Kevin McLaughlin ready for R5 step up in Harvest Rally

Kevin McLaughlin debuts in R5 machines at Saturday’s Donegal Harvest Stages Rally - a moment the Dunfanaghy man has waited quite some time for.

McLaughlin blazed a trail in his distinctive blue Civic and many learned rally observers took note of his prowess.

This weekend, he goes behind the wheel of a Hyundai i20 R5.

“It was just time for a change,” McLaughlin told Donegal Live. “We went and spoke to our sponsors to see if it was possible. The sponsors, every one of them, came on board and we thought this was something that could, maybe, lead to something.

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“I had never driven a rally car like this until we tested her. I’ve done a quick test in the car and felt like I was getting a bit comfortable. It’s a different style of driving compared to laying on it in the Civic.”

Like many of his peers and competitors, the 31-year-old, now a mechanic at Ferry’s Garage in Letterkenny, began his motorsport career as a young boy. He was 13 when he started racing in Alltrak Rallysport, held in Northern Ireland.

He worked his way up until he stepped into a 1300cc Suzuki Swift in 2011. Now, he was a rally driver and he following year his beloved Civic arrived.

On his last three runs in the Civic, McLaughlin claimed three wins in class 11F. Last year, he was 15th overall in the Isle of Man Rally - a result he puts down as one of his best yet - and 2022 has been good to him.

With Aodhan Gallagher calling the notes, McLaughlin took the honours in his class at the Carlow Stages Rally before doing likewise at the Joule Donegal International Rally in June.

A clash winner at the Mini Stages in 2020, he also won his class at the 2018 Donegal International and the 2017 Donegal Harvest Stages.

His success in Donegal four months ago was remarkable.

Just four days before the start of the event, McLaughlin rolled the Civic while testing near Horn Head.

“I wrecked the car,” he said. “We had a four-day turnaround and we ended up leading the class from start to finish. Denis (Ferry) gave me the week off, we got her fixed, got her painted. The engine was broken and we had to rebuild the car again.

“The way it panned out, it worked out well. We’ve had a lot of good results in the last few times we’ve been out. There was no rallying in Ireland last year with Covid so we went to do the Isle of Man and that was definitely one of my best ever.

“When we wrecked before Donegal this year, we couldn’t leave it. If we had let it go, it would have taken months to get back on the road again.”

McLaughlin is indebted to his loyal team who worked around the clock to get him on the start ramp. Over the gruelling three days and 20 stages, the gearbox was out of the Civic three times over the weekend. Even at that, he came back across the ramp as the class winner; a mark of his talents at the wheel.”

County Derry driver Callum Devine, who heads the entry list this weekend in a VW polo GTi R5, has aided McLaughlin’s preparation for this weekend.

His sponsors have been plentiful and priceless: LA Utilities, Ferry’s Garage, Wild Atlantic Camp, D Whoriskey Plant,Teac Bhillie, Maria Rua’s, DX, MMCL Construction, MML Contractor, K Shark Contract, Killdarragh Construction, JD Recovery, Divers Hyundai, Collision Assist, Connolly Plumbing, The Swilly Inn, North Stone Construction, Woodlands Garage, Wasson’s Garage, McFadden Utilities, Modern Motors, Coll Welding Services and Powertune Motorsport.

He has ‘learned the basics and done a bit of road testing’, but he’s into the unknown somewhat as he takes a significant step up in power.

“Everyone has been giving me pointers, but I’ll go as steady as we can on the first loop anyway,” he said. “We’ll see can we pick it up from there. I really want to finish this weekend. It’ll be no good to anyone if I don’t finish. We’re in no danger area and it’ll be steady. Two of the stages are close to home for me so I’ll know those well and can maybe take them on a bit.”

Devine won the 2021 Harvest Rally and will wear number 1 on his door with McLaughlin starting at 31 on the list.

There is a sacked entry list for the event, which is based out of Teac Bhillie in Gort a'Choirce, the rally sponsors.

Sam Moffett, in a WRC Fiesta, and Robert Barrable - who has Kilmacrennan’s Paddy Robinson on the notes in a Ford Fiesta R5 Mk2 - are included in a top field.

Glenties’ Declan Boyle goes in a VW Polo with Donegal drivers Aaron McLaughlin, Joseph McGonigle and recently-crowned Junior British Rally Championship winner Eamonn Kelly all in the top ten.

Kelly, who will have regular navigator Conor Mohan alongside, will tackle the Donegal Harvest Stages Rally in the VW Polo GTI R5 previously driven by his father, the former Irish Tarmac champion Donagh Kelly.

A fascinating six stages are in store and there are plenty to watch for - not least McLaughlin, whose car sports familiar blue livery, but this time will come with a rather more powerful and purposeful grunt.