Stephen Duffy to honour late cousin Johnny Hickey  in Colin McRae’s Car at Rally Masters

Stephen Duffy to honour late cousin Johnny Hickey  in Colin McRae’s Car at Rally Masters

A raffle winner for a passenger spin in a Colin McRae Subaru Impreza at the upcoming Rally Masters Ireland event has a special connection to the Killarney motorsport community.

The winner, Stephen Duffy from Cork, is a first cousin of the late Johnny Hickey, a much missed member of Killarney and District Motor Club who passed away suddenly in 2021.

The draw took place live on social media during an organisational meeting for the Rally Masters Ireland event last week.

The once off demo-style event will be held at Killarney Racecourse on Saturday, September 27. The event raises funds for the Jack and Jill Foundation and the LauraLynn Foundation.

When Stephen learned he had won the “once-in-a-lifetime” prize, his first thought was of his cousin.

 “The man above was surely looking down on me, he definitely made this happen,” Stephen said. “He’ll get a great kick out of the fact that I am going to sit in an ex-Colin McRae car. We were both big Colin McRae fans and have Colin McRae Memorabilia up on the wall at both our houses.”

Stephen and Johnny shared a love for rallying and mountain biking. Stephen remembers cycling with Johnny as a child to watch local rallies. The two were more than cousins, sharing a close bond and a lot of interests.

Needing a race suit and helmet for the event, Stephen contacted Johnny’s wife, Jennifer.

“When I rang Jennifer and told her the news, she said straight away that I had to take Johnny’s suit and helmet,” Stephen recalled. “A piece of Johnny would have to do this special event.” The Rally Masters Ireland event will celebrate iconic rally cars from the 1980s, 90s, and 2000s. The prize, a passenger seat in Colin McRae’s RAC Rally-winning Subaru Impreza, was generously donated by the car’s owner, Martyn Spurrell

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