Moffetts to skip BRC events in favour of Irish rallies

Monaghan brothers Sam and Josh Moffett look set to stick to rallying in Ireland for the remainder of 2021. October’s Donegal Harvest Rally will likely be their next event as they haven’t entered the next two rounds of the British Rally Championship.

Both Sam and Josh have competed on all three BRC rounds so far this year with the former winning the opening round, Neil Howard Stages, back in May.

However, their names are missing from the Trackrod Rally and Mull Rally entry lists. Josh Moffett confirmed to Onthepacenote at the end of Sunday’s Cork 20 Rally that he will not be travelling to Yorkshire this weekend.

Josh was evidently happy to see a return to rallying in Ireland even though he couldn’t manage to mount a sustained challenge on Cork 20’s winner Callum Devine. Along with co-driver Andy Hayes, he finished the nine-stage rally in third overall, 57.9 seconds behind the European Rally Championship regular.

A Stage 3 blockage cost Sam Moffett a minute meaning he finished down in eighth at the end of Sunday’s running. Two stage wins in the second half of the rally was a better indication of his pace in the Ford Fiesta Rally2.

Ireland’s next closed-road event, the Donegal Harvest Rally, takes place on 3 October with six asphalt stages around Donegal Town. Cathan McCourt was another driver to confirm he’d tackle the event, which is now less than two weeks away.

Cork 20 runner-up Meirion Evans is unlikely to enter the Harvest due to work commitments. The Welshman is hoping to do the Wexford Stages Rally on 17 October.

Northern Ireland’s Ulster Rally is the next international event home crews can look forward to. The nine-stage rally is based in Newry and will run on 20 November.

The Ulster finishes off this year’s British Rally Championship and if the pace in Cork is anything to go by, it will be another thriller.

Photos by Adam Hall and Roger Dawson