Top Midland entry opens 2025 National Rally Championship

A stellar line-up of crews will fight for Midland Stages Rally honours on Sunday as 2025’s eight-round National Rally Championship gets underway.

Leading the 97-kilometre event’s entry is the World Rally Championship crew of Josh McErlean and Eoin Treacy who switch their Ford Puma Rally1 for a Rally2 Fiesta this weekend.

They’ll face stiff competition for Midland’s top spot from last year’s National Rally Championship title protagonists Josh Moffett, Sam Moffett, Eddie Doherty, and Daniel Cronin.

2024 Circuit of Ireland winners Matt Edwards and David Moynihan are set to make their Hyundai i20 Rally2 debut, seeded one spot behind reigning National Champions Josh Moffett and Keith Moriarty. Late entrant Cathan McCourt will fancy his chances in another i20 Rally2.

Desi Henry, Robert Barrable, and Father-Son rivals Declan and Michael Boyle extend the Midland’s potential list of winners.

A trio of Ford Escort Mk2s driven by Gary McPhillips, Michael Carbin, and Chris Armstrong lead the nine-stage rally’s two-wheel-drive entries while last year’s Class 13 pacesetter Aaron McIntyre steps up to Class 14 in his Toyota Starlet.

Find out what lies ahead for the competitors this weekend as Onthepacenote’s Killian Duffy talks us through the stages.

Oghill (10.13 km) – SS1/4/7

The National Rally Championship starts with a super 10-kilometre stage to challenge Sunday’s crews. There are a few muddy corners following the clear-up from recent storms so they will be extra slippery.

It is a nice flowing stage with some sudden corners to keep everyone on their toes.

Kilmoyle (7.35 km) – SS2/5/8

The Midland’s second stage might be a bit shorter but what it lacks in length it makes up for in needing an abundance of bravery. This is a high-speed test on greasy roads linked together with a muddy narrow section.

It is a nice stage but demands a lot of commitment on a slippery road surface.

Bawn (14.70 km) – SS3/6/9

The National Rally Championship’s opening round saves its toughest test to the end.

Bawn has some committed sections but its general feature is endless corners that require plenty of concentration.

The road surface is continually changing and around 1.5 kilometres into the stage the crews will face a really tricky sequence of narrow right-left corners on a slippery surface.

Photo by D Harrigan Images