Rain, Resolve and Three Seconds: Moffett Masters Ulster Rally Thriller

A late Saturday surge on soaked County Antrim roads gave Josh Moffett and Andy Hayes a landmark victory at the 50th Modern Tyres Ulster Rally.

NAPA Auto Parts Irish Tarmac Rally Championship

The 50th Modern Tyres Ulster Rally delivered the kind of finale that defines championships: changing weather, shifting momentum and two crews separated by little more than a heartbeat. After two days of relentless pressure, Josh Moffett and Andy Hayes emerged victorious by just three seconds, seeing off Eddie Doherty and Tom Murphy in one of the season’s most absorbing contests.

For Moffett, the win was as much about patience as pace. The Toyota Yaris Rally2 crew had trailed overnight, but when rain swept across Saturday afternoon’s stages, Moffett found the confidence and commitment to transform a 6.8-second deficit into a first Ulster Rally triumph on County Antrim’s demanding, world-class roads.

Doherty had looked the driver to beat from the outset. The Kilkenny man opened Friday with a hat-trick of fastest times and appeared increasingly well placed to convert his speed into a first victory of 2026. But the rally’s character changed with the weather, and Moffett’s response was decisive.

Moffett had initially struggled to settle his Yaris over the bumpy Knockboy test, allowing Doherty to build an early cushion. By the midway halt, five perfectly judged stage wins had carried Doherty into the lead and placed Moffett firmly in pursuit.

Saturday morning began to redraw the battle lines. Moffett’s 4.7-second gain over Tardree stripped away much of Doherty’s advantage, before a committed run through the penultimate Cairncastle test took another 5.7 seconds out of his rival and put him ahead for the first time with only Slemish remaining.

Doherty answered with one final stage win, but Moffett had done enough. His three-second victory not only secured a coveted Ulster Rally crown but also strengthened his championship position heading into September’s Cork 20 Rally finale.

“In fairness to Eddie, he pushed hard all weekend, and so did we,” Moffett reflected at the finish. “Thankfully the wet end to the rally helped us. It was really tricky under a few braking spots at the end. It is unbelievable and we are over the moon.”

Behind the lead fight, Cathan McCourt and Barry McNulty completed the podium after a weekend that began with a scare. McCourt bent the rear-right steering arm of his Skoda Fabia on the opening stage, yet recovered quickly enough to keep his rally alive and his podium hopes intact.

What followed was a compelling Ulster duel with Jonny Greer and Donegal-based co-driver Niall Burns. Greer closed in on Saturday morning and briefly wrestled third away on stage eight, only for McCourt to respond. With the pair tied on time before the final stage, the final podium place was still undecided.

McCourt ultimately edged the contest, leaving the recently crowned Northern Ireland Rally Champions to settle for fourth, five seconds adrift.

Sam Touzel rounded out the top five after a close scrap with Mark Kelly, also taking third-place Irish Tarmac points — a standout result in what has become an impressive debut ITRC season.

Modern Tyres Ulster National Rally top five

1 Moffett/Hayes (Toyota Yaris Rally2) 1:20:09.3s
2 Doherty/Murphy (Skoda Fabia Rally2) +3.0s
3 McCourt/McNulty (Fabia) +1:35.1
4 Greer/Burns (Yaris) +1:40.1
5 Touzel/Freeman (Fabia) +2:57.4

McEvoy Motorsport & Flat 2 The Hat Modified ITRC

In the modified ranks, Jason Black and Karl Egan produced one of the performances of the rally. Their Toyota Starlet stormed to two-wheel-drive victory and an extraordinary seventh overall, underlining just how effectively the rear-wheel-drive specialists could live with Rally2 machinery on some of Ireland’s most demanding tarmac.

Black’s opening-stage fastest time set the tone for a commanding weekend. Paddy McToal and Connor O’Loan finished second in their Ford Escort Mk2, more than a minute and a half behind, while Liam McFall and Ivor Lamont completed the podium in a Ford Fiesta Proto, 14 seconds clear of local crew Alexander Cochrane and Chris Johnston, who secured Class 6 honours.

Modified ITRC points went to Tomas O’Rourke and Tomas Scallan, whose return to the series after missing the Donegal International Rally could hardly have been more effective. Their Mitsubishi Evo finished 37.9 seconds ahead of Darrel Quinn and Sean Devlin, extending their championship lead before the Cork 20, where the title will be within reach.

Ulster Rally Modified top five

1 Black/Egan (Toyota Starlet) 1:25:09.7
2 McToal/O'Loan (Ford Escort Mk2) +1:46.3s
3 McFall/Lamont (Ford Fiesta Proto) +3:18.5
4 Cochrane/Johnston (Escort) +3:32.5
5 McNaughton/Maguire (Escort) +3:59.5

Wales Motorsport Historic ITRC

The historic field added further depth to the Ulster’s golden-anniversary edition. Eamonn Kelly and Rory Kennedy took FIA European Historic Rally Championship honours, winning the international section by more than a minute and a half from 2024 Irish Historic Rally Champion Tomas Davies. Alan Ring completed the EHRC podium in his Subaru Impreza.

Among the ITRC-registered historic crews, Ray Breen and Damien Morrissey claimed maximum points ahead of Andy Johnston, whose home-round performance earned second-placed championship points. Ronan Campbell’s third-place ITRC finish was enough to move him to the top of the Historic ITRC standings by five points with Cork 20 still to come.

Jason McSweeney had arrived hoping to strengthen his own title challenge, but mechanical problems struck early and forced his Ford Escort WRC onto the retirement list.

Ulster International Rally top five

1 Kelly/Kennedy (BMW M3) 1:29:40.0s
2 Davies/Davies (M3) +1:46.4s
3 Ring/Deasy (Subaru Impreza) +3:02.6
4 Breen/Morrissey (Subaru Legacy) +3:18.9
5 Graham/Graham (M3) +4:30.4

Paul Browne Plant Hire & Civil Engineering Junior ITRC

Aaron and Caolan Reid strengthened their Junior ITRC title bid with victory on the Ulster Junior Rally, taking maximum points after Darragh Walsh and Gary Lombard retired on Saturday. The Reid pairing had already established an early 6.9-second advantage over their title rivals before Walsh dropped out of contention.

The result gives Reid a 17-point lead in the Junior series with one round remaining, setting up a high-stakes finale at Cork 20.

Ulster Junior Rally top five

1 Reid/Reid (Honda Civic) 44:57.5s
2 McLaughlin/McAleer (Nissan Micra) +2:47.4s
3 Corry/Kelly (Micra) +4:31.8