Greer wins Bishopscourt!
A fastest time on the final stage from Aaron McLaughlin wasn’t enough to budge Jonathan Greer from the lead position with the Carryduff man and Niall Burns taking their Toyota Yaris Rally2 to its first win at the Brown & Brown opener by 8.5 seconds, writes William Neill.
The five-time NI champion has now set the scene for this year with early maximum points following six fastest stage times at the Race & Rally Bishopscourt Stages. Moving into the lead on stage two there was no denying Greer’s determination to set aside an early exit at the 2025 rally, increasing the margin from 2.2 seconds to, at its height, 9.8 seconds going into the final run.
McLaughlin and Darren Curran, who have returned this season to defend last year’s title, admitted at the finish ramp they really did try, with setup changes throughout to get the Donegal-based Volkswagen Polo R5 to their liking for a circuit-based rally.
Stuart Biggerstaff and Anthony Nestor are rarely far from the podium at Bishopscourt and when the pair moved into third mid-event they remained in place to the finish, 12.8 seconds from McLaughlin but secured their position by 8.4 seconds and top of the Ford Fiesta R5 teams.
Following a sixth fastest time on the opening stage, Sam Moffett changed his tyre setup to move up a place and eventually head home fourth with co-driver Piaras O’Callaghan. The Irish Tarmac and National champion has registered for Brown & Brown points to become another series contender with road-closed rally experience coming into play from round two.
Derek McGarrity may have limited outings now compared to his long rally career but he was fastest on stage one in a late switch to a Hyundai i20 Rally2. In the end fifth, with Damian Garvey, was the result, 16 seconds from Moffett.
An entertainer on the stages Alan Smyth (Volkswagen Polo R5), who jumped up to the top-spec category last year, travelled back to Omagh with sixth overall, 46.7 seconds ahead of another driver to move into the category, Marty Toner (Ford Fiesta R5).
Father and son team Derek and Mark McGeehan were in seventh for most of the day until Toner got ahead on the penultimate stage to finish 3.6 seconds back.
Ballynahinch’s Gary Rodgers enjoyed his local event with a creditable ninth-place finish in an R5-spec Volkswagen Polo debut.
Two-wheel-drive…
At one point less than a second split two-wheel-drive’s top crews only for 2025 category champion Joe Hegarty and David Turkington to break free from Jamie Grant and Oisin Joyce to win by 10.8 seconds with tenth overall.
Grant, in a Toyota Starlet split the Ford Escorts with Dromara’s Niall Braniff and Chris Newell in third ahead of Mark Graham and Damien Sheridan.
Jaye Nevin, the 2025 two-wheel-drive winner, would have been a contender but mechanical issues on stage one forced an early retirement.
Round two will be the Saturday leg of the McKinney Competitions Circuit of Ireland on Saturday April 4 with stages in the Dungannon area. Entries are available via www.rallyscore.net.
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Results (full results via rallyscore.net)
1 Jonathan Greer/Niall Burns (Toyota Yaris Rally2)
2 Aaron McLaughlin/Darren Curran (Volkswagen Polo R5)
3 Stuart Biggerstaff/Anthony Nestor (Ford Fiesta R5)
4 Sam Moffett/Piara O’Callaghan (Hyundai i20 Rally2)
5 Derek McGarrity/Damian Garvey (Hyundai i20 Rally2)
6 Alan Smyth/Emmet Sherry (Volkswagen Polo R5)
7 Marty Toner/David Wright (Ford Fiesta R5)
8 Derek McGeehan/Mark McGeehan (Ford Fiesta Rally2)
9 Gary Rodgers/Eric Calnan (Volkswagen Polo R5)
10 Joe Hegarty/David Turkington (Ford Escort Mk2)
Brown & Brown Motorsport UK Northern Ireland Rally Championship 2026
07 Mar Bishopscourt Stages
04 Apr Circuit of Ireland (Saturday only)
04 Jul Loughgall Rally
25 Jul Rallye Lecale
22 Aug Down Rally
Brown & Brown Motorsport UK Northern Ireland Forest Rally Challenge 2026
28 Feb Fivemiletown Rally
05 Sep Lakeland Stages
19 Sep Bushwhacker Rally
17 Oct Dogleap Rally