Kyle McBride and Fionn McLaughlin scoop most prestigious Irish motorsport awards

Alex Dunne won the Manley Trophy for the best International Driver of the Year as voted by the motorsport press.

Wed, 03 Dec, 2025 - 17:25

Martin Walsh

Donegal's Kyle McBride and Derry's Fionn McLaughlin have scooped the most prestigious awards in Irish motorsport while for the second year in a row, Offaly's Alex Dunne won the Manley Trophy for the best International Driver of the Year as voted by the motorsport press.

The Motorsport Ireland awards ceremony at the Crowne Plaza in Santry was underpinned by Kingfisher Motorsport.

The Billy Coleman Award for the Young Rally Driver of the Year award went to McBride from Clonmany in north-Donegal. It was a case of third time lucky for 22-year-old after being a finalist in 2022 and 2024.

This season McBride, who was co-driven by Sligo's Darragh Mullen in their Peugeot 208 Rally4, maximised his performances enroute to winning the Stellantis Motorsport Rally Cup IRE & UK and the Junior British Rally Championship, clinching both on the Cambrian Rally, that dovetailed as the final rounds of both championships. Clonmel's Casey Jay Coleman and Kells driver Cian Caldwell were the runners-up.

A member of the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy, McBride's Billy Coleman award success provides him with a bursary of some €50,000 from Motorsport Ireland and Sport Ireland while an additional support package of up to €50,000, will be available from the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy as part of an agreed training and development programme designed to progress his career.

His victory in the Stellantis Cup has already secured a €40,000 support package towards an FIA Junior ERC campaign in 2026.

"The package we won with the Stellantis Cup is great," he said.

"Winning the Billy Coleman Award is fantastic and really means a lot, it's going to help us put a very strong package together to give us the best opportunity in the Junior European Rally Championship and that's our main focus. As for doing anything else, I don't know but the Junior ERC is the main focus."

The Sexton Trophy for Young Racing Driver of the Year was awarded to the Derry teenager and Red Bull Junior driver Fionn McLaughlin. Victory in the British Formula 4 Championship has opened doors for an attack on the European Formula 3 Championship, a progression that should be as seamless as his transition from karting to single-seater racing.

He will receive €42,500 in support funding from Motorsport Ireland and Sport Ireland while in a first for the award, runners-up Jason Smyth and Sean McGovern will also receive funding of €5,000 and €2,500 respectively.

McLaughlin remarked: "It gives support to the funding package we need to supply (for F3) I'm just grateful to even be a name on the Sexton Trophy. I'm thankful to have the opportunity and hopefully I can still keep doing a good job through the ranks and have a good season in F3."

With Alex Dunne showing great pace in F2, he added: "When you are looking up to someone that comes from the same background, I'm going to try my best and match him."

Due to his commitments in the final round of the FIA Formula 2 Championship in Abu Dhabi this weekend, Alex Dunne, the International Driver of the Year winner was unable to attend.

The Clonbullogue teenager has been at the cutting edge of the series with Rodin Motorsport and also had outings with the McLaren team in Formula 1 free-practice sessions at the Austrian and Italian Grand Prix races.

Former Irish Tarmac champion (1982) and MI Rally Academy founder and patron John Coyne was inducted into the Motorsport Ireland Hall of Fame. During the ceremony, the Neil Shanahan Memorial Trophy was awarded to the Danny Dempsey (11) from Dunboyne, Co. Meath, who was crowned 2025 Motorsport Ireland National Cadet Karting Champion.

Other winners were Noelle Horan (Ivan Webb Memorial Award); Adam Farrelly (JC Millard Memorial Award); Paddy Fay (Mick Merrigan Memorial Award) and Nicole Drought (Rosemary Smith Trophy).

In recognition of their voluntary efforts for the sport, Pat Sheil, Winnie Sheil, Eamon McGee, Niall Murphy, Pat Healy, Ger Hayes, David Pain, and Jim Callaghan (RIP) received FIA Volunteer Pins.

Motorsport Ireland President’s Awards were presented to Maria O’Donoghue along with the Wexford, Birr & District, Killarney & District, Limerick and ALMC clubs.