the rally and claim third in the final MIJRS standings.

Stage seven also claimed England and co-driver Darragh Mullen when they got stuck in a ditch after a jump.

McFall was able to stretch his lead over the now second-placed Brady, claiming another impressive win that sealed the Class 2 MIJRS title.

Byrne completed the podium, 58.6 seconds behind, to seal second in the championship.

Donegal Harvest Rally MIJRS Class 2 top four:

1 McFall (Ford Fiesta Rally4) 1:04:43.8

2 Brady (Peugeot 208 Rally4) +51.7

3 Byrne (208 Rally4) +58.6

4 Ryan (Fiesta Rally4) +16:18.7

MIJRS Class 2 final standings:

1 McFall - 120

2 Byrne - 93

3 Ryan - 90

4 England - 89

5 Harris - 83

Three-in-a-row McShea seals Class 2A title

James McShea, from Letterkenny, County Donegal, clinched the MIJRS Class 2A championship in style on his home event, beating year-long rival Oisin McShane by 4.8 seconds on the Donegal Harvest Rally.

The 16-year-old from Letterkenny and co-driver Liam Callaghan finished the campaign with three wins in a row. He adds the Class 2A crown to the J1000 title he won last year, gaining a Billy Coleman Award nomination in the process.

McShea arrived knowing a finish would be enough to secure the championship, but he and McShane were separated by just 1.1 seconds after the opening stage, with McShane in front. McShea took the lead on stage two, 2.9 seconds clear.

The lead changed hands again on stage three with McShane moving half a second clear after an overshoot and a delay getting past an off-road car hindered McShea's momentum.

After service, McShane extended his lead to 2.4 seconds but McShea responded with stage wins on stages five and six to build a 3.8-second advantage.

Once again, McShane struck back to close to within 0.1 seconds with one stage remaining. A perfectly timed stage win secured the home victory for McShea who picked up the MIJRS Class 2A crown in perfect fashion.

"Winning the MIJRS on my home rally means so much to me," McShea said. "We went into the final stage knowing both the rally win and the championship were on the line, and with such a small gap, I definitely wanted to go for the win as well."

"We had a really good run through the final stage. It was slippery and mucky but we pushed when we needed to, and thankfully it all worked out for us. This was only my fourth tarmac rally, and it was the trickiest I've done, so I'm delighted with how we handled it.”

McShane had to settle for second, 4.8 seconds back, rebuilding his confidence after an off on the Galway Summer Rally.

David Travers took third, just under two minutes behind the leaders, which was enough to finish second in the series, one point ahead of McShane.

Anthony Dineen came home in fourth to claim fifth in the MIJRS standings.

Ryan Caldwell went off on stage one after being caught out on a fast, muddy and slippery section, but reached the finish in fifth after setting strong top-three stage times all day.