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06 Sept 2025
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06 Sept 2025
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Ryan MacHugh and Declan Boyle
Ryan MacHugh has been named as the first nominee for the 2024 Billy Coleman Young Rally Driver of the Year Award for the opening period of January to May, Motorsport Ireland has confirmed.
The 26-year-old Frosses native has been contesting the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship, as well as the Junior British Rally Championship in a Ford Fiesta Rally4 alongside his long-time navigator Declan Boyle, with the experienced Arthur Kierans also co-driving on select events.
MacHugh has impressed this year with multiple class wins in the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship and he classes his West Cork Rally performance as a season highlight where he took the class victory, finished 14th overall and was the second two-wheel-drive car home.
He has also focused on loose surface events in 2024 winning the competitive class 2 and finishing 8th overall on the Carrick-on-Suir Motor Club Willie Loughman Forestry Rally in April.
This year’s Billy Coleman Award will see two qualifiers selected from the following monthly groupings: January-May, June-October.
These nominees will be joined by the highest-placed eligible drivers from the Junior sections in the Motorsport Ireland National Rally Championship and the Motorsport Ireland National Forestry Championship, the highest-placed eligible drivers in the dual surface Motorsport Ireland Junior Rally Series J1600, Rally4/R2 and Rally5 categories as well as a wildcard selection, meaning that up to eight drivers may be nominated for the award in 2024.
The winner of the Motorsport Ireland Billy Coleman Young Rally Driver of the Year award will receive a support package to contest rallies nationally and internationally in 2025.
The Sport Ireland and Motorsport Ireland funded award is valued at €50,000. The award winner will receive assistance and guidance from Billy Coleman co-ordinator Sean McHugh.
An additional support package, valued at a further €50,000 will be available from the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy as part of an agreed training and development programme designed to progress the winners’ career.
The winner may apply for a second year of support upon satisfactory performances in their award-winning year.
Both Billy Coleman Award runners-up will receive support to compete in stage rallies at home and abroad up to an amount of €15,000 each as well as an invitation to participate in the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy development programme in 2025.
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