Josh Moffett edges Mark Donnelly by 4.6 seconds in 2026 Bushwhacker Rally
Josh Moffett edges Mark Donnelly by 4.6 seconds in 2026 Bushwhacker Rally. The verified event or result relates to Forests between Lack and Barnesmore Gap, County Tyrone and 19 September 2026. This PureCar NI motorsport report separates the established facts from the wider competitive context, so readers can distinguish an announced fixture, a race result and any championship claim.
The verified 2026 story
Josh Moffett and co-driver Andy Hayes won the McKelvey Construction Bushwhacker Rally in a Hyundai i20 R5.
The winning margin was just 4.6 seconds over Mark Donnelly and Martin Brady in a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2.
The Tyrone event ran across ten gravel stages in forests between Lack and the Barnesmore Gap.
The rally was a round of the Irish Forest Rally Championship and the Northern Ireland Gravel Rally Challenge.
Why this particular result or event matters
A 4.6-second margin over ten gravel tests turns every stage into part of the decisive story, even when the actual individual stage times are not reported in the club summary.
Moffett and Hayes did not need a dominant gap to emerge as winners. In rallying, the accumulated time is what counts, and a single small error can be more important than an isolated fastest stage. Donnelly and Brady remained within striking distance across the event.
The motorsport context behind the headline
Forest rallying is measured over separately timed special stages. Crews normally navigate using pace notes while a co-driver calls the road ahead; the total recorded stage time, adjusted where appropriate under the sporting regulations, produces the rally classification. That is fundamentally different from circuit racing, where cars share the track and pass each other for position.
A gravel rally’s surface can change markedly between the first and later cars, or between repeat visits to the same stage. Loose material, exposed ruts and evolving grip affect how hard a driver can commit at corner entry. Reliability is equally important because an expensive delay or retirement can outweigh several very fast individual stage times.
Irish and Northern Ireland championships can use the same rally but calculate points according to their own regulations and registration conditions. Published starting order, seeded number and official finishing classification therefore answer three different questions: expectation before the start, order on the road and performance at the finish.
What it means in Forests between Lack and Barnesmore Gap, County Tyrone
The Bushwhacker’s County Tyrone setting makes this a genuinely local result rather than a generic British or international motorsport update. The names, machines and location give NI readers a firm route into following the forest championship.
Northern Ireland has both gravel and sealed-surface rally traditions. Reporting them accurately means identifying the championship, stage format and organising club rather than treating every rally as a round of the same competition. Entry lists are useful for identifying likely challengers, but seeded order is not a prediction certified by the organisers. Results need to be read alongside finishing status and class eligibility, particularly where multiple series share the same event.
What is confirmed, and what remains to be checked
The available Monaghan Motor Club report confirms the leading two crews and the margin. It does not support claims about unlisted stage wins, punctures or penalties, so those details are deliberately not assigned.
The original source for this report is the published event or results coverage. Its named people, dates and numerical claims have been kept in the context in which they were reported. Where a source is an event calendar rather than a completed classification, this article does not manufacture winners, gaps, stage times or points totals.
How to follow the next development
For further detail on Forests between Lack and Barnesmore Gap, County Tyrone, look for an official classification from Omagh Motor Club or the relevant championship organiser. Check the date on any online document, whether it describes practice, an entry list or a final result, and whether the published position is overall or within a class. Those distinctions are especially important when a motorsport story is shared without the original context.
