Devine Unstoppable in Donegal

Letterkenny, Ireland: Callum Devine and Noel O'Sullivan secured a historic third consecutive victory at the 2025 Wilton Recycling Donegal International Rally, held on June 20-22. The Derry-Kerry pairing led the event after the first day and managed their pace through a dramatic weekend to win by 20.5 seconds in their Škoda Fabia RS Rally2.

Rally Overview & Stages

The three-day tarmac event covered over 270 competitive kilometers across 20 classic stages in County Donegal.

• Day 1 (Friday, June 20): The rally began with six stages in the Inishowen peninsula, including the famous Mamore Gap. Devine established an early lead here, ending the day ahead of Hayden Paddon.
• Day 2 (Saturday, June 21): Action moved to stages like Knockalla and Garrygort. This day proved pivotal, as major rivals suffered mechanical issues or crashed out, leaving Devine with a manageable lead.
• Day 3 (Sunday, June 22): The final day featured classic tests such as Atlantic Drive and Fanad Head. Devine maintained his composure to seal the hat-trick.

Top 10 Overall Results

Pos	Driver / Co-Driver	Car	Time	Gap
1	Callum Devine / Noel O'Sullivan	Škoda Fabia RS Rally2	2:23:30.2	–
2	Meirion Evans / Ger Conway	Toyota GR Yaris Rally2	2:23:50.7	+20.5s
3	David Kelly / Arthur Kierans	VW Polo GTI R5	2:24:53.1	+1:22.9s
4	Josh Moffett / Andy Hayes	Hyundai i20 R5	2:25:00.2	+1:30.0s
5	Michael Boyle / Dermot McCafferty	Škoda Fabia RS Rally2	2:26:48.2	+3:18.0s
6	Declan Boyle / Patrick Walsh	Škoda Fabia RS Rally2	2:27:33.5	+4:03.3s
7	Kevin Eves / Chris Melly	Ford Fiesta Rally2	2:28:09.6	+4:39.4s
8	James Ford / Neil Shanks	Citroën C3 Rally2	2:28:57.6	+5:27.4s
9	Ryan Loughran / Dale McGettigan	Ford Fiesta Rally2	2:29:58.6	+6:28.4s
10	Matthew Boyle / Gary Byrne	Ford Fiesta Rally2	2:31:33.8	+8:03.6s
[Source: 1.2.5]

Significant Incidents & Retirements

The rally saw high attrition among top contenders, dramatically altering the leaderboard:

• 
  Hayden Paddon (Rolled): The former WRC driver and current ERC champion was running 2nd overall after Day 1. He retired on Saturday afternoon (SS13) after rolling his Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 on the second pass of Knockalla.

Jon Armstrong (Off Road): Armstrong fought for the lead early on but dropped back due to a rear differential issue on Saturday morning. After fighting back into podium contention, he crashed out on the very final stage (SS20).

• William Creighton (Retired): Running close to the front, Creighton slid off the road on Saturday's final stage due to a slow puncture. Although he finished the stage, he withdrew the car before Sunday's start.
• Mark Alcorn (Withdrawn): A local favorite in the modified class, Alcorn withdrew after Day 1 citing time lost from an incident at Coolcross and navigation issues.

Quotes from the Podium

• Callum Devine (Winner): "To be honest I was quite happy with my driving all weekend... Once I got into a lead I fell back into management [mode], but everything was top class. It just shows you the Tarmac Championship is pretty fast."
• Meirion Evans (2nd Place): Described the event as "the best racing I've ever had."

Report: Neil McDaid

Photos: David McDaid, Neil McDaid 

David Higgins set to shake things up at New England Forest Rally.

After departing from his long term commitment with Subaru in 2019, Higgins has been chomping at the bite to make his return. This weekend Higgins returns to tackle New England Forest Rally in a McKenna Motorsports Ford Fiesta, with his sights locked firmly on his old team mate Travis Pastrana.  

Newry Maine: So many scenarios so little time, with the breaking news yesterday that David Higgins will make a return to the ARA Rally Championship this weekend in McKenna Motorsports Ford Fiesta, so many questions come to mind, mainly how his entry will factor in the drivers championship. Theres no question that David is here to help Barry in his quest for win back to back championships, to achieve this Barry has to win every rally from here out. 

 Yes, in case you missed it last year, Barry McKenna a privateer, is the defending 2020 ARA Rally Champion, McKenna managed to better the 2 car Subaru Factory team to take the title in 2020. 

So, scenario 1, road position, road position, road position, especially on day one, dust is nearly always a factor in Maine, much more than loose gravel, there’s currently rain in the forecast for day one, so best case for McKenna would be second on the road that’s assuming we get rain and no dust on day one. 

The Block factor, what role if any will Block play this weekend in Subaru strategy. 

Its not yet clear how many drivers will be in the seated draw, but I expect that Irish driver Marty McCormack who’s also here for a one off drive in Maine in yet another McKenna car has to the speed factor to be in the draw, so there’s no question he will also play a role for McKenna this weekend. 

Scenario 2, the Ken Block factor, so Ken is for the most part running as a privateer, but he is in a Vermont Sports car Subaru Factory spec car, of course Ken is out for the win, he knows no other way, he has vast experience in Maine, but if push comes to shove will Ken play into Subaru’s Championship strategy this weekend, no I did not say “team orders” just strategy. 

 It always Concord Pond this, Concord Pond that, yes of course its one of the most exciting stages in American rally, but its such a short fast stage, theres very little advantage that can be gained. Onto SS3, South Arm, a flat out stage from start to finish, apart from a few pesky chicanes, this is where things will get and have always gotten interesting, winning South Arm and more so the return on Icicle Brook [SS5] often sets a driver up for Saturday and ultimately the overall podium. 

This year the rally organizers have thrown in a little twist between South Arm and Icicle Brook which was always a turnaround stage. They have added Beaver Pond as SS4, this is an old stage that has not been used in years, it’s a fairly short stage with no major challenges but is new to most all drivers, so who knows. So at this time its all eyes on the seeded draw, when we hear the results of the seeded draw then we might take a stab at throwing out a prediction.. or 3

The Birth of Puma Rally1 Arrives At Goodwood | Ford Performance

MATTON DOUBLES DOWN ON HIS COMMITMENT, THAT THE WRC HYBRID PROJECT IS ON COURSE FOR 2022

M-Sport's Rally 1 Fiesta during recent testing - Photo M-Sport

Both the FIA, along with WRC manufacturers Hyundai, M-Sport Ford and Toyota, are fully committed to the implementation of Rally1 hybrid for 2022 and Matton said measures to counteract issues caused by the pandemic had been implemented.

“The Rally1 hybrid project is a major landmark in the development of rallying and underlines the FIA’s commitment to sustainability and advanced technology,” he said.

“Of course, any new product that is being developed encounters challenges. During the current test phase there is strong collaboration between the FIA, the manufacturers and our technical partners. We are working as one to complete tasks that are synonymous with a development cycle of this nature.

“At present we are operating an accelerated process due to delivery delays brought about by the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic, but with eight months remaining to the start of the 2022 season, we are on course,” he added.

In line with the sport’s drive towards new technology and sustainable energy, the next-generation of top category WRC cars will feature a state-of-the-art plug-in hybrid unit, developed by Compact Dynamics.

Paddon Rallysport’s Hyundai Kona EV Photo: Graeme Murray Photography

The FIA and the manufacturers have made a significant investment in the programme. The three-year agreement includes a shared contribution to the development costs of the innovative hybrid technology, which will have a strong focus on sustainability, cost management and safety.

The Rally1 category will also showcase major safety breakthroughs with a new safety cage design, developed in collaboration with the manufacturers following an exhaustive analysis and crash test programme.

Together with Compact Dynamics, some of the key project milestones include:

• Design and prototype manufacture of the hybrid units
• Bench testing of the prototype units is in progress
• Initial units supplied to teams for integration into their safety cell designs
• Analysis of assimilation of turbocharged petrol engine with hybrid units along with dyno testing
• Selected private testing of Rally1 development cars

Pastrana and Gelsomino take third consecutive victory at Olympus Rally

Shelton, Washington, April 25th, Travis Pastrana has maintained his 100% start to the 2021 American Rally Association presented by DirtFish National season by winning round three, the DirtFish Olympus Rally. 

The Subaru Motorsports USA driver, co-driven by Rhianon Gelsomino, won both the Sno*Drift and 100 Acre Wood Rallies before sealing the perfect hat-trick in Washington, triumphing over Ken Block and Alex Gelsomino by 1m07.4s. 

 It was Block’s first rally back in a Subaru since 2009 and his second consecutive second place to Pastrana, having been the 100AW Rally runner-up in a Škoda Fabia R5+. Hyundai Motorsport junior driver Josh McErlean, 21, finished third and top of the RC2 class, winning the notorious Wildcat stage – the first ever overall stage win of his rallying career – to also net his first ever outright podium. Brandon Semenuk had been a major factor in the battle too, pushing his team-mate Pastrana hard to head into the opening day’s final test – the aforementioned Wildcat – just 3.6s behind the five-time US rally champion. 

 But the Candaian was caught out in the treacherous conditions, clipped a bridge and retired his WRX STI from the rally. The damage proved too great for him to play any further part on Sunday. Reigning ARA National Champion Barry McKenna was supposed to contest his second event in his new Ford Fiesta WRC but withdrew on the eve of the rally for personal reasons. 

 These non-scores, coupled to Pastrana’s third victory for as many rounds, give the Subaru driver a commanding lead in the series standings. He won six of the Olympus Rally’s 11 stages with Semenuk scoring three and McErlean and Block both grabbing one apiece. After a run of four straight retirements, Ryan Booth brought his McKenna Motorsports Ford Fiesta Rally2 home in fourth place, albeit over three-and-a-half minutes down on class rival McErlean. 

 Booth was content with his performance though on his first time out in the latest-generation Fiesta, but did profit from the misfortune of his team-mate Callum Devine who, like McErlean, was sampling US rallying for the first time. 

 Devine had been running within 20s of his Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy stablemate on the opening day but was battling with a mechanical issue aboard his Ford. The problem eventually proved to be insurmountable and Devine called it a day after the first of Sunday’s stages, retiring from what was fourth position. 

 Jeff Seehorn was another retiree, exiting the event from seventh place on Saturday’s final test when an outer tie rod broke on his Subaru and pitched him straight off the road and into a tree. All the calamities allowed John Coyne to grab fifth spot in his Ford Fiesta R5, two minutes ahead of two-wheel-drive winner Seamus Burke in his Ford Escort Mk2. Seventh place went to Matthew Brassfield, who was penalized a minute in his Subaru Impreza but still finished over a minute clear of Derik Nelson’s Subaru BRZ. 

Nelson had been leading the 2WD class throughout Saturday but ran into trouble on Sunday. He performed valiantly on the final stage of the rally though to vault up from 11th to eighth, surging past Travis Nease, Ace Robey and André D’Orazio and profiting from George Plsek’s non-apperance in the final stage to claim the position. 

 Nease slid outside of the top 10 but Robey finished just a single second behind Nelson and D’Orazio was only another 3.2s in arrears. 

 The ARA National series now takes a seven-week break with the next round, the Southern Ohio Forest Rally, running on June 11-12.

Source info: ARA 

Picture: Rhianon Gelsomino

North America’s Oldest Automotive Hillclimb Returns to the Mt. Washington Auto Road -AUGUST 2021

April 21, 2021, Pinkham Notch, NH — Officials with the Sports Car Club of New Hampshire, organizers of the 2021 Mt. Washington Hillclimb, originally rescheduled last year for July 9-11, 2021, announced today that the event will take place instead on August 13-15, 2021 at the Mt. Washington Auto Road in Pinkham Notch, Gorham, NH. 

It was also announced that Subaru of America will return as the event's Title Sponsor and that Yokohama Tire will join the event for the first time as the Hillclimb’s Presenting Sponsor. “The Sports Car Club of New Hampshire is proud to welcome back Subaru of America as Title Sponsor of the 2021 Mt. Washington Hillclimb for the third consecutive event. 

We’d also like to welcome Yokohama Tire to Mt. Washington for the first time as the event’s Presenting Sponsor. Both Subaru and Yokohama Tire have a long history of success in motorsports across the globe," stated Rob Widdick, President of the Sports Car Club of New Hampshire. "In addition, the Sports Car Club of New Hampshire would like to thank the Mt. Washington Auto Road for once again hosting this world-renowned Hillclimb as well as the hundreds of volunteers who are crucial to the success of the event. 

Lastly, with the pandemic nearly behind us, we'd like to thank everyone, including the many competitors, for their patience and understanding as we've navigated this unprecedented situation to reschedule this historic Hillclimb." First run in 1904, the Climb to the Clouds took place as part of the famous Glidden Tour several months prior to the first-ever Vanderbuilt Cup on Long Island, New York that was first run in the Fall of 1904. The initial Mt. Washington Hillclimb was also seven years before the first-ever 500-mile race at the Brickyard in Indianapolis, Indiana which took place in 1911 and twelve years prior to the inaugural Pikes Peak Hillclimb in Colorado which first took place in 1916. The 7.6 mile “Climb to the Clouds” is without question one of the ultimate proving grounds for both drivers and automobiles anywhere in the world. 

The serpentine tarmac and gravel road is lined with trees, rocks and dramatic drop-offs as it winds its way to the 6,288 foot summit of the Northeast’s tallest peak — Mt. Washington. “Subaru is once again thrilled to support the Mt. Washington Hillclimb in 2021,” said William Stokes, Motorsports Manager for Subaru of America. “The Mt. Washington Auto Road provides a challenge unlike any other, and the Sports Car Club of New Hampshire has done a great job in putting on the event. Subaru has been able to set new records every time the event has been run since 2011, so we’re looking forward to more fireworks in 2021!” 

 Set for Friday through Sunday, August 13-15, 2021, the Subaru Mt. Washington Hillclimb presented by Yokohama Tire will serve as a multi-day motorsports festival filled with a variety of activities for all ages including the Yokohama Tire Fan Zone which will host antique vehicle displays, a variety of food and memorabilia vendors and an autograph session on Saturday. The 3-day weekend will be topped off with the return of the historic Subaru Mt. Washington Hillclimb presented by Yokohama Tire event which takes place Sunday, August 15, 2021 on the 7.6 mile Mt. Washington Auto Road. “It’s great to see the legendary 'Climb to the Clouds' return,” said Fardad Niknam, Yokohama Tire’s senior director of product planning & product marketing. 

“We’re thrilled to be the Presenting Sponsor of the 2021 Subaru Mt. Washington Hillclimb presented by Yokohama Tire and be involved with such a historic race. We look forward to working with the Mt. Washington Auto Road and the Sports Car Club of New Hampshire, as well as Subaru of America on this highly competitive, fan-favorite race. It will be a perfect venue to show the strength and versatility of our ADVAN tires.” Race organizers from the Sports Car Club of New Hampshire are expecting a full 80-car competition field this year with some of the most talented competitors from across North America. 

They’ll be driving an array of equally impressive hillclimb, time attack, road race and rally cars — all competing for “King of the Hill” honors in one of the most exciting events in all of motorsports. “Since 1904 we’ve had a long history of car racing on Mt. Washington. When the first ‘Climb to the Clouds’ was held, we took our place in racing history and became a proving ground for man and machine,” stated Tobey Reichert, General Manager of the Mt. Washington Auto Road. 

“We’ve continued with this great tradition off and on over the years and are thrilled to once again be getting ready for the Subaru Mt Washington Hillclimb presented by Yokohama Tire in August 2021. We know that technology is changing year after year. Over the past several races we have seen an amazing skill-set behind these amazing machines. This summer we fully anticipate even more excitement and records to be broken.” Additional information regarding media requests, volunteering, spectating and lodging for the 2021 Subaru Mt. Washington Hillclimb presented by Yokohama Tire scheduled for August 13-15, 2021 can be found on the event’s official web site: mt-washington.com/climb-to-the-clouds.

Ken Block Attempts an 8th Win at The Rally in The 100 Acre Wood

eSports WRC review 2021 - Round 4 / Rally Argentina

A First for Seehorn in Idaho

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Idaho City, Idaho ~ Five rounds into the 2019 American Rally Association, presented by AMSOIL series; five different winners.

 

Nestled deep in the Sawtooth Mountain range less than an hour outside of Boise, the Idaho Rally International was a showcase for the technical aspect of rallying. Twists and turns, tight roads and quick hairpins littered the scheduled 123-stage miles for the two-day event. Winning would require drivers to be fast, but also clean and steady, which is exactly how it played out for Seehorn Racing’s Jeff Seehorn and Cody Crawford.

 

Seehorn, who won the Overall and the Limited 4WD class, was textbook in his approach to the weekend. He ran consistently fast times on Saturday and was the beneficiary of mistakes and mechanical issues that plagued the top Subaru Motorsports USA teams of David Higgins and co-driver Craig Drew, and Oliver Solberg and co-driver Denis Giraudet. At the end of day one, Seehorn and Crawford were atop the leaderboard, more than 53-seconds ahead of Higgins and Drew.

 

“We were just going out and playing it safe,” said Seehorn after day one was completed. “we would only be pushing when we need to but stay on the road.”

 

Six stages awaited the field on Sunday, and the consensus was that Higgins and Drew were going to push hard and would significantly cut into Seehorn’s lead on the Meadow Creek stage. After three stages were completed on Sunday, what was once a 53-second lead for Seehorn and Crawford, was now a 32-second lead for Higgins and Drew. Over the next two stages, runs up Spanish Fork and a shortened Grimes Pass, Higgins and Drew increased that lead up to 1:47, and needed one final run to lock up back-to-back wins.

 

The last stage of the day, however, would tell the story for the weekend. Higgins and Drew were pushing hard across the twisty Meadow Creek road, but with about two miles left to the finish, Higgins was uncharacteristically caught off-guard while trying to change a map, pushing him off the stage road. They were able to get back on-stage, but by the time they dug out, more than 20 minutes were lost, more than enough time for Seehorn to push on to a mistake-free win, the first national overall win of his career.

 

“We are just stoked, to keep it clean, to not have any mechanical issues,” said Seehorn after the podium celebration. “I spent hours prepping this car myself and it’s just amazing to come ​out with the overall. In my six years of doing this, this is an amazing weekend.”

 

 

With the weekend-long struggles for both Higgins and Solberg, the podium would be without at least one of the Subaru Motorsports USA teams for the first time this season at events they’ve competed. Instead, a great battle developed for second place between the Ken Stanick and co-driver Shayne Peterson and Cameron Steely and Preston Osborn. 

 

Competing in the Limited 4WD class, Steely and Osborn held a 13-second lead for third overall entering Sunday. Stanick and Peterson were able to flip the switch on Sunday’s first stage, and despite keeping it close, Steely and Osborn were never able to close the gap on their Open 4WD counterpart, finishing third overall.

 

Blake and Tricia Lind finished the Idaho Rally fourth overall and won the National NA4WD class. Flynn Baglin and Co-driver Alix Hakala rounded out the top five while finishing third in L4WD behind Seehorn and Steely.

 

Chris and Michelle Miller finished sixth overall, and took home the National Open 2WD class win, besting Brad Morris and Doug Nagy by 45-seconds. In Limited 2WD, Robert Sanders and Mickey Mettetal won with a total time of 3:17:11.

 

The stages in Idaho proved positive for the Side-by-Side contenders. Carl Marcum and Phouvanh Sichulailuck actually timed in third fastest for the rally. Their overall time of 2:32:59 was just 27-seconds ahead of Stephane Verdier and Co-driver Erica Sacks. 

In all, 29 cars started the ARA West Championship Idaho Regional Rally, and only 15 cars finished. At the top were Dave and Mike Brown who pushed their 2001 Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS to the overall and NA4WD win. Matt Brassfield and Co-driver Kristi Berg finished second overall while winning the L4WD division. Ryan Booth and Co-driver Alison Laroza finished third in the regional rally and won the L2WD class. Jeff Gamroth and Jason Baird rallied to a fourth overall finish in their 1989 Porsche 964 and won the O2WD. Rounding out the top five, as well as winning the O4WD class was Ryan Bouffioux and co-driver Steven Winnat.

 

Full results of the Idaho Rally International can be found on the ARA website, or on the ARA Mobile App.

 

Round six of the American Rally Association, presented by AMSOIL national schedule will shift back East with the scenic New England Forest Rally July 19-20. More than 120 competition miles will be held around the Newry, Maine and Errol, N.H. areas.