Two motorsport awards for Kelly and Denning

The Champions of Irish Motorsport Awards ceremony was held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Dublin on Wednesday. 

Eamonn Kelly is presented with his Billy Coleman Young Rally Driver of the Year
Pic: Motorsport Ireland

Two 23-year-old drivers won Motorsport Ireland’s most precious and coveted awards at its Champions of Irish Motorsport Awards ceremony at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Dublin on Wednesday. 

Donegal’s Eamonn Kelly and Rathfarnham’s Alex Denning were announced the respective winners of the Billy Coleman Young Rally Driver of the Year and the Sexton Trophy Young Racing Driver of the Year awards. The International Driver of the Year award, as voted by the motorsport press, went to Offaly’s Alex Dunne (17).

Kelly was nominated for his performances in the opening rounds of the Junior British Rally Championship where he campaigned a Ford Fiesta Rally4 and also for strong results in the Irish National Rally Championship onboard a VW Polo GTi R5. He went on to clinch the Junior BRC. Irish Forest champion Omagh’s Patrick O’Brien and another Donegal driver Kyle McBride were the runners-up for the much sought after Coleman award. In addition to the €50,000 bursary from Sport Ireland and Motorsport Ireland, Kelly also receives a further €50,000 from the Team Ireland Foundation through the generosity of the former Irish Tarmac champion John Coyne.

Racing driver Denning, who learned his craft at Mondello Park winning the 2020 Fiesta ST Championship, raced in this season’s Mini JCW Championship Rookie Cup in Britain and has set his sights on competing in sportscars next season.

Meanwhile, former Sexton Trophy winner Alex Dunne from Clonbullogue scooped the Manley Memorial Trophy for the International Driver of the Year. This year, he became part of an exclusive club as one of only a few Irish competitors to win an FIA Championship, winning the British F4 Championship in his debut year. He also annexed the runner-up spot in the Italian F4 Championship.

Other award winners included Cork’s Daniel Kelleher (12), one of Ireland’s hottest karting talents, who was presented with the Neil Shanahan Memorial Trophy to mark his success in this season’s Motorsport Ireland National Cadet Karting Championship. Last October, the Mogeely karter won the 2022 IAME X30 Mini Euro Series in Belgium and a few weeks later, was second in the X30 Mini category at the IAME Warrior Finals (IWF22) in Le Mans.

In rallying, Monaghan’s Josh Moffett was honoured for winning both the Irish Tarmac and National Rally Championships and Omagh’s Patrick O’Brien was similarly recognised for his victory in the Irish Forest Rally Championship. Some 30 trophies were presented during the course of the afternoon where the attendance included Aiden Harper, president of Motorsport Ireland and Brian Staunton, representing Sport Ireland.

Dubliner Roy Stewart was the recipient of the Ivan Webb Memorial Award (most outstanding contribution to Irish Motorsport) and the JC Millard Memorial Award went to John Coyne as acknowledgement for his contribution to the sport as a competitor and supporter of the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy.

MI president Aiden Harper said, “The standards of our licence holders illustrate that the future of motorsport in Ireland is very bright. The depth of talent amongst our young drivers is continuously growing and alongside our partners in Sport Ireland, Motorsport Ireland is committed to supporting and developing drivers and providing them with every opportunity to succeed at the highest level.”