The Ulster Rally will celebrate its 50th anniversary next year and before this important milestone, we wanted to reflect on its recent history. The championship has formed part of both the British Rally Championship and Irish Tarmac Championship for many of those years – attracting competitors from around the world to compete on these shores. Spectators lining the banks and the fields around the closed roads of Northern Ireland have witnessed thousands of competitors – but every so often, a sprinkling of magic happens, history is made and a rare gem gets found – with drivers and co-drivers producing moments to last a lifetime.
The Ulster can trace star names back to its inception in 1976, with the likes of Billy Coleman and Roger Clark fighting for the wins alongside young talents in the shape of Ari Vatanen, Henri Toivonen and future Tarmac Titan Bertie Fisher.
Throughout the eighties you couldn’t move in Belfast and the other host locations without spotting the great and good of world rallying during the ‘Group B era’, with the likes of Walter Röhrl, Stig Blomqvist, Michèle Mouton, Malcolm Wilson, Pentti Airikkala, Tony Pond, Russell Brookes and Jimmy McRae all lining-up for one of the biggest tests in British and Irish rallying.
The nineties will be forever be loved and fondly remembered for the discovery of Colin McRae and Richard Burns at the start of the decade, with the the manufacturer arms race spawning the Kit Car generation at the end of the decade with the likes of Nissan, Vauxhall, SEAT, Ford, Volkswagen, Renault and Peugeot dovetailing World title ambitions with regional title assaults.
But the last 20 years has also seen some historic – ‘were you there moments’ for the younger generations to savour and enjoy. Who can forget the 2007 and 2009 seasons in the island of Ireland – with the hype and buzz across the Irish Tarmac Championship calendar season as WRC drivers such as Marcus Grönholm, Mikko Hirvonen and Sébastien Loeb dropped into events to gain crucial mileage and experience ahead of the two Rally Ireland events.
The 2007 Ulster event was dominated by a homegrown talent – a young Kris Meeke dipping his toe into four-wheel-drive after several seasons in front-wheel-drive machinery. Meeke – one of Northern Ireland’s greatest rallying exports sealed the deal in the striking Pirelli Subaru in 2007, but it was perhaps his exploits a year earlier that will be more fondly remembered. The Dungannon driver was putting the S1600 C2 Citroen into places it shouldn’t really have been – leading the field in the screaming front-wheel-drive car on the opening day before a rain soaked, puncture and overshoot day followed. The talent was put on display on the Ulster showpiece and it was clear to see great things would come for Meeke including the Intercontinental Rally Challenge title and five WRC wins for Citroen.
Speaking of Citroen, in 2008 and in another C2 – this time a C2 R2 Max – Junior WRC protagonist Sébastien Ogier was at the helm. At the time he was relatively unknown in this part of the world, but he soon made people stand up and take note as the Frenchman bossed the front-wheel-drive category finishing almost five minutes clear of similar cars. Ogier would go on to win eight world titles for three different manufacturers in the years that followed.
Evans had lined-up in Northern Ireland several times before as he cut his teeth in the junior formula, but in 2016, like Fourmaux – the Welshman was put back into the BRC to rediscover his form and speed after a turbulent 2015. Evans in the DMACK-liveried Fiesta R5 will be one of the more recent icons of the event, and his drive to the front, and the drive to victory earned him the British Championship title 20 years after his father Gwyndaf won the title. Both doing it on the Ulster! Now at the time of writing, Evans is on the cusp of greatness as he fights for his maiden World title for the Toyota factory team having scored 10 of his 11 victories for the Japanese team.
One of Elfyn’s sparring partners throughout his career was the Irishman Craig Breen. The pair were the cream of British and Irish rallying and like cream they both rose to the top at a similar time. Breen who was sadly taken from us far too young will forever be in the Ulster Rally hearts. Breen would go on to drive for Citroen, Ford and Hyundai at the highest level – but there was something about the Waterford man on the Ulster. It was electric.
His first International win came on the Ulster in 2010 in the high-revving S2000 Ford Fiesta a complete assault on the senses for those watching stage side. Craig despite hitting the top-flight, forever had Irish rallying rooted into his heart, and what started as a one-off drive in Galway in 2019 to keep match-fit turned into a grand tour across the Emerald Isle. Breen won in all corners and to top off his fine Irish campaign in style, he won the Ulster Rally and with it sealed the coveted Irish Tarmac title – something he had dreamt of from a very young age.
Breen’s heroics and passion for the sport rubbed off on the future generations. A young Josh McErlean followed in his footsteps by winning the Junior British title on the Ulster – the same year Breen won the ITRC trophy. The Kilrea star now leads the line for M-Sport in the WRC, and in his debut season in a Rally1 car is showing what drivers from this part of the world can do on the biggest stage. The Northern Irishman has been seen on the Ulster entry list with Aaron Johnston sat alongside calling the notes. Johnston has had his own rise to stardom. The Fintona man now goes toe-to-toe with McErlean – calling the notes for rival Toyota driver Takamoto Katsuta.
There is history with every turn on the Modern Tyres Ulster Rally. The stars of yesteryear, tomorrow and the present have a connection to the closed road classic. Drivers on the entry list today – could well be at the top of the sport in years to come.
