Local rally crews battle Sligo snow at Yeats Ridge Forest Rally

Local rally crews battle Sligo snow at Yeats Ridge Forest Rally

The 2026 Trailer Parts & Spares Irish Forest Rally Championship kicked off in dramatic fashion on Sunday with the inaugural Yeats Ridge Forestry Rally.

Organised by Connacht Motor Club, the event saw a 103-car field descend on Collooney to tackle the fast, technical stages of Sligo and Leitrim.

For Kerry’s Colin O’Meara, it was a baptism of fire. Competing in his first-ever rally behind the wheel of a newly acquired Peugeot 208 R2, O’Meara was joined by Bandon rising co-driver Daniel Seaman.

Despite the “unknowns” of a debut outing, the pair delivered a remarkably composed performance to finish 36th overall and fourth in the highly competitive Class 2A.

Co-driver Daniel Seaman reflected on a challenging morning:

“There were a lot of unknowns heading out to stage one at Knockroe. We planned to bed ourselves in and just get back to service, but as we pulled up to the start line, we could see snow along the verges. Traction was at a minimum for the first loop of four stages.”

O’Meara was pleased with his debut:

As the day progressed, the Kerry-Cork duo found their rhythm:

“For the second loop, we upped the pace significantly. The grip improved as ruts formed, and by the end of the stage, reporter,  Michael Black noted we’d set a ‘sharp’ time. Colin drove a very mature rally for his first time out; we kept our noses clean and got to the finish of a very challenging event. Fair dues to Colin on his first ever rally, we are already looking forward to the Moonraker.”

O’Meara was pleased with his debut:

“It was a good day out, really challenging conditions especially on the first loop, so it was just a matter of doing a fast recce to get settled. By the second loop, I was able to get more settled in. Big thanks to Eoghan Kerin, Mick, and Noelle from ETM Motorsport, and Daniel Seaman on the notes. Of course, thanks to the boss, Fergus, and all the others that helped me in the background leading up to my first rally.”

O’Meara and Seaman were the only local crew to complete the full distance, with their Peugeot 208, prepared by ETM Motorsport, running faultlessly all day.

Killarney co-driver Niall Myers, navigating for Donegal’s Oisin McShane, proved they had the speed to win Class 2A despite a mechanical heartbreak.

After setting pace-setting times that rivalled class winner James McShea, their Peugeot 208 R2 cut out after stage 2.

Myers explained that the car cut out in the media zone as they were down an engine cylinder, but once they got into service and changed the ECU, they got back out under SuperRally rules.

“It was a pity because the pace was definitely there, having recorded three fastest stage times and tying with class winner James McShea on another out of the five stages we completed,” said Myers

The challenging conditions took their toll on the Junior 1000 field, with all three Kerry crews requiring SuperRally restarts to reach the finish.

The category provided early excitement for the Kingdom when James Spillane of Killorglin and Maurice McElligott from Causeway signalled their intentions early, incredibly leading the class after SS1 in their Seat Mii.

McElligott recalled the drama:

“We were leading the class after stage one, but we had gearbox trouble and lost two gears. We limped through stage two and went back into service. Fair play to the lads in service, they had the box changed in 42 minutes and we were ready to go back out again. We had a mighty run on the last three stages, setting third fastest on stage six and seven, and won stage eight by 1.7 seconds from the J1000 class leader.”

Spillane and McElligott were eventually classified 14th in the class after their mechanical delays.

Frank Wharton and Denny Greaney were debuting a newly built VW Up for the 2026 season and the Firies driver focused on mileage after early setbacks, ensuring the Costello Motorsport-built machine saw the finish line despite slipping into a drain on stage two.

With no damage sustained, they went on to set top three times for the remainder of the event.

Meanwhile, the Killarney and District Motor Clu duo of Aidan O’Leary and John Falvey were another to face early dramas biut they battled through to the finish in their Toyota Aygo to claim 13th in class.

The championship now moves south to Dungarvan for the Moonraker Forestry Rally on April 18.

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