Matt and Catherine Shinnors: Rallying the World, together
Matt Shinnors and his wife Catherine aren’t your typical Irish rally crew.
Matt and Catherine Shinnors on round 3 of the Australian rally championship in a hired Datsun in May this year
They’re the only Irish driver and navigator to have competed on every continent where rallying is possible; from snow and ice in Finland to the red dirt of Kenya, and from the forests of New Zealand to the tarmac of Japan.
Their journey started small but turned into something much bigger. Over the years, they’ve tackled rallies in Asia, Africa, Oceania, North and South America, and of course Europe and they’re not finished yet.
They’ve driven all kinds of cars too: Ford Escort Mk2s, Toyota Corollas, Datsun 1600s, BMWs, Fiestas, Imprezas, Mitsubishi Lancers, In face anything with wheels and a roll cage, front, rear, or four-wheel drive, left or right hand drive
One year, Catherine won €2,000 in the Irish Lotto. The cost to ship their Escort to Barbados? Exactly €2,000. So they went.
They finished the rally, got engaged afterwards, and a few years later they got married in an ice church in Rovaniemi, Finland just days before lining up at the Arctic Rally.
They’ve done the Classic Safari Rally in Kenya, the Rally del Atlántico in Uruguay, the Shinshiro Rally in Japan, the Forest Rally in Perth Australia, the Canterbury Rally in New Zealand, plus events in Thailand, the USA, and beyond.
E-WRC results: https://www.ewrc-results.com/profile/55-matt-shinnors/
Matt is the first Irish driver to have rallied on six continents, Catherine the first Irish woman co-driver to do the same.
Off the stages, Matt once shipped an old BMW bike to South America to follow the Dakar Rally, crossing the Andes with Catherine on the back.
Before they met, Matt was a rally instructor in Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand, working with Rally School Ireland, Rally Drive NZ and the WRX Experience in Surfers Paradise. He even worked alongside Kris Meeke in Monaghan.
His own driving CV includes WRC Rally New Zealand back in 2006 in a Mitsubishi Evo VI. He’s a three-time Irish national autocross champion in a Subaru GC8.
Catherine is Irish national ladies autocross champion and co-drove the all-women’s Rally Jameel across Jordan and Saudi Arabia earlier this year.
They say they won’t rest on their laurels.
There’s already another plan in the works. But they’re keeping that under wraps for now.
You can find more about Matt and Catherine’s story at www.msmotorsport.com
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