Micra Challenge

07/01/2025

RALLYING!

It's a high octane, thrilling spectacle - but how do you start?

Why not come along the the BADMC "Introduction to Rallying"? It's a series of evenings to help explain what is Rallying, how is it organised, what are the different opportunities to get involved, AND we will also cover some of the basic skills and knowledge needed to try Rally Co-driving!

WHERE: Millbrook Lodge Hotel, Ballynahinch
WHEN: 8pm on Monday nights (see below)

It's aimed at Club members, but you can simply join up the first night you attend.

Monday 27th January: Regular Club meeting. We'll give an overview of what is planned and you can meet our members and join the Club.

Mondays 3rd, 10th, 17th February: Short talks and info sessions on all aspects of Rallying, see cars, equipment, etc. talk to drivers, co-drivers, officials, organisers.

Monday 24th February: Regular Club meeting.

Saturday 8th March: Our own Rally - Bishopscourt Stages Rally, Round 1 of the 2025 NI Championship.

KEEP THE DATES - FURTHER DETAILS TO FOLLOW!


Micra Challenge
ANICC - Association of Northern Ireland Car Clubs
Race and Rally
McGrady Insurance Motorsport UK Northern Ireland Rally Championship
McGrady Insurance NI Forest Rally Challenge
McGrady Insurance
Motorsport UK
Visit Lisburn Castlereagh

06/01/2025

Thanks to all those who have already purchased tickets for the Micra Challenge Awards night on Friday January 10th at the Ivanhoe Inn Carrryduff.

The last few tickets are still available on Rallyscore but sales will close tomorrow evening to enable us to confirm final numbers with the venue.

All welcome.


Ballynahinch and District Motor Club
ANICC - Association of Northern Ireland Car Clubs
Race and Rally
Vanilla Black Catering

28/12/2024

Less than two weeks now to the Micra Challenge Awards night on January 10th at the Ivanhoe Inn Carryduff. Tickets are available on Rallyscore and for those that need it accommodation is available at the venue and locally there are Air BnB’s etc. Please get your tickets early as numbers are limited.

14/12/2024

Micra Challenge 2024 Awards Celebration

The prize-giving for the 2024 Micra Challenge will take place on Friday 10th January 2025 at the Ivanhoe Inn, Carryduff, starting at 7pm.

Tickets are available on the link below, and will include a two course meal.

Once again it promises to be a mighty nights craic!

https://www.rallyscore.net/ #/entry-form/3342?2024-Micra-Challenge-AWARDS-NIGHT-Ivanhoe-Inn-Carryduff

08/12/2024

The UAC are looking some support:

Hi, I've been trying to revive the UACs 'Its Not the Boxing Day Rally'
We are finally opening entries very soon and would really appreciate any help you could offer with any marshals or timekeepers.
Based out of Newtownards on Friday 27th December around 8am (9.30 start) two loops of tests around the Ards peninsula finished for 2.30/3.00pm.
Contact myself, Brian McLean 07510039999 or find me on Facebook via Targa Rallying NI.
Thanks in advance.

06/11/2024

06/11/2024

🏁 What a Season! 🏁

From the first rev at Kirkistown to the roaring finale in Tyrone’s forests, this year’s McGrady Insurance NI Rally Championship had it all – speed, skill, and plenty of unforgettable moments. As sponsors, we’re proud to have been part of every high-octane twist and turn.

Check out our season recap to see some of our highlights and read how we’re helping bring the rally community closer together. Here’s to another amazing year!
https://www.mcgradyinsurance.com/ni-rally-championship-2024/ni-rally-news/rally-round-up-2024-celebrating-a-season-of-speed/

01/11/2024

A bit of weekend viewing!
The You Tube report on the excitng final round of the 2024 Micra Challenge the Dogleap Stages Rally is now uploaded!

Please feel free to share and, click the link below view.

Official full coverage of Micra Challenge at Dogleap Rally, 19th October 2024

01/11/2024

The Final Score! Micra Challenge 2024

Congratulations to our 2024 Micra Challenge winners- Stanley Orr- driver and Graham Henderson- co-driver.
Jonathan Eadie was the Standard Class winner, with Alan Eadie top co-driver in that category also.

To qualify for a final position in this years series, the competitor had to contest at least one of the gravel rounds, hence some crews with higher scores not qualifying for their relative points position.

Look out for our final round video report to follow later, and plans are already being made for the 2025 Micra Challenge.

ANICC - Association of Northern Ireland Car Clubs
Ballynahinch and District Motor Club
McGrady Insurance Motorsport UK Northern Ireland Rally Championship
North Armagh Motor Club
Cookstown Motor Club Ltd
Enniskillen Motor Club
Magherafelt and District motorclub
Maiden City Motor Club
Enniskillen Motor Club
Ulster Rally
Alufix
Vanilla Black Catering
Humphris Rallysport
Race and Rally
Matcon Shopfitting and Design
Millers Oils Ltd
Used Cars NI

24/10/2024

Good Luck to Micra Challenge front runner Peter Dowds who is competing on this weekends BTRDA Cambrian Rally in North Wales. Peter will be in his Vanilla Black Catering sponsored Micra Kit Car and will have the experienced Michael Gibson on the notes. The crew are running car 208 with some bloke called Stig Blomvqist in a Mini just ahead in car 201!

23/10/2024

Round 8 – Premier Car Parts Dogleap Rally
Orr Finishes on a High

Stanley Orr rounded off his Championship winning season with his third maximum score on the final round of the 2024 Micra Challenge, the Premier Car Parts Dogleap Rally – and in doing so extended the gap at the top of the points table. On what were very challenging stages Stanley had a composed drive to bring his yellow Micra Kit Car safely to the finish. Co-driver Graham Henderson also secured enough points to confirm his place at the head of the Co-drivers Championship table to make it a double celebration for the crew.

Maiden City Motor Club revived the Dogleap event in gravel format for the first time in 14 years. They were limited in the forests available to them and so the event format was two stages – Springwell and Cam being run three times each. The stages were very green given their lack of recent usage and required a fair amount of effort on behalf of the motor club to get them in some order for the rally to run. They cut up heavily however and the rally proved to be somewhat a rally of attrition. Stage blockages also proved a problem for event organisers and Challenge competitors lost Stage 2 (Cam) and Stage 5 (Springwell) as a result.

Six Micra crews made the start with Raymond Johnston with son Marc on the notes hoping to follow up on their recent Lakeland Rally success in their Micra Kit Car. They reached second service after Stage 4 in third position but as result of a damaged Proflex rear damper the car was going no further and they headed for home. They made it a little further than Peter and Stephen Dowds though who had a gearbox problem through Stages 1 and 2 and likewise decided to put their Vanilla Black Catering liveried Kit Car on the trailer at first service. It was a poor reward for a lot of midnight oil being burnt on the lead up to the event to get the car prepared.

The initial attrition left the podium places up for grabs and Sean Foy with Geraldine Mc Bride on the notes battled with Mark Moore/Ryan McAleer and Challenge debutants Ben Fallis and Louise McBarron. The latter crew in their ex-Stephen Whitford Kit Car made an excellent start to Micra rallying with a number of top three stage times and brought their car home in second place.

Foy/ Mc Bride had to settle for the final podium spot despite posting fastest Micra times on Stages 2 and 6. Their attack was undone on Stage 1 when a piece of roll cage padding dropped into the drivers footwell and managed to jam the car on full throttle. Switching off the engine to avoid damage and the subsequent delays as they dislodged the padding led to them dropping almost 25 seconds to the fasted Micra of Orr/ Henderson. They battled back up the field but finished 8.6 seconds behind Fallis/McBarron. Both crews pushed hard on the final stage with both crossing the finish line with rear punctures.

Mark Moore / Ryan Mc Aleer found the conditions very challenging but persevered to bring their narrow track Micra home in fourth place.

Thanks must go to Maiden City Motor Club and event sponsors Premier Car Parts for their efforts to revive this popular forestry event. Thanks also to all them marshals, safety & recovery crews and volunteers who had a busy day keeping the event running and extracting cars from various ditches.

Pic thanks to Gary Craig Photography

ANICC - Association of Northern Ireland Car Clubs
Ballynahinch and District Motor Club
McGrady Insurance Motorsport UK Northern Ireland Rally Championship
North Armagh Motor Club
Cookstown Motor Club Ltd
Enniskillen Motor Club
Magherafelt and District motorclub
Maiden City Motor Club
Enniskillen Motor Club
Ulster Rally
Alufix
Vanilla Black Catering
Humphris Rallysport
Race and Rally
Matcon Shopfitting and Design
Millers Oils Ltd
Used Cars NI

23/10/2024

The prize draw winners on Saturday's Dogleap Rally.
Left to RIght- Ben Fallis- Gallon of Millers by Millers Oils Ltd
£50 Mark Moore, £100 Peter Dowds, £150 Raymond Johnston..

20/10/2024

Micra Challenge final round results..
Congratulations to Stanley Orr on the win, Graham Henderson clinching the co-drivers title. Newcomer Ben Fallis a fine second.

Ful report and pictures to follow.

17/10/2024

Micra Finale on Premier Car Parts Dogleap Rally

There is great excitement for the Micra Challenge crews on their final rally of 2024, as it’s return of the Maiden City Motor Club’s Dogleap Rally, and a return to the revered Cam and Springwell forests.

First Micra seed is the new driver’s champion, Stanley Orr with his familiar yellow Kit Car. Just back from a month’s break in Australia and raring to go the Sperrins and Ulster round winner also showed good speed in the Fermanagh forests on the Lakeland. His co-driver Graham Henderson is hoping to secure the co-driver’s title on what is his home event this weekend.

Peter Dowds and Steven Dowds, the opening round winners are returning to the series after work commitments meant the second round was their last with their Kit Car. Peter had also started the recent Bushwhacker Rally, but an engine failure on the first stage, meant that he has just now fitted his spare unit and this week has been bedding it in gently on the road. With an entry in also for the Cambrian Rally in Wales a week later, Peter is looking for a good clean run on Saturday.

Raymond Johnston, the Lakeland Stages round winner has his son Marc co-driving, and indeed he had taken over the family Micra Kit Car for the Bushwhacker, winning the battle with some of the other Micra front runners, so there is driving ability on both sides of the car this weekend.

Sean Foy has been picking up points after his return on the Ulster and Lakeland events. This weekend he has the experienced Geraldine McBride on the pace-notes in his familiar Nissan.

Newcomers to the Challenge on the Dogleap are Ben Fallis and Louise McBarron from Trillick. Ben has graduated from a Suzuki Swift to the ex Stephen Whitford, 2023 title winning Micra Kit Car, and he will be learning the Nissan on the sweeping Cam and Springwell stages.

Six special stages, two tests done three times lie ahead of the little Nissan pocket rockets on Saturday, with the first main field car away at 09.30am.

Pic thanks to KG Rally Pics Krunching Gears

ANICC - Association of Northern Ireland Car Clubs
Ballynahinch and District Motor Club
McGrady Insurance Motorsport UK Northern Ireland Rally Championship
North Armagh Motor Club Ltd
Cookstown Motor Club Ltd
Enniskillen Motor Club
Magherafelt and District motorclub
Maiden City Motor Club
Enniskillen Motor Club
Ulster Rally

Alufix
Vanilla Black Catering
Humphris Rallysport
Race and Rally
Matcon Shopfitting and Design
Millers Oils Ltd
Used Cars NI

16/10/2024

Sponsor Profile- Vanilla Black Catering

Without our sponsors the Micra Challenge would not be able to run in the fashion it does currently, and one of the key sponsors from the outset has been Vanilla Black Catering.

Vanilla Black Catering has been established for over fifteen years, with Peter Dowds and his business partner Phyllis Hayes starting out with one coffee van, and now expanded to two vans, two coffee shops and four fast food kiosks, and that’s not all! As official franchise caterers for the Eikon Centre and the Down Royal Racecourse- Vanilla Black brings quality and efficiency to groups of up to 20,000 people, and it’s now gone international!

They also provide event logistic support and hospitality to Formula 1 events, part of the reason why Peter Dowds (who of course led the series this year after two rounds has been unable to make some of the other events!) Hopefully we will see more of Peter in the driving seat 2025, but he has always been in the driving seat behind the scenes of the Micra Challenge since its inception.

We also have Peter’s vision and drive to thank for the inception of the Micra Challenge TV programmes, so not only is he contributing financially with sponsorship, as a competitor but also a key person for the Challenge.

So it’s a big cheers from all the Micra men and women to our sponsor Vanilla Black Catering

09/10/2024

11/09/2024

Round 7 – Trailer Parts and Spares Lakeland Stages
Johnstons’ Rally but Orrs’ Championship

Both crews of Raymond Johnston/ Marc Johnston and Stanley Orr/ Graham Henderson were making their gravel debuts in their Micra Kit cars with some trepidation, but the Trailer Parts and Spares Lakeland Rally held in glorious sunshine delivered success for both.

The Fermanagh father and son crew of Raymond and Marc Johnston overcame their lack of front wheel drive experience to take a deserved win on the challenging stages - taking the lead on the second stage and were never headed thereafter. Stanley Orr, with Graham Henderson back on the notes again, built on previous Challenge success to take second place and sufficient points for Stanley to secure the 2024 Challenge title – Henderson only needs to start the final round to secure the co-driver’s title.

The results could have been very different however, as Challenge debutants Fraser Mulholland/ Simon Morrow demonstrated an impressive turn of speed to take the lead on Stage 1 of the event. The crew were in their first rally proper for Frasers newly built kit car – the stunning blue machine was another Covid lockdown project and grabbed plenty of attention in the service area before the event started. Their glory was short-lived however as the car slid off the road on a slippery right hander on Stage 2 – the Micra beached and with it any chance of overall success gone. Whilst they eventually extracted the car – thankfully with minimal damage – they had however loosened a brake pipe, and the subsequent lack of brakes dented their attack on Stage 3 – the daunting 16-mile Ballintempo. They got back into service and with the car refettled the attacked the afternoon tests – setting a fastest time on Stage 4 and again on Stage 6 the re-run of Ballintempo. The earlier issues however meant they were unclassified in the final results. Certainly, positive signs for the crew though and Fraser will definitely be one to watch on future Challenge rounds.

Fastest times for Orr/ Henderson on both Stages 2 and 3 were not enough to overcome an uncustomary slow start on Stage 1 and as a result Raymond and Marc Johnston led at the midway service point - reflecting their faster start on the first test. Orrs’ performance was commendable however when he discovered the car’s rear axle bouncing on the Ballintempo stage was a result of terminal damage to one of the Proflex rear shock canisters. With no spare Stanley fitted two Group 4 Es**rt coil-overs shared by a fellow competitor. Whilst clearly not offering the same level of performance as the Proflex adjustables Stanley and Graham headed out of service to Stage 4 in determined mood.

Raymond Johnston pressed home his advantage in the afternoon however, beating Orr over all three stages – over the 20+ stage miles he added over 7 seconds to his lead to secure the Challenge win. The runners up position was enough for Stanley to secure the 2024 Drivers title – with wins on the Tour of the Sperrins and Ulster Rallies being the foundation for his very popular success.

Taking third place on the Lakeland Rally was Sean Foy with new co-driver Ashley Boulton on the notes for the first time. The crew weren’t too far away on the two short stages but couldn’t keep up with the Kit Car crews on the fast Ballintempo test. They enjoyed their battle throughout the day with Raymond McLaughlin and their podium position mirrored the third-place finish for Sean on the Ulster event. Raymond McLaughlin with usual co-driver Martin McBrearty on the notes have now firmly put their cars’ reliability issues behind them with two fourth places on both the Lakeland and Ulster rallies. Raymond is quietly picking up the points and is moving into a strong position for the overall awards at the end of the season. Roll on Octobers final round the return of the Dogleap Rally using Cam and Springwell forests.

Once again thanks to the Enniskillen Motor Club for their support of this years’ Micra Challenge and for a tough, enjoyable event. Thanks also to all the marshals and rescue crews who at least had a little sunshine as they helped the Micra crews enjoy a great day’s rallying.

Pics thanks to KG Rally Pics Krunching Gears
ANICC - Association of Northern Ireland Car Clubs
Ballynahinch and District Motor Club
McGrady Insurance Motorsport UK Northern Ireland Rally Championship
North Armagh Motor Club Ltd
Cookstown Motor Club Ltd
Enniskillen Motor Club
Millers Oils Ltd
Magherafelt and District motorclub
Maiden City Motor Club
Enniskillen Motor Club
Ulster Rally
Alufix
Vanilla Black Catering
Humphris Rallysport
Race and Rally
Matcon Shopfitting and Design
Down Rally
Used Cars NI

09/09/2024

Micra Challenge-Round 7 Report

Stephen Watson presents the epic highlights from Round seven of the Micra Challenge. It's fun in the forests for the Trailer Parts & Spares Lakeland Stages Rally, where the 2024 drivers champion was also crowned!

ANICC - Association of Northern Ireland Car Clubs
Ballynahinch and District Motor Club
McGrady Insurance Motorsport UK Northern Ireland Rally Championship
North Armagh Motor Club Ltd
Cookstown Motor Club Ltd
Enniskillen Motor Club
Magherafelt and District motorclub
Maiden City Motor Club
Enniskillen Motor Club
Ulster Rally
Alufix
Vanilla Black Catering
Humphris Rallysport
Race and Rally
Matcon Shopfitting and Design
Millers Oils Ltd
Down Rally

Official coverage of Micra Challenge Round 7 - Lakeland Stages 1 - 7th September, 2024