Cork 20 Rally – Junior Section Women In Motorsport

This weekend sees Catherine Walsh (Driver) and Ava O’Driscoll (Co-Driver) take to the stages in their Honda Civic for the Cork 20 Rally.

For driver Catherine Walsh, the Cork 20 will be another opportunity to build on her strong performances in the Junior section at both the Assess Ireland Rally of the Lakes and the Clonakilty & West Cork Rally. Catherine has shown good pace and consistency throughout the season and will be looking to build on that progress this weekend.

Co-driver Ava O’Driscoll has enjoyed an exciting and busy year, gaining valuable experience alongside a number of different drivers and in a variety of cars. She partnered Ray Benskin Jr. at Cork Forestry, finishing 4th in class, before rejoining Catherine and securing an impressive 2nd in Class 16 at the Circuit of Munster.

July brought another milestone for Ava when she recorded her first stage win at the Summerhill Containers Imokelly Rallysprint, further adding to her growing co-driving experience.

Ava was also back in an R5 alongside Derek Mackarel for the 2026 Monaghan Stages. With a new setup and their first tarmac event together in the car, the crew made excellent progress throughout the day. Starting 40th O/A after the opening stage, they climbed their way up to 24th O/A, despite picking up a puncture on the final stage.

With Catherine and Ava now reunited for the Cork 20, they will be looking to put all that experience to good use and continue the positive progress made throughout the season