Andrew Bushe Promotions

15/03/2024

Full official coverage of Micra Challenge Round 2, Race & Rally Sages at Bishopscourt Circuit, 9th March 2024

23/08/2023

Wilson’s Winning Ways in an Historic Rallying Season!

For County Armagh’s Trevor Wilson, victory in the Historic category of his home event, the Ulster International Rally, was the icing on the cake after a superb run of success in rallying with most recently his MK2 Es**rt BDA, and guided by his regular co-driver Paul Mulholland.

Storm Betty ensured the Friday evening leg of the Ulster Rally was a difficult one, but Trevor and co-driver Paul Mulholland “stormed” the opening saturated Slieve Roe stage to record a time over thirty seconds faster than the closest Historic rival. “I couldn’t quite believe it as I hated the stage when I came out of it. It was so tricky, but the time was better than we expected.” Conditions deteriorated further but Trevor extended the lead and the Road Tankers Armagh Es**rt arrived into the over-night halt at Newry with a convincing 1 minute 45 second lead.

The Saturday stages were predominately between Newry and Armagh, and the crew further extended their lead, eventually taking victory by almost four minutes. “The car ran faultlessly and Paul did a super job on the pace-notes, as well as keeping me calm, which is a task in itself! The service crew, Nigel Wilson, my brother Glen and my sons James and Andrew were invaluable and are always there on events to think on their feet, often when I cant!”

It was back last December that the Irish Tarmac Historic Championship campaign started for Trevor and Paul, lining up then in their glorious Porsche 911. A class win and fourteenth Historic was a steady start, but things took a different turn on the Galway International in February, when they would have finished third Historic, but weren’t allowed to score championship points as the Historic paper-work for the car was out of date. It was a technicality that would have an effect on their championship aspirations as the season progressed.

West Cork on St. Patrick’s weekend, and Trevor and Paul powered the Porsche initially into third place in Historic’s but a broken drive-shaft sidelined the crew on day one, returning under Super-rally rules to re-join on day two to take some valuable points. Easter and the one day Circuit of Ireland event near Cookstown, provided a mighty challenge for the crews in the Sperrin Mountains. It was here that Trevor and Paul propelled the Porsche to new heights and led the rally from start to finish. Their closest challengers were Duncan Williams and Guy Weaver, who went onto secure the Historic title later in the season with their MK2 Es**rt. “I loved the stages on the Circuit. They were bumpy, narrow and challenging and they seemed to suit me and the Porsche. It was a turning point and a great team effort once again.”

Following that high came a low in Killarney a couple of weeks later, when the team pulled out on day two after the Porsche’s engine began to lose power and the unit was sent away for a rebuild. With the Porsche out of action, Trevor wheeled out a MK2 Es**rt BDA Historic to tackle the two days of the Donegal International in June. “We went to Donegal to go and enjoy it, but we were in the hunt from the start, and were battling with Duncan Williams and winner Michael McDaid. We ended up third, despite losing fifth gear for three stages, and it was a game changer really. I had driven MK2 and MK1 modified Es**rt’s in the past, so it didn’t seem to take long to get onto the BDA.”

A run out on the local favourite Loughgall Stages wasn’t as successful, the gear lever pulling out on stage one, and the team completed the event for testing. Then it was onto clock more miles in the SOS Sales Ltd MK2, on the Down Rally in July, where Trevor and Paul secured a fine Historic category win. “That was one of the best runs of the year, a great event and well organised. Again on that one conditions were tough and there was good competition too.”

Two weeks later the Emco Wheaten backed MK2 was packed off to the Cork 20 International, the penultimate Synergy Motorsport Irish Tarmac Historic Championship round. There was fierce competition on this one, with the Historics running at the head of the main-field.

“Anyone of about five crews could have won there, and we were the fourth leaders and eventual winners. Neil Williams led after stage one, then Michael McDaid overnight, and then Tomas Davies led and had a established a gap over us. We did take a big chunk of time on the stage before the final service and closed the gap to about twenty seconds, with one long test to complete. Near the end of that we got a surprise when we saw Tomas was off the road and out of the rally near the end of the stage. We stopped to make sure the crew were ok and rounded the final corners to take victory. It was nice to win, as the competition had been so intense, right down to the final stage.”

It’s been an enjoyable return to rallying recently for Trevor, as he carries on the family tradition of rallying, which was started by his dad Jimmy and mum Hilary. “It was the Ulster 2022 where we came back with the Porsche and it’s been really good since then, and what’s been key to it all has been the support from our team, sponsors family and friends.”

At this stage the team are preparing to go back to Killarney in December for the Historic Rally, and are going to give it a good go once again.

Copyright free images thanks to Fergus McAnallen- www.rallyretro.com Rallyretro

20/06/2023

Kyle Warms up for Belgian Challenge after Two Junior BRC Wins!

What a great start to the 2023 rally season it has been for Kyle White and co-driver Sean Topping. A decisive victory in March on the opening Junior British Rally Championship (BRC) round: the Malcolm Wilson Rally in Cumbrian forests, was followed at the end of May by a dominant victory on the tarmac closed roads of the Jim Clark Rally in Scotland.

26 year old Kyle was confident from the start with the Peugeot 208 Rally 4, and both he and his Banbridge co-driver Sean Topping set off into the first long Friday evening stage of the Jim Clark in determined form. “We definitely were really on it from the start, and the car and it’s set-up felt spot on. Thanks to the work DGM Sport, Race and Rally and the work we did ourselves at the garage in Dunmurry it’s come good this time. From the live streaming a few miles into the stage, someone had calculated that we were already over ten seconds up on our class rivals, but then we actually caught up with the MK2 Es**rt running ahead of us about five miles in. It was very frustrating as he for some reason he wouldn’t pull over to let us past and I could feel the seconds slipping away. It was here that my co-driver Sean played a key role and kept the situation calm, and we still ended up with a very good stage time despite the hold up.”

It was an opening stage full of drama however as Kyle’s closest championship challenger Kyle McBride rolled his Fiesta out of contention, and Max McRae, nephew of the late Colin McRae ran into mechanical difficulties in his Peugeot 208.

“We headed into the night for the second running of that stage, and still kept a good pace up, ending the first day very pleased with our efforts.” Indeed the crew were mixing it with some of the four wheel drive Rally 2 machines, ending the day seventeenth overall and first two wheel drive car in the whole event with the Rally 4 Peugeot. “It wasn’t all plain sailing though as we had a bit of a worry, as some smoke appeared from the exhaust leaving that second stage. The team diagnosed quickly that it was a turbo related issue, so we made a plan to preserve the car on the second day, turning the map to number three to help keep the temperatures down. We were surprised that even with this approach our times were still up there.”

It was a long and nerve wrecking day for the pair over the Saturday stages, on the closed roads near F1 legend; Jim Clark’s home town of Duns. However a faultless display saw them finish over thirteen minutes ahead of their troubled Junior rivals and a fabulous twenty-first overall. “Two maximum scores is an ideal start to our Junior BRC campaign and we are looking forward immensely to our trip abroad for the next round this weekend.” Indeed it was a drive that earned Kyle Carless Racing Fuels Standout Performance Award for event, voted for by the general public in the weeks after the event.

Round three is in Ypres, on the closed roads of Belgium for the world famous 24 Hours of Ypres, which ran as a full WRC event in previous years. “I cannot wait to get to Ypres, I’ve heard so much about it and there will be so many fast Rally 4 competitors from across Europe. Our aim however has to be checking pace with our BRC rivals and trying to maximise what we can. I certainly feel that the car is performing well at present, and we cannot wait for the new challenge of the Belgian roads.”

The team have continued support from Gary White Car Sales, Finaghy Cleaning & Support Services, LA Distribution NI Ltd, Baize Craft, Jetvent Limited and Peugeot Sport UK/Ireland, and on the Kyle White Rallying page there is now also an opportunity to purchase merchandise and even experience a test ride with the Junior BRC leader. “Every penny counts and we are very pleased with the support shown so far.”

2023 Motorsport UK British Rally Championship Calendar
Round 1 – Malcolm Wilson Rally – Cumbria – 11 March
Round 2 – Jim Clark Rally – Duns, Scotland – 26/27 May
Round 3 – Ypres Rally – Belgium– 23/24 June
Round 4 – Ulster Rally– Newry – 18/19 August
Round 5 – Rali Bae Ceredigion – Aberystwyth, Wales – 2/3 September
Round 6 – Trackrod Rally- Yorkshire – 22/23 September
Round 7 –Cambrian Rally – Llandudno – 27/28 October
Copyright free images thanks to BRC Media

17/05/2023

07/04/2023

Set your alarm and don't miss any of the action from this years Milburn Concrete Circuit of Ireland Rally with the Circuit of Ireland Live Stream, Round 3 of the 2023 Irish Tarmac Rally Championship and Round 4 of the Irish Tarmac Historic Rally Championship.

17/03/2023

Live Stream Broadcast Schedule for the this weekend Clonakilty Park Hotel West Cork Rally.

Don't miss any of the live action and interviews from 2 days of epic rallying.

Pirelli Clonakilty Blackpudding Keohane Readymix Sherwood Engines Michelin Motorsport Mcevoymotorsport.com Cork Motor Club

04/08/2022

Lost In Time! Fantastic Maiden Junior British Rally Championship Victory for Kyle & Sean

Kyle White Eventually Declared the Winner on Junior British Rally Championship-Round Three- Nicky Grist Stages

It’s almost a month since Kyle White and Sean Topping, finished the Nicky Grist Stages Rally on the 9th July, and only now can the team celebrate their magnificent maiden Junior BRC category win. On stage times the Peugeot 208 Rally 4 crew were the winners but administrative errors during the event, meant that both Kyle and Sean, instead of celebrating their first JBRC victory, had to disconsolately sit and watch their main championship rivals spray the champagne at the finish ramp. It was a long trip back from Wales that weekend for the team, and a long wait for the final outcome, but now that it has been rectified it leaves them very much back in the fight for the Junior BRC title, and that Hyundai i20 prize drive on offer.

“It’s been an interesting few-weeks!” said 26-year-old Kyle speaking from the family garage business in Dunmurry, County Antrim. “On the Nicky Grist, we had a great run to start, really getting the feel of the Rally 4 car in the forests. We were a little cautious on the first stage, but took the lead on the second stage, and held a small advantage going into the fourth Crychan test. I felt confident with the car and we had a real go.” On this one Kyle and Sean put the hammer down, and actually caught a MK2 Es**rt that was running ahead of them in the road, the 208 stopping the clocks with a superb 10 minutes 19 second’s time. However a previous competitor had ran wide and hit the link wire between the stage finish and stop control, and an incorrect time was allocated to the crew. This was soon corrected when queried by co-driver Sean Topping with the organisers at the service area following the stage, and the crew now had a 16.4 second advantage over Eamonn Kelly.

Other teams running around Kyle were also getting their times amended, and it was in this process that errors appeared to manifest. At one point Kyle’s - time was changed to 10.16, and the service crew his father Gary and Alan Purdy got it amended back to the correct 10.19, but that wasn’t to be the end of the debacle.

On the fifth test Kyle and Sean extended their lead by another second. “We were really pleased with the car, and it says a lot that we only made very minor adjustments to the set up during the day. It’s only going to get better I feel the more I can get used to the new car the faster we can be.” On the sixth stage another 0.6 of a second was gained, the gap now 18.2 second or so they thought! “Somewhere around this point Sean was looking up the times and our stage four time had been changed online again to 10 minutes 32, which was totally incorrect and costing us over twelve seconds. It was a bit annoying that we would have to sort it out again, and then our fortunes took another twist on the final two stages!”

Literally it was a deflation on the penultimate stage, a puncture as the tyre tread decreased on their Michelin’s which dropped them two seconds. Worse was to follow on the final stage. “The tyres wore down to the wire on the last stage and we had to drive three miles on punctured front tyres, and we lost over thirteen seconds to Eamonn there.” It still should have given the team a narrow three second victory in the Junior BRC, but it was an exhausted crew who arrived at the finish to be informed that they had finished second.

“That was a more major deflation, but since the event concluded the Clerk of the Course and Motorsport UK have worked to right the situation and have reinstated us as the rightful winners. The importance is that the maximum score now puts us just eight points behind Eamonn Kelly, and we still have our joker to play for added points, so it livens up the title race.”

A tarmac outing was undertaken on the Down Rally on 23rd July in the 208, and some excellent stage times were coupled with a brake issue that they have now resolved, all valuable testing before the fifth tarmac round in Wales. The focus now is for round four, on Scottish gravel for the Grampian Stages on 13th August.

Once again, the team are grateful for the current assistance from Gary White Car Sales, L.A Distribution, Finaghy Cleaning Services, Jetvent Limited, Michelin, Race and Rally and Peugeot Sport.

“I am really looking forward to the Grampian Rally, wen enjoyed the terrain last year, and delighted we have got our first win under our belt in Wales. Hopefully we have more to come. Thanks again to everyone who supports us and particularly to my dad and Alan who are our valuable service crew.”

Motorsport UK Junior British Rally Championship Calendar 2022
Round Dates Event Rally HQ Surface
1 23/24 April Rally Tendring & Clacton Clacton Tarmac
2 27/28 May Jim Clark Rally Duns Tarmac
3 9 July Nicky Grist Stages Builth Wells Gravel
4 13 August Grampian Forest Stages Banchory Gravel
5 3/4 September Rali Bae Ceredigion Aberystwyth Tarmac
6 23/24 September Trackrod Rally Yorkshire Filey Gravel
7 29 October Cambrian Rally Llandudno Gravel
Reserve 5 November Oulton Park Stages Oulton Park Tarmac

Copyright free images thanks to Jacob Ebrey/BRC Media

30/05/2022

SCOTTISH SORTIE KEEPS WHITE IN TOUCH!

Kyle Takes Second in Junior British Rally Championship Round Two- The Jim Clark Rally

After two rounds of the Motorsport UK British Rally Championship (BRC), County Antrim’s Kyle White in his second year in the prestigious series, holds a fine second place in the Junior category. 26-year-old Kyle and County Down co-driver Sean Topping, using their new for 2022, Peugeot 208 Rally 4 secured a superb second place Junior BRC finish on their first attempt at the closed road tarmac of the Jim Clark Rally, based around the town of Duns. The rally named after the racing legend of the 1960’s who hailed from the area, is a classic in its own right and with two tough stages on the Friday evening and the remainder of the miles on Saturday, it provided a stern test for all the crews and indeed the highly competitive Rally 4 front wheel drive chargers.

“In many ways we are pleased with second place, and valuable championship points, but it wasn’t really our best rally” said Kyle as he reflected on the rally. The Friday evening started with the famous Abbey St Bathans test, renamed “Longformacus” run twice. The second time through had the added challenge of darkness, and at 11.9 miles each these were by a stretch the longest stages of the event, meaning the pressure was on from the drop of the flag. “The first stage was not brilliant for us as we caught two cars, and we were stuck behind a MK2 Es**rt for quite a few miles. Our chief opposition Eamonn Kelly had the same trouble, so we were just lucky to be two seconds up, especially as I did not feel comfortable with the cars set-up. On the second run in the dark, I made an error. It was a section through a farm, a section I had been stuck behind the MK2 on the first run, and we slid up a small bank. Fortunately, we were able to reverse off it, but we dropped a significant nineteen seconds to Eamonn, and I was not best pleased overnight!”

Day two started with the short Westruther stage, and on this one Kyle was to drop a further ten seconds to Eamonn Kelly and was now really questioning the 208’s set-up. “We fitted harder springs all round than the ones we used on the opening round in Clacton. We did not get to test the car before the rally, but we certainly felt it was the right way to go. However, the car was surprisingly nervous, very darty, and I was not all together as confident as I should have been. “That said Kyle and Sean scored a fastest Junior BRC on stage five- Eccles, just before the mid-day service. It was all hands-on deck at that service as Kyle’s dad Gary, Alan Purdy and Kyle set to work to change back all four suspension struts in the forty minutes allowed, putting car back to its Clacton ratings with seconds to spare!

“The car felt a lot easier to drive after this change and we were able to manage the gap better to the end, finishing thirty seconds behind Eamonn. It was an extremely fast pace all weekend and fair play to Eamonn he was going very well and was confident as he played his joker card for extra points.”

Now it is onto the Welsh gravel for the Nicky Grist Stages on 9th July, a rally that Kyle and Sean excelled on last season in the old R2 208. “We think our new car will be even stronger on gravel, and plan to test before the Nicky Grist. We really enjoyed the Welsh forests last year, claiming second and there is a very long way to go yet as far as the championship is concerned.”

A further tarmac outing is planned for the Down Rally on 23rd July, as the team gain more valuable stage mileage with the new mount.
Once again, the team are grateful for the current assistance from Gary White Car Sales, L.A Distribution, Finaghy Cleaning Services, Jetvent Limited, Michelin, Race and Rally and Peugeot Sport.

Let us not forget the significance of winning the Motorsport UK Junior BRC in 2022, as the prize of a fully funded drive in a four-wheel drive Rally 2 Hyundai I20N in a World Championship (WRC) event is a big one!

Motorsport UK Junior British Rally Championship Calendar 2022
Round Dates Event Rally HQ Surface
1 23/24 April Rally Tendring & Clacton Clacton Tarmac
2 27/28 May Jim Clark Rally Duns Tarmac
3 9 July Nicky Grist Stages Builth Wells Gravel
4 13 August Grampian Forest Stages Banchory Gravel
5 3/4 September Rali Bae Ceredigion Aberystwyth Tarmac
6 23/24 September Trackrod Rally Yorkshire Filey Gravel
7 29 October Cambrian Rally Llandudno Gravel
Reserve-5 November Oulton Park Stages Oulton Park Tarmac

Copyright free images thanks to Jacob Ebrey/BRC Media

22/12/2021

Carsport Yearbook out now.

Nice to pen a few features for the Carsport Yearbook, including ones on Craig Breen, Kyle White and 30 years of the Ballynahinch Motor Club.

My favourite feature was on ex Sydney Meeke & TTE mechanic Norman Burns- some great stories!

23/09/2021

YORKSHIRE GRIT NEED FOR KYLE IN JUNIOR BRITISH RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE RACE

The Trackrod Rally Yorkshire this weekend is a vitally important event for 25 year old Kyle White and co-driver Sean Topping in their Junior British Rally Championship (BRC) quest. So far this season the pair have made their mark on the BRC with a sensational second position on their debut in May, followed up by a superb third place in the Welsh forests in July. This left Kyle at the top of the Junior championship table. However some ill-fortune followed on the third round in Scotland last month, when a final stage puncture rendered the Peugeot 208 incapable of making it home to the the finish. A possible second place finish, disappeared like the air in the right front tyre, leaving Kyle now fourth in the title race. However when dropped scores come into play Kyle is still very much still in contention.

“The last round the Grampian, was a bit of a blow at the end, and also we had some niggling issues with the car too, which we have now focused on solving. I wasn’t happy with the way the engine was running and we discovered this past few weeks some faults in the throttle system which was giving us inconsistencies. We have put that right and the car felt really much better when we tested it last weekend on the Bushwhacker Rally” said the County Antrim driver.

Indeed Kyle and Sean in the familiar 208 R2 were leading their class after two stages on the Omagh based, Bushwhacker event. On stage three they stopped for a red flag situation, but disappointingly the nominal time awarded for that test by the organisers left them out of contention for class honours, the team headed back to the Dunmurry garage early. “We were there to test primarily, and the car really felt sharp again after the new throttle pedal and rheostat was fitted, along with the new clutch. There was no point in risking the car anymore when we could achieve nothing in the class, so it was best to head for home and save the car for this weekend.”

Once again the team are facing all new terrain for this fourth JBRC round which includes the famous Yorkshire forests such as Dalby, Cropton, Gale Rigg and Langdale. There is the added challenge of the opening eleven mile Dalby test on Friday night in darkness. “It’s almost a quarter of the mileage, and it’s been about six years since I rallied in the dark, so that really will be interesting! We need a good result this weekend but it’s hard to know if the rally will suit our car or not. The stages seem to have square corners and a lot of long straights which may suit the more powerful Rally 4 Fiesta’s in our class, but we honestly don’t know until we get out there. One thing is for sure we will be trying our best, and our car feels in the best condition it’s been in all season.”

Not to be forgotten is the big prize on offer of a drive in a four-wheel drive Hyundai i20 Rally 2, making the Junior BRC title race all the more prolific this season. The team are thankful for the assistance to date from Finaghy Cleaning & Support Services, LA Distribution NI Ltd, Gilmore Engineering Services, Jetvent Limited, Snap-On Tools and Gary White Car Sales.
Motorsport UK Junior British Rally Championship Calendar 2021

24/25 September -Trackrod Rally Yorkshire, England – Gravel

8/9 October - Beatson’s Building Supplies Mull Rally, Isle of Mull – Asphalt

30 October -Visit Conwy Cambrian Rally, Llandudno, Wales – Gravel

20 November- Today’s Ulster Rally, Northern Ireland- Asphalt

Credit: Andrew Bushe Promotions.