Bumper Women in Motorsport Entry at the Circuit of Munster Rally

Pictures: Eye to Eye Photography & Clifford Media

Six women drivers are set to contest this weekend's Circuit of Munster Rally in Limerick, representing the largest number to contest any rally so far this year.

The rally is round four of the Triton Showers National Rally Championship. The event also doubles as the third round of the Top Part West Coast Rally Championship, which runs a dedicated women in motorsport category within the overall series. The crews will be vying for the prestigious Katie Quinn Memorial Tarmac Queen Perpetual Trophy, to be presented at the end of the season.

Leading the championship standings into the weekend is Aine Lonergan. Driving her Honda Civic, Lonergan arrives in Limerick full of confidence fresh from a class win at her recent home event, the Carlow Stages Rally.

She faces competition from Galway's Gemma Hallinan in a Ford Fiesta with Ciara Duggan as her co-driver this weekend. Hallinan currently holds second place in the West Coast standings and was leading the Class 2A category in the national standings prior to the Carlow event.

Tipperary's Grainne Caplis is currently holding third place in the championship standings in her Vauxhall Corsa B.

Also on the entry list is Michelle Quinn, sister of the late Katie Quinn. As the defending champion of the trophy, Michelle pilots her Honda Civic this weekend alongside co-driver Caz Somers.

Killarney-based Tipperary native Louise Bourke makes a welcome return to the stages this weekend in her Peugeot 206 Cup Car in what will be her first rally outing of the season.

Joining the championship trail for the first time this year is Cork's Catherine Walsh. Driving a Honda Civic alongside Ava O'Driscoll, Walsh is the top-seeded driver among the West Coast contenders.

Strong Female Navigator Line-up Across the Field

The female co-driver entry is equally strong across the classes for the trip to Limerick, featuring a massive turnout of local competitors and family crews.

In the main field, Ruthann O'Connor will be one to watch in the top seeds, alongside John Warren in their Fiesta Rally 2. Ashleigh Will from Scotland returns for another taste of Irish tarmac alongside Gordon Morrison in a Ford Escort Mk2 and Cork’s Natasha Murphy lines up in the navigator seat alongside John Hickey in his unique Subaru Escort RS. Grace Walsh is once again alongside her father Peadar in the Historic section. Donegal's Jessica Halpenny is contesting the highly competitive class 2 in a Peugeot Rally4 with her driver Tiernan Doherty.

Local Limerick interest focuses on Meg O'Mahony, who takes on her home roads guiding Ronan Lacey in their Honda EG6, while Mary O'Shea joins Gerard O'Shea in another local appearance in a Peugeot 306 S16. Megan Ryan joins Francis Kelly once again, in a Class 3 Renault Clio R3T, the first outing for the pair this year.   Also in Class 3 is Aoife Ronan, co-driving for John Bagge in a Honda Civic.

Sarah Condon joins Sean Fergus in a Class 1 Honda Civic and Susan Smyth is back co-driving alongside Christian Carway in a Ford Puma, just two weeks after she made her Dacia co-driving debut in Carlow. Katarzyna Galinska joins Mike Dolan in a Class 11F Honda Civic. 

Meath siblings Kaelin and Molly Foley are entered in a Peugeot 208 R2 for what will be only their second rally together.

Sligo is well represented by, with Katelyn Carroll co-driving for Rory Carroll in a Ford Escort, and Charlene Mitchell calling the notes for Ryan Mitchell in a Peugeot 106 Rallye.

Further down the order, Lauren Doherty is back in the co-driver seat alongside her brother Cillian in their Dacia Sandero. The Kilkenny pair arrive in Munster fresh from a second-place finish in the Dacia Sandero Cup in Carlow two weeks ago. Michelle Horan is also back out with Ronan Kinneavy in the Dacia class.