Motorsport Ireland Junior Rally Series 2020 is GO!

After a very successful 2019 season the Motorsport Ireland Junior Rally Series will be returning in 2020, the dual surface championship is set to be bigger, catering for more classes and give more competitors a chance to develop their motorsport future.

The series will once again play host to J1600 drivers, but the big news is the addition of Junior drivers using J1000 cars (Class 21), and JR2 cars (Class 2) (running in their respective classes within each event).

Motorsport Ireland Junior Rally Series Co-Ordinator John Quill is very excited about the upcoming season, “Last year was a big one for us to get the whole series off the ground and now for 2020 with the addition of the two new classes the interest looks set to rise considerably and it is shaping up to be a big year for competitors. We have a fantastic prize fund on offer to the successful drivers, with training, coaching and support to the value of a massive €45000 on offer through the Team Ireland Foundation as a result of support from John Coyne. Added to this, invites to join the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy and Billy Coleman Award nominations for the J1600 and JR2 drivers, It’s all designed to help young driver’s progress in the sport.”

The inclusion of the J1000 is an attractive proposition for any future stars, as they head into the winter looking to plan for the coming season.

The series age limit which currently stands at U-25 will be reduced over the coming years in relation to J1600 and JR2. This is to facilitate prize winners being able to utilize their award in the following year and beyond. This also enables the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy to promote a tiered structure in moving from J1000 through J1600, JR2 and onto R5. This will allow drivers to be eligible for Junior competition both nationally and internationally once they move through the Rally Academy programme.

This age reduction applies to the MIJRS only and not other Junior categories within Motorsport Ireland events and or championships.

2020 Class 16 Under 25 JR2 Under 25
2021 Class 16 Under 24 JR2 Under 25
2022 Class 16 Under 23 JR2 Under 24

The 2020 series will be run over dual surfaces of tar and gravel and for J1600 and JR2, the best performance in 5 out of 8 events will count, using two best Gravel results, two best Tar results and the best other result will be counted.

For J1000, the best performance in 4 out of 6 events will count, using three best Gravel results and one best Tar result. The J1000 tarmac rounds will consist of tarmac Rallysprint events.

Regulations and registration forms for the Motorsport Ireland Junior Rally Series will be available shortly on http://www.motorsportireland.com

Brian Brady (above) was crowned the 2019 Motorsport Ireland Junior Rally Series champion after a string of dominant performances on gravel events, the former Triton Junior Rally Champion only made his debut on gravel during the 2019 MIJRS season.
“It was fantastic to win the 2019 Junior Rally Series,” said Brady. “Junior Rallying had been quiet in Ireland the last few years, although it has been very competitive and when I saw the work that Motorsport Ireland has put in to implementing the Junior Rally Series I wanted to show my efforts of what Junior Rallying means to me. The Motorsport Ireland Junior Rally Series is the exact championship we need to push young drivers to compete in and I have said this to many people that have asked me. It’s very easy to be quick on tar or gravel, but to be quick on both is a skill in itself!”

* COUNTING EVENTS IN MIJRS J1600 & JR2 Format

1. Carrick Forest Rally Carrick-on-Suir MC Feb 16 Gravel
2. Limerick Forest Rally Limerick MC March 1 Gravel
3. Circuit of Kerry Rally Kerry MC April 2 Tar
4. Cavan Stages Rally Cavan MC May 24 Tar
5. Cork Forest Rally Cork MC July 27 Gravel Day 1
6. Cork Forest Rally Cork MC July 28 Gravel Day 2
7. Clare Stages Rally Clare MC Sept 20 Tar
8. Donegal Harvest Rally Donegal MC Oct 10 Tar

* COUNTING EVENTS IN MIJRS J1000
1. Carrick Forest Rally Carrick-on-Suir MC Feb 16 Gravel
2. Limerick Forest Rally Limerick MC March 1 Gravel
3. Tipperary Rallysprint Tipperary MC April 26 Tar1
4. Cork Forest Rally Cork MC July 27 Gravel Day 1
5. Cork Forest Rally Cork MC July 28 Gravel Day 2
6. Carrick-on-Suir Rallysprint Carrick-on-Suir Nov 1 Tar

* All EVENTS ARE SUBJECT TO FINAL CALENDAR APPROVAL.

Further information on the series you can contact:

Series Co-Ordinator, John Quill 087-9299590
Series Registrar, Elaine Shinnors 087-8221067 Email – elainehggns@yahoo.co.uk
Billy Coleman Award Co-Ordinator, Sean McHugh 087-2798119