Moffett caps memorable weekend with Bushwhacker Rally victory

Monaghan's Josh Moffett (Hyundai i20 R5) and his Wexford co-driver Andy Hayes took an important victory in the Omagh based Bushwhacker Rally to move into the lead of the Trailer parts & spares Irish Forest Rally Championship. Picture: Courtesy of Kevin Shields Motorsport Photography.

Monaghan's Josh Moffett completed a memorable few days with victory on Saturday's Bushwhacker Rally in Omagh where he regained the lead of the Trailer parts & spares Irish Forest Rally Championship. On Friday, Josh and his wife Aoibhin, celebrated the birth of their first born, Alex. The Bushwhacker, also known as the "Omagh Grand Prix" due to the fast nature of the event, proved to be another thrilling instalment with Moffett and co-driver Andy Hayes (Hyundai i20 R5) moving into the lead on the penultimate stage before finishing 4.6s ahead of the Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 of their championship rivals Greencastle's Mark Donnelly and co-driver Martin Brady. Perth based Omagh driver Patrick O'Brien (Skoda Fabia R5), who was co-driven by his brother Stephen were excluded from third place due to a technical infringement, promoting the Derry crew of Jordan and Paul Hone (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) to the final spot of the podium.

The Irish series is shaping up to be the closest in years and with two rounds remaining, Moffett and Donnelly are both on 94 points with Moffett leading on a tie-break (most wins) situation.

On the opening four-mile stage Donnelly, with a cracking time, laid down a marker as he led Moffett by 3.3s with Hone just 0.2s behind. O'Brien, seeking a sixth successive victory on what is his home event, occupied fourth - 4.6s off top spot. All the drivers commented on the slippery nature of the stage particularly after the start.

Donnelly admitted he was very fortunate to survive a huge moment of the second stage and although he maintained the lead, O'Brien moved into second just 1.4s behind followed by Moffett - 3.1s off the lead, the tight nature of a chicane drew comments from some drivers.

O'Brien moved ahead on SS3 just 0.3s in front of Donnelly with Moffett continuing in third - all three within a three second time frame. The top three remained unchanged through a wet SS4 where Hone took the stage win. Indeed, the Derry driver repeated the feat on SS5 (a new stage) to slot into third at the Omagh service park where O'Brien led Donnelly by 1.2s. The close nature of the rally was illustrated by Moffett and while he occupied fourth and felt he hadn't a good rhythm through SS5, he was only 2.3s off the lead.

All five stages were repeated in the afternoon. Several drivers beat the bogey time on SS6 before O'Brien extended his lead over Donnelly to 4s on SS7 where Moffett regained third.

As conditions dried out the top three order remained unchanged as Hone couldn't explain why he lost time to his rivals.

O'Brien struggled with an issue on the penultimate stage as Moffett moved into the lead 0.5s ahead of O'Brien with Donnelly, who clipped a chicane, dropping to third; Hone bounced back to form with another stage win.

O'Brien spun on the final stage and although he finished third on the time sheets, he was later excluded. Moffett and Donnelly set the same time on the final stage as Moffett completed a great weekend. "It's unbelievable, this win was important for the championship, we always knew it was going to be tough, the pace was really fast. It's been a great few days."

Meanwhile, the first three (monthly-April-June) nominees for the 2026 Sexton Trophy Young Racing Driver of the Year award have been announced by Motorsport Ireland.

Wicklow's Charlie McKillen (21) who secured five pole positions and three wins in the Mondello Park Fiesta ST Championship is the April nominee; Galway's Alex O’Grady (17) competing in the British GB4 Championship, took three event victories to secure the May nomination and Dubliner Sean McGovern (21) the June nominee, lies third in the Milltek Civic Cup after taking multiple podiums and pole positions including victory in Donington Park. On the domestic scene, he has secured the Mondello Park Fiesta Zetec title with a round to spare. The winner of the Young Racing Driver of the Year award for the Sexton Trophy will receive a €42,500 support package to help develop their motor racing career. The award is presented annually and is supported by Sport Ireland and Motorsport Ireland.

Bushwhacker Rally (Irish Forest Rally Championship & Northern Ireland Forest Rally Challenge) Omagh: 1. J. Moffett/A. Hayes (Hyundai i20 R5) 33m. 58.6s; 2. M. Donnelly/M. Brady (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2)+4.6s; 3. J. Hone/P. Hone (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2)+9.4s; 4. D. Kelly/S. Buckley (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2)+27.1s; 5. V. Hamill/P. Robinson (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2)+51.6s; 6. R. Caldwell/D. O'Sullivan (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2)+54.2s; 7. J. Greer/N. Burns (Toyota Yaris Rally2)+1m. 05.4s; 8. N. Devine/L. McIntyre (VW Polo R5)+1m. 10.5s; 9. D. Condell/M. Coady (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2)+1m. 12.4s; 10. A. Smyth/E. Sherry (VW Polo GTi R5)+1m. 18.2s.