Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy driver Eamonn Kelly is amongst a record-breaking entry list for the 2024 Junior World Rally Championship.
WRC officials have confirmed 19 crews will take to the start line for next month’s Rally Sweden. The opening round of the five-event series. It is the largest JWRC entry in two decades.
Donegal man Kelly, the outgoing Motorsport Ireland Billy Coleman Award Young Driver of the Year returns to the J-WRC for the second time.
Kelly graduated to the FIA Junior WRC in 2023 having claimed the Junior British Rally Championship title the previous season.
A consistent drive earned him his sole victory on only his second WRC rally in Croatia last year. Kelly and his Monaghan-based co-driver Conor Mohan have been busy preparing behind the scenes for the year ahead.
"I am really excited to get back for a second time at this championship. It was always going to be a two-year plan and coming into the second year of that is very exciting" explained Kelly.
"Kelly is not daunted by the prospect of facing 18 of the world’s best young drivers. "It is going to make for some really exciting racing. I am delighted to be part of that."
The action begins next month on the snow and ice of Sweden (15–18 February) before the Tarmac twists of the Croatia Rally (18–21 April).
Gravel Fixtures
Gravel fixtures in Italy (30 May–2 June), Finland (1–4 August) and Greece (5–8 September) round out the season.
Up for grabs is a life-changing prize comprising an arrive and drive package to contest four European rounds of the 2025 FIA World Rally Championship in a Ford Fiesta Rally2 car. The natural progression from Junior WRC.
Kelly is following in the wheel tracks of fellow Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy members William Creighton and Liam Regan. They won the JWRC title last season and will now graduate to a WRC2 programme at the wheel of an M-Sport Ford Fiesta Rally2.
As part of their prize for winning JWRC in 2023. The winners recieve a fully funded drive on four rounds of the WRC this season. Thanks to the efforts of the Academy’s background team this four-event programme has been increased to seven rallies.
