Alex Dunne has been awarded the Manley Memorial Trophy for the Irish International Driver of the Year which was presented at the 2025 Motorsport Ireland Champions of Irish Motorsport Awards.
The Offaly man, a former winner of the Sexton Trophy Young Racing Driver of the Year, has been competing in the FIA Formula 2 Series this year for Rodin Motorsport as well as outings in Formula 1 free-practice sessions at the Austrian and Italian Grand Prix with the McLaren F1 team.
Dunne is reportedly in talks with the Alpine F1 team about a role in their driver development programme after he missed out on a deal with Red Bull.
The 20-year-old is fifth in the Formula 2 standings with two victories and eight podiums in his rookie season, with one round remaining in Abu Dhabi this weekend
Dunne is now also set for a second season with Rodin Motorsport in Formula 2.
The Sexton Trophy for the 2025 Young Racing Driver of the Year was awarded to Fionn McLaughlin from Derry.
Already a Red Bull Junior driver, McLaughlin completed his year with the British Formula 4 Championship title and looks to push even further with a Formula 3 drive on the horizon.
As part of the award, McLaughlin will receive €42,500 in support funding from Motorsport Ireland and Sport Ireland. Runners-up Jason Smyth and Sean McGovern will also receive prize funding of €5,000 and €2,500 respectively.
The Billy Coleman Award for the Young Rally Driver of the Year was won by 22-year-old Kyle McBride from Donegal.
McBride won the award on the back of performances in the Irish and UK Stallantis Rally Cup and the Junior British Rally Championship this season in a Peugeot 208 Rally4.
McBride is a member of the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy and was a Billy Coleman Award finalist in 2022 and 2024
The Neil Shanahan Memorial Trophy was awarded to the 11-year-old Danny Dempsey, from Dunboyne, Co. Meath, who was crowned National Cadet Karting Champion.
