McBride and Mullen record dominant Rally4 victory in Donegal

A perfect performance over three days and 20 stages was enough for Kyle McBride and Darragh Mullen to secure Rally4 honours on the 2025 Donegal International Rally.

McBride set eight fastest times from a possible nine on Friday and Saturday morning to build a remarkable one-minute lead in the competitive front-wheel-drive category. The 22-year-old managed brake issues over Knockalla and Garrygort, showcasing his rally maturity, before returning to his usual stage-winning pace on Saturday’s final loop.

With 51.7 seconds in hand over Stellantis Motorsport Rally Cup rival Joseph Kelly, McBride controlled his lead in wet and dry conditions to seal an eventual 41.7-second victory.

His first Rally4 victory in Donegal will be one to remember for the local driver who puts himself back into Stellantis Cup contention with a second top points haul of the year.

“I am delighted to get the win at my home event,” said McBride. “Donegal International Rally is a huge event, and it was a tricky few days of rallying. I was happy just to get the opportunity to compete in Donegal, so to win it is something really special.”

“I would like to thank Darragh for doing a great job on the pacenotes, the BGM Motorsport crew and Dad for doing an awesome job in service - the car was in top shape all weekend. We were able to compete on some of the most famous stages in Ireland, which was always a dream of mine growing up.”

“Thanks to all of my sponsors for getting us here. It is nice to get the win at home and pick up maximum points in the Stellantis Cup. Well done to the organisers and volunteers on running such a good event.”

There was plenty of Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy action at the front of the Donegal International Rally’s overall standings.

Jon Armstrong and Shane Byrne set Donegal’s early pace aboard their new Ford Fiesta Rally2, leading Callum Devine by 0.9 seconds after stage two. Armstrong set nine fastest times over the weekend, despite it being his first time to compete on the famous three-day marathon.

Unfortunately, a mechanical issue cost the European Rally Championship contenders over a minute, limiting their hopes to a podium position. A stunning 4.3-second fastest time on wet tyres over a dry Atlantic Drive stage put Armstrong into third on Sunday morning.

Another 6.1-second stage win on the epic corner-after-corner test on Sunday afternoon looked set to secure his podium finish, but for an overshoot on Fanad Head’s finale to deny what would have been a stunning comeback drive.

William Creighton and Liam Regan also impressed on their first attempt at Donegal in Rally2 machinery. The 2023 Junior World Rally Champions tweaked their Toyota Yaris Rally2’s set-up throughout Friday’s six stages to climb up from seventh after stage one to fourth overnight.

Creighton was locked in a battle with Armstrong, Meirion Evans, and Hayden Paddon on Saturday’s opening tests, with one second covering the four crews after High Glen. The 27-year-old went on a stunning run of four stage wins from five to cut his gap to leader Devine from 17.7 seconds to 4.9 seconds ahead of Saturday’s final stage.

Disaster struck Creighton’s Toyota on Garrygort, however, when a slow puncture on its front-left tyre understeered the Yaris through a hedge. Frustratingly, the Donegal International Rally contenders were stuck for seven minutes and opted to retire from the event.

Still, Creighton can take plenty of positives from his four stage wins on Saturday as he looks to renew his British Rally Championship charge on the Grampian Forest Rally later in the summer.

“It was a really enjoyable weekend in Donegal, Creighton reflected, although I am definitely a bit gutted we were unable to bring the fight into Sunday - it is not often you get the opportunity to go into the final day of Donegal with an opportunity to win.”

“I am happy with our performance, the stage times were getting better and better after finding a nice rhythm on Saturday. A huge thanks to the MI Rally Academy and all of our supporters for getting us to the start-line. If you had told us before the event that we would be less than five seconds off the lead on Saturday evening, we would have taken that.”

“The improvement in our speed was really encouraging, and I think there was still more to come, so that is a good positive to take going forward.”

“We achieved everything we set out to do; it was never a case of trying to win the rally, as we had other things we still wanted to build upon. We learned a lot, and thanks to the whole Melvyn Evans Motorsport team for putting in a big effort to help with our improvements.”

“It was amazing to see so many spectators on the stages. I haven’t been to a rally in Ireland where there have been so many people cheering us on. It was an amazing atmosphere and I would love to come back sometime, but for now we have some important things to concentrate on in the British Rally Championship.”

Ryan MacHugh and Declan Boyle completed Donegal’s three days of intense rallying in 16th overall aboard their Ford Fiesta Rally2. On only his third event in Rally2 machinery, MacHugh narrowly missed out on a top ten stage time on Donegal’s third test before a puncture on Friday’s second loop of stages cost him over three minutes.

The local driver persisted through the rest of the event, climbing up from 68th on the overall leaderboard, consistently setting top 15 times along the way.

Killian McArdle completed his 16th rally of the year, co-driving Joseph Kelly to second in Donegal’s Rally4 category. The MI Rally Academy co-driver picked up crucial points for his Stellantis Cup campaign in the Peugeot 208 Rally4.

Jack Harris and Aaron O’Regan held Rally4’s runner-up spot for most of Friday, setting three second-fastest times behind pacesetter McBride.

The Ford Fiesta Rally4 crew were 11.8 seconds ahead of third-placed Ben McFall before retiring on Friday’s final stage, Coolcross.