Yeats Ridge Forest Rally kicks off 2026 Season

A new season always brings excitement, and it is especially true as we get set for this weekends opening round of the 2026 Trailer Parts & Spares Irish Forest Rally Championship. With a brand-new sponsor for the loose surface series, things kick off with a bumper entry for the Yeats Ridge Forest Rally, a brand new event that has attracted a bumper entry for Connacht Motor Club.

As announced recently, the Irish Forest Rally Championship are thrilled to announce Trailer Parts & Spares as Title Sponsors for the series, beginning immediately, with an incredible commitment of a three-year partnership agreed between both parties made on the back of the success the series has had in recent years attracting larger entries, introducing new events and growing the next generation of Irish Rally talent.  

Rebranding the series as the Trailer Parts & Spares Irish Forest Rally Championship through to the end of 2028, it’s an incredible opportunity for the Tyrone based firm to boost their brand awareness right across the island of Ireland, but it’s also a huge boost to the Forest Championship.

With a sizeable reserve list still in place on the eve of the opening round, its clear to see the huge interest that the 2026 Trailer Parts & Spares Irish Forest Rally Championship has already attracted, and the fight for title honours is set to be red-hot right from the off. Leading the 100-car field away for the very first Yeats Ridge Forest Rally are former champions Derek Mackarel & Eamonn Creedon in a Ford Fiesta R5, while multiple rally winner Mark Donnelly makes a return to the series with Martin Brady alongside in a VW Polo GTi R5.

Gareth Mimnagh & Barry McCarney arrive to Sligo in their Ford Fiesta Rally2 fresh off strong seasons end that saw them podium on the Dogleap & Fivemiletown events, while another former champion is sure to be in the hunt with 2015 &  2018 winner Josh Moffett joined by Andy Hayes in a Hyundai i20 R5.

A new season always brings a host of new machines, and its true once again with Jordan Hone & Paul Hone swapping to a Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo, David Condell & Mick Coady having a first taste of the newer again Skoda Fabia RS Rally2, while rising stars Keelan Grogan & Ayrton Sherlock make their 4wd debut on gravel in a Ford Fiesta Rally2.

Hugh McQuaid & Declan Casey amongst bumper entry for 2026 Yeats Ridge Forest Rally

The 2WD field is just as wide open looking at the bumper entry. 2025 Champions Hugh McQuaid & Declan Casey lead the way in their Ford Escort MK2, but will their hands full dealing with the returning Mickey Conlon, himself a multiple time 2WD champion, with Shane Maguire alongside, as well as the ever-quick fellow Escort pairing of Paddy McToal & Connor O’Loan. Such is the incredible training ground that the Forest Championship has become for developing a new generation of young talent, the following eight seeds are young guns in front-wheel-drive Rally4 machines with the likes of Ben McFall, Oran England, Danny Brady, John Ward & Jack Harris all looking to replicate the success Cian Caldwell saw in 2025 where he claimed a number of 2WD victories.

The J1000 field remains incredibly strong heading into 2026, even with quite a number of stars migrating up to Class 2A this season. Fresh from a victory on the final round of 2025, James Wray & Peter Ward lead the twenty-car entry but will have their work cut out with Jack McDermott & Paddy Robinson, Adam Ronan & Colm Ronan as well as James’s twin brother Matthew Wray & Joe McNulty all having tasted podium success already in their short careers!

As mentioned, the Trailer Parts & Spares Irish Forest Rally Championship continues to see the addition of new events, with the recently announced 2026 Calendar seeing the introduction of the Maiden City Motor Club’s Dogleap Forest Rally for the first time, as well as brand new events such as this weekend’s Connacht Motor Club’s Yeats Ridge Forest Rally which opens the campaign, and the Laois Motor Club Forest Rally later in the season. 

With the Sligo-based Yeats Ridge Forest Rally opener on February 15th, things move south to Dungarvan on April 18th for the Moonraker Forest Rally. In late June Carrick-on-Suir Motor Club have the tantalising prospect of a two-day Willie Loughman Forest Rally on the 27th & 28th, while the Jim Walsh Cork Forest Rally roars into Kanturk on August 9th. 

The second half of the calendar sees a trio of Northern Irish events, a unique element of the series that truly captures the huge shared interest in Forest Rallying on both sides of the border. September 5th sees the Enniskillen based Lakeland Stages, while two weeks later is the Bushwhacker, the Omagh event back to a single day on September 19th. Laois slots onto the calendar for the first time on October 4th, before things head for a dramatic season conclusion with the Dogleap Forest Rally in Limavady on October 17th. 

The Trailer Parts & Spares Irish Forest Rally Championship caters for competitors from 14 years of age who are starting their career in the Junior 1000 classes, but such is the variety within the series that class winners in recent years have ranged in age right up to those knocking on the door of 80, and everywhere in between. With no recce, centralised servicing and compact routes, the series and its events cater for everyone in an incredibly competitor friendly manner. 

Want to keep up to date with the Trailer Parts & Spares Irish Forest Rally Championship? Check out the Championship Website at www.IRLForestRally.com, the online Sportity Noticeboard at IrishForestChamp, or check out the Championship on Facebook & Instagram.