Dominant Donnelly Claims Maiden Lakeland Stages Victory
Mark Donnelly and Martin Brady delivered a commanding performance to secure victory on the Trailer Parts & Spares Lakeland Stages Rally, winning by 12.4 seconds and giving Donnelly his first triumph on the Fermanagh event, writes Adam Hall.
The Greencastle driver mastered the loose-surface conditions to bring Patrick and Stephen O’Brien’s recent Lakeland Stages winning streak to an end.
Donnelly set the pace on the opening Lough Navar test, despite admitting that his primary aim was simply to bring his recently acquired Skoda Fabia Rally2 home in one piece. Australian-based O’Brien responded immediately on stage two, Big Dog, posting the fastest time to edge into a slender 0.8-second lead.
The momentum swung back Donnelly’s way on Ballintempo, where he clawed back 5.2 seconds to move 3.7 seconds clear of Ryan Caldwell. Caldwell now occupied second place, just 0.7 seconds ahead of O’Brien, while the rally remained finely poised: only seven seconds separated the top five at the halfway point. Niall Devine held fourth after setting the second-fastest time on stage three, his commitment over the jumps and bumps rewarded with a cracked windscreen. Defending Brown & Brown Motorsport UK Northern Ireland Forest Rally Challenge champions Jordan and Paul Hone were handily placed in fifth.
Donnelly extended his advantage to 7.5 seconds on the second pass through Lough Navar, while O’Brien clipped a chicane and damaged the front bumper of his Fabia. Caldwell then suffered a puncture that cost him three places, allowing Devine and Hone to move ahead, with just 1.2 seconds between them in a rally defined by fine margins.
Donnelly and Brady completed a near-flawless drive with two further fastest times, sealing a memorable Lakeland Stages victory and maximum Forest Rally Challenge points.
“The Lakelands is always a great event,” Donnelly said. “It is one of my favourites and one I have always wanted to win. It is class to get the win now.”
Behind the winners, the leaderboard was reshuffled dramatically on the final 8.9-mile Ballintempo stage. Newly crowned NI Rally Champion Jonathan Greer, still building confidence in his Toyota Yaris Rally2 on gravel, charged through the finale to leap three places and claim the final podium position alongside co-driver Niall Burns. They edged Ryan Caldwell and Dean O’Sullivan by an astonishing 0.4 seconds.
Devine’s podium challenge unravelled on the final stage when he overshot a junction. The error cost him 6.8 seconds to Greer and dropped him from third to fifth, although he still finished half a second ahead of the father-and-son pairing of Jordan and Paul Hone.
In the two-wheel-drive contest, Paddy McToal and Connor O’Loan led from start to finish, taking a commanding 28.4-second victory in their Ford Escort Mk2 and securing maximum Brown & Brown category points.
Hugh McQuaid and Declan Casey relished every minute of their tail-happy day on gravel, securing second place ahead of Shane McGirr’s Lada Riva. McQuaid’s fastest time on stage five was the only result that denied McToal a clean sweep of the stage wins.
A misread corner early on Ballintempo dented McGirr’s confidence, but he recovered well to claim third alongside Denver Rafferty. Sam Stewart finished fourth, 40 seconds ahead of Rally4 winners Jack Harris and Aaron O’Regan.
Two-wheel-drive regulars David Crossen and Rory McCann were hampered by a gearbox problem that eventually forced their Escort into retirement after stage four.
Overall Results
1. Mark Donnelly/Martin Brady (Skoda Fabia)
2. Patrick O’Brien/Stephen O’Brien (Skoda Fabia R5)
3. Jonathan Greer/Niall Burns (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2)
4. Ryan Caldwell/Dean O’Sullivan (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2)
5. Niall Devine/Liam McIntyre (Volkswagen Polo GTi R5)
6. Jordan Hone/Paul Hone (Skoda Fabia Evo Rally2)
7. Josh Moffett/Andy Hayes (Hyundai i20 R5)
8. Darragh Cairns/Mark Preston (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2)
9. Niall McCullagh/Conor Mohan (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2)
10. Stephen Dickson/Ben Teggart (Ford Fiesta Rally2)
Full results: rallyscore.com
Brown & Brown Motorsport UK Northern Ireland Forest Rally Challenge 2026
28 February — Fivemiletown Rally
5 September — Lakeland Stages
19 September — Bushwhacker Rally
17 October — Dogleap Rally