MOONEY WINS BUGGY IRELAND CHAMPIONSHIP…

Fending off the 135 registered competitors for what was the second season, Paul Mooney won the 2025 Buggy Ireland Championship - the result came from four event wins and an early fourth in what was a fantastic season for the MV Racing driver who claimed his first overall win at round two.

The Ballinderry winner was followed home by William Armstrong, with a win at the start of the season at Latton his best score to leave a gap of 21 points.

Cavan’s Thomas Wedlock was third and Division 3 winner while a fourth-place finish in the overall standings was enough for Fergal Deighan to become both the Master and Division 1 champion by 44 points.

The Limavady man was followed home by Labase driver Stephen Reynolds while four points back Jeremy O’Brien’s move to D1 this season resulted in a podium finish.

Kevin Meenagh won St Angelo on the way to fourth and Aaron Haslett rounded out the top five.

As it was in overall terms, Mooney was ahead of Armstrong in Division 2 with four maximum scores including the bonus points round at St Angelo to make a 15-point gap.

Martin Loughran had a third and fourth overall finish during the year on the way to third in the group.

Paul’s brother, Brendan Mooney, was fourth, four points from matching Loughran but eight points ahead of County Roscommon’s Cormac Phelan.

Wedlock brought his Casmat to the front of Division 3 by 23 points with Stephen Kearney’s highest score at RD3’s Latton - the Speedcar driver followed home by MV Racing’s Chrissy Hughes.

Missing out on a podium finish by a single point following a dropped score was Semog entrant Dean McLaughlin.

Ryan Kearney’s first season in the Buggy Ireland Championship was rewarded with fifth in a category that had 33 scorers.

Special prizes

Thanks to Irradiance Energy and driver Barry Meeke cash prizes were presented at each event to the driver of the fastest individual run time in each of the three divisions, while Labase Ireland provided support with tyre prizes for one lucky division winner (the three names chosen from a hat). Trophies and final positions were decided with all times added together after each driver dropped their worst time of the day - keeping the race right to the end.

2026 season

The 2026 calendar will be confirmed in due course but action will get underway as early as Saturday January 31 with an expected six rounds. Details, dates and regulations will be available via www.buggyireland.com.