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As the crews descended from Camp Mountain and made their way home to Tralee, it was a special feeling for Jack Kennedy and Jack Harris, as the pair claimed class victory and left the Circuit of Kerry with a maximum haul of points and a precious lead in their respective races for MIJRS glory.
Contested across dual surfaces, including the gravel tracks of the Sligo Pallets Forest Rally Championship and the tarmac lanes of the Triton Showers National Rally Championship, the MIJRS is Ireland’s premier series for developing future talent in the sport, and the 2025 crop of registered drivers is testament to the opportunities on offer.
With the support of the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy, the winners of Class 2 and 2A will each bag prize funding to the value of €10,000 towards their development as well as a coveted nomination for the Billy Coleman Award shortlist, a life changing prize claimed in 2024 by MIJRS winner Craig Rahill.
With a second successive Tarmac event to kick off their season, a bumper field of 12 crews took on the testing nine stage event based out of the West Kerry town, and it would be a tight battle in store right from the off. In Class 2A, the leading pair from the opening round of the season, the Midland Stages Rally, were the quickest off the mark as Jack Kennedy led Darragh Kelly, the Ford Fiesta R2T of Kennedy opening an 18.7 second advantage over the Peugeot 208 R2 of Kelly by the end of Stage 4.
This would all change dramatically on the second running of the Minard Castle stage. Ross Ryan would bang in a fastest stage time to bring himself into the mix, while Kennedy would have a costly spin closing the gap to just 0.9 seconds. After this moment though, the experience of the Wexford youngster, in his second season in Class 2A, really shone as he eaked out the advantage on the closing tests to claim a second successive victory, with 28.5 seconds to spare over Daragh Kelly and Ross Ryan a fine third.
Tommy Furlong had a difficult day with a mechanical issue in the afternoon, but he showed really strong stage times later in the day as he prepares for a return to the much more familiar gravel for the next round in May.
In Class 2, the battle seemed to be full of twists and turns right across the day, as each stage end brought with it a new tale from the twisting tarmac lanes of The Kingdom, with a trio of drivers claiming a stage victory across the day.
On the opening test, it was Jack Harris who set the standard right from the off, the 2024 Class 2A MIJRS champion making his mark early, with Jack Byrne, Ben McFall and Robert Cronin all setting remarkably strong times for such limited experience. For Cronin, his day would end with retirement on Stage 7, while for Byrne a breakthrough podium finish seemed to be snatched away with a mechanical gremlin on Stage 8 leaving his Peugeot 208 Rally4 stranded for seven minutes.
On the longest stage of the loop, Oran England would go quickest of all and for a time he two remained in the hunt for a podium finish, but he would lose out to Tommy Moffett who used all of his experience to drive a great result and claim valuable MIJRS points. Newcomer to the series Dean Murphy, making his very first start on Tarmac, showed some really impressive pace across the day to bring his maiden voyage home, with a lot learned behind the wheel of his newly acquired Peugeot 208 Rally4.
But in the end, it was a titanic battle for the win between the Ford Fiesta Rally4’s of Jack Harris and Ben McFall, both remarkably still only competing in only their second events in this class of car. Leaving the final service halt at Munster Technological University, Harris held a healthy advantage at the head of the class, but McFall had different ideas and went on a remarkable charge. Setting fastest stage times on the final trio of tests was remarkable, including a stunning attack over the closing 10km Flemingstown stage, but it was sadly not enough for the Bushmills youngster as he finished 2.3 seconds behind his Donegal rival Harris.
After a duo of Tarmac tests, the MIJRS calendar brings the Class 2 & 2A fields onto Gravel next with the Sean Conlon Tipperary Forest Rally on May 11th, while for the J1000 competitors they are out a month earlier with the Moonraker Forest Rally on April 12th, with a Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy Tuition Day organised for the young stars on April 16th in Mondello Park.
It was a day to remember for David Travers as he claimed his very first MIJRS event victory as he took the spoils on last weekend’s Carlow Forest Rally, the second round of the 2025 MIJRS J1000 series and the first full length rally event for the youngest competitors in the sport.
With twenty-seven registered competitors taking to the stages, all between the ages of 14 and 18, on the opening round, it bodes well for what is set to be an incredibly tight battle right across the season.
Over six eventful stages in the Wicklow mountains, it would be the Kilkenny starlet, debuting his VW Up, who would return to the finish in Arklow with just 3.3 seconds to spare over Kyle Drury, with Jack McDermott a fine third. It was a difficult day for Oisin McShane & James McShea, the winners of the season opening rounds in late December both retired, as did Danny Brady who had led for much of the day.
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