Galway rally driver Aoife Raftery will contest a programme of American rallies at the wheel of a Subaru WRX STI having recently been selected as one of the inaugural drivers in the Seattle-based DirtFish Rally School's new Women in Motorsport Driver programme.
After testing the car for the first time last month, Raftery makes her competitive debut at next month's Olympus Rally. The Washington event marks the first outing for a DirtFish Women in Motorsport driver as well as Raferty's first outing in a four-wheel-drive rally car.
In addition to Olympus, she will contest the following American Rally Association round (the Oregon Trail Rally) as well as the Tour de Forest and the Mike Nagle Rally.
The 24-year-old will drive a limited four-wheel-drive category car built and run at the DirtFish Rally School.
DirtFish Rally School opened its doors in 2010 and has been teaching students the art of rallying ever since.
Based in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, just 40 minutes from downtown Seattle, the school offers a variety of all-wheel drive, two-wheel drive, private and all-women programmes.
The combination of top-specification Subaru WRXs and BRZs along with an a 300-acre property has helped DirtFish build a reputation as one of the best rally schools in the world.
Raferty will compete at the Olympus Rally presented by DirtFish (Shelton, Washington) 12-13 April; the Oregon Trail Rally (Dufur, Oregon) 16-18 May; the Tour de Forest (Shelton, Washington) 4 October and the Mike Nagle Rally, (Oregon) in November.
"My first test with the car went really well," said Raferty
"The Olympus Rally will be my debut in a four-wheel-drive car, this is a big moment for me, and I'm delighted to be making it as a DirtFish Women in Motorsport Driver."
Beyond the driving, Raferty will also work as an ambassador for DirtFish Women in Motorsport throughout the season
Meanwhile this Sunday's Carlow Car Club Forestry event, the second round of the Sligo Pallets Forest Rally Championship, has been boosted with the news that Cork’s Keith Cronin, the four-time British Rally Championship winner, has put in a late entry
"We've put in an entry for the Carlow car club Forestry Rally on Sunday, based in Arklow, to get some gravel running in the Citroën ahead of the next round of the British Rally Championship, the Carlisle Stages Rally," Cronin confirmed.
"It's nearly three years since we were out on a round of the Sligo Pallets Forest Rally Championship, looking forward to it. No doubt the forestry regulars won't be hanging around!"
Originally due to begin in February, the season-opening Donegal Forest Rally was postponed because of the damage caused by Storm Eowyn, but the club are working closely with Motorsport Ireland and the championship team to find an alternative date.
With a bumper 125-car entry received for this Sunday, the Irish Forestry Rally season is set to kick off with six stages and just shy of 65km of high-speed gravel action across the Wicklow Mountains.
For Derek Mackarel and Eamonn Creedon, 2024 was a dream come true. The pair claimed the driver and navigator titles and will be the top seeds on Sunday in their R5 Ford Fiesta.
Indeed, the top ten cars in the seeded entry list are either R5 or Rally 2 cars, showing the strength of rallying in Ireland now
The series moves south after Carlow on 12 April when Dungarvan hosts the Moonraker Forest Rally which returns in 2025, as does the Sean Conlon Tipperary Forest Rally - that one moves to Mitchelstown on 11 May.
The Carlow Car Club are joined as newcomers by Mayo Motor Club who bring the series west, with Ballina playing host on 31 May before the series breaks for the summer.
Come 10 August, its set to be a final dash to the finish line when Cork’s Jim Walsh Forest Rally blasts through the Ballyhoura Mountains, before the action shifts north to Enniskillen for the Lakeland Stages on 6 September and the finale at the Bushwhacker in Omagh on 19-20 September.
The busiest class in 2025 will remain the Junior 1000 series. The ultimate proving ground for young talent has blossomed; there'll be 30-plus entries into events for drivers aged 14 to 17 years old.
The J1000 series is supported once more this year by the Craig Breen Foundation, continuing the legacy of the support the late Breen initiated in 2023. To date it's given thousands of euro in support to budding rally stars.
