Eamonn Kelly and Rory Kennedy win historic Ulster Rally in landmark European championship round
The fiftieth Ulster Rally in August 2026 delivered a separate result of international significance: Eamonn Kelly and Rory Kennedy won the historic category as a round of the FIA European Historic Rally Championship was held in Northern Ireland for the first time. The pair drove a BMW M3 E30 against a field including Welsh competitor Tomas Davies in a similar BMW and Ray Breen in a Subaru Legacy. Their victory was not achieved without trouble. A puncture and a brief loss of braking power threatened their rhythm on Friday, yet they retained an advantage of more than a minute at the end of the opening leg.
Early speed made the difference
Kelly and Kennedy moved ahead on the opening stages and steadily established control. The most revealing part of the event is that their lead survived two concrete difficulties: a tyre puncture, and an interruption to braking performance. In rallying, either can destroy a result. A puncture can cost time even if the crew reaches the end of a stage, while inconsistent braking on fast closed roads affects the driver’s confidence at almost every major junction. The organisers recorded both setbacks but showed the BMW crew still clear of the field by Friday evening.
Davies was second after the opening day in another M3 E30, while Breen had placed his Subaru Legacy third. Saturday did not bring the expected reversal at the front. Kelly added approximately forty seconds to his advantage over Davies and took the class victory. The top two therefore remained in the order they had established on Friday. The change came behind them: Alan Ring moved past Breen on the third-last stage and secured the remaining podium place. This was a meaningful classification change, not merely a footnote to an unchallenged win.
Northern Ireland roads on a European stage
The historic competition formed part of a much larger Ulster Rally celebrating fifty editions, with its base at Ballymena Showgrounds. The overall event ran twelve stages totalling approximately 100 competitive miles. Friday’s itinerary included Knockboy, Glendun and Torr Head, while Saturday featured Tardree, Cairncastle and Slemish. A compact programme on roads with major variations in gradient and rhythm posed an authentic challenge to older competition cars. The historic entrants were part of a European championship calendar, bringing international status to a Northern Irish event best known domestically for hard-fought Irish Tarmac contests.
The entry was smaller than the national rally field. Contemporary marshalling notes identify seven cars in the European historic section, compared with a far larger entry in the main competition. That figure matters because it defines the scale of the win without diminishing it. Kelly and Kennedy were winners of the event’s officially recognised international historic contest; it would be misleading to imply they defeated a field the size of the modern Rally2 entry. The achievement rests in their pace, their lead management and the championship status of the category.
History gave the anniversary a second focus
The Ulster Rally started in 1976, meaning the anniversary meeting connected several generations of cars and competitors. The presence of BMW M3 E30 machinery—cars closely associated with an earlier period of rallying—gave that history a visible role. The historic field was not a demonstration procession: drivers were competing against the clock for an FIA championship result, and the contest for third changed in the closing stages. There was a meaningful result at both ends of the rally: Josh Moffett won the overall modern competition by three seconds after a late charge, while Kelly and Kennedy took a more controlled historic win.
