Motorsport Ireland has announced the three finalists for the prestigious Billy Coleman Award for Ireland’s Young Rally Driver of the Year 2024.
They are Ryan MacHugh (26), from Frosses and Kyle McBride (21), from Clonmany, as well as Craig Rahill (20), from Drung, Co. Cavan.
Five candidates who were nominated on the back of their performances this year. All the finalists faced a rigorous selection process which included interviews from a panel of judges comprising representatives from Irish motorsport, Sport Ireland and the media.
MacHugh’s standout achievements during 2024 include winning the hugely competitive RC4 class in the Irish Tarmac Championship and finishing second in the 2024 Junior British Rally Championship in his Ford Fiesta Rally4.
McBride shone in the Stellantis Motorsport Rally Cup this season, scoring top points on three occasions in his Peugeot 208 Rally4, narrowly missing out on the title to Welsh driver Ioan Lloyd.
Rahill, a finalist for this award last year, impressed on tarmac and gravel in 2024 in his Rally4 Ford Fiesta, winning his class in the Motorsport Ireland Junior Rally Series, the Triton Showers National Rally Championship and the Sligo Pallets National Forest Rally Championship.
The winner of the Motorsport Ireland Billy Coleman Young Rally Driver of the Year Award will receive a support package worth up to €50,000 to contest rallies nationally and internationally in 2025, plus an additional support package, to a value of up to a further €50,000 from the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy.
The winner being announced on December 4th at the Champions of Irish Motorsport Awards in Dublin.
