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It’s now getting to the real crunch time in the 2024 MIJRS battle as this weekends Cork Forest Rally could see the first-class winner crowned this season, while the eight-stage loose surface battle is sure to play a massive part in shaping this years standings right across the field.
The sole national dual-surface championship, the Motorsport Ireland Junior Rally Series (MIJRS) is designed to develop future stars of the sport, with competitors ranging from 14-24 years of age competing across its classes, with prize funding to the tune of over €70,000 on offer through the Motorsport Ireland Academy as well as a further €15,000 prize fund sponsored by Race & Rally on offer.
The headline story going into the southern event is the possibility that Jack Harris may become an MIJRS Winner in the newly formed Class 2A, the Donegal youngster knowing that victory in Cork will put his tally beyond reach for his two great friends and rivals Ciara Duggan & Jack Kennedy.
The class battle this year has been remarkable, with all three drivers having claimed victories on their first year out of J1000, and the excitement around this tussle is a fantastic outcome of the introduction of Class 2A for older R2 & R2T machines. Harris has enjoyed the Cork Motor Club event in the past claiming a J1000 victory last year, but the focus will now be on securing the title this weekend.
With eight stages and 82km of high speed loose-surface action in store, there is also a real opportunity for Craig Rahill to truly make a definitive mark on his ambitions of winning Class 2 as he heads south aiming to extend his MIJRS lead. With a seven-point advantage and his closest rival not competing this weekend, Rahill can’t secure the crown just yet but can take a significant step towards it.
The Ford Fiesta Rally4 of Rahill will undoubtedly be chased hard by the ever-exciting Tommy Moffett in a similar machine across the lightning quick Cork stages, last year’s J1000 winner has wasted no time getting up to speed in Class 2 and could jump into second place in the standings. Oran England has been a new arrival on the MIJRS scene in recent events, and the karting star has looked quick coming second on Tarmac but will make his very first start on Gravel this weekend.
Mossie Costello is the fourth of our Ford quartet on this weekends Cork Forest rally, but he will definitely be looking closely at the times of Cian Caldwell & Jack Brennan in their Peugeot 208 Rally4’s. Both former MIJRS class winners, the pair are using the event to get back up to speed and gain valuable experience after difficult seasons so far.
In the J1000 class, the ever-booming series continues to grow with 24 crews taking to the start on Sunday morning, with Gemma Hallinan set to be the first of our registered drivers on the opening stage just after 9am. At the head of the field, the standings are neck and neck after four rounds, with Danny Brady and Oisin McShane tied on 29 points, and both having won the rally events so far this season.
David Travers has shown really strong pace this season and is getting ever stronger to sit third, ahead of the more experienced pairing of Ross Ryan and Tommy Cronin, while Ryan Caldwell rounds off the top six as we get set for another enthralling encounter.
With eight stages and all manner of excitement to unfold over 82km of Rally action, this weekends Cork Forest event is sure to be a cracker. After this, there is a short turnaround for the J1000 field as they head to the Carrick Sprint on August 24th, while our other classes head to the tarmac lanes of the Galway Summer Rally on September 1st.
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