Rallying Downunder – Part 2 Ozzie ➡️ Kiwi-Land

From the Australian Rally Championship last week to the Lone Star/Joe's Garage - Canterbury Rally, a round of the New Zealand Rally Championship this week. Back-to-back events on opposite sides of the Tasman.

Almost 20 years ago, I arrived in New Zealand with a backpack, chasing rally dreams. It was one of my first real rally adventures abroad. I was lucky enough to work with Rally Drive New Zealand in Hamilton and even got the chance to compete in a few North Island events including Rally NZ WRC.

Since then, Catherine Levis and I have rallied across the globe but it took a while to make it back to NZ. This was Catherine’s first time here. We almost made it for Otago in 2020, but Covid put a stop to that at the last minute.

New Zealand is absolutely stunning and the roads are even more spectacular. What better way to experience them than through the windscreen of a rally car?

Canterbury was a proper one-day rally: 9 stages, 140km of competitive mileage, no repeats stages, and service in different villages often roadside, just like the old-school Irish rallies. We were...

We made the trip down under to Western Australia for Round 2 of the ARC - Australian Rally Championship, taking on the legendary Forest Rally last weekend. We wanted to see what these iconic ball-bearing gravel roads from the old WRC days were really like — and they didn’t disappoint!

We were behind the wheel of a true Aussie rally icon, the Datsun 1600 (Dato). From the ceremonial start on the beachfront at Busselton Jetty to the twisty, technical, and slippery stages around the historic and charming town of Nannup, it was a top-class event from start to finish.

Despite a few technical gremlins, we made it through every stage and crossed the finish line with a smile on our faces.
Fun fact: The Dato managed to complete the last three stages without any water pump — no mechanical or electric pump at all on the engine. 😮

I was expecting to see a handful of Irish ☘️ competitors, but it felt like every second car had at least one Irish accent onboard. Before the first stage control, a man from West Cork (Donagh O'Driscoll) climbed out of the co driver seat of the car in front, and a Cobh...

Patricia Denning and Catherine Shinnors will compete at the 2025 Rally Jameel; a 5-day navigation rally, which begins in Jordan on April 21st and concludes in Saudi Arabia, on April 26th. Rally Jameel is a demanding off-road endurance challenge that spans two countries and over 1,600 km of desert dunes, mountainous trails, and rocky terrain. The opening day’s challenge alone consists of a grueling 6 hour 40min stage in the day’s 300km of driving, starting in the historic city of Petra in Jordan. One of the most anticipated highlights of the route is the iconic Al-Ula Stage, a section used in the world-renowned Dakar Rally. This event will be a true test of endurance, off-road driving, and navigational skills, pushing both crew members to their limits in the intense heat and humidity.

Denning is one of Ireland’s top female rally drivers, with extensive experience across various surfaces. A two-time Ladies Forestry Rally Champion, her impressive track record includes multiple class championships in Rallycross, Autocross, Retrospective Rallies, and Endurance Trials. She holds the unique accolade of being the only female in Ireland to have won a Rallycross Super Final.  Having successfully completed Rally Jameel last year with a second-place finish in...

AN incredible journey across
five continents – and counting – for Bantry native Catherine Levis-Shinnors is woven by personal milestones, like engagement and marriage, into an international adventure of motorsport.

Not just from a sporting or tourism aspect, Catherine’s travels have immersed her and her husband Matt in the cultures and communities of each country they have visited.

Explaining the reason behind their various expeditions, Catherine laughed before joking, "It's probably madness between the two of us, I suppose! One of us is as bad as the other!"

Those personal milestones trip off her tongue with consummate ease.
"The very first rally we did was Barbados in 2012, and we got engaged there," she said.

It also had a lucky omen.
"I actually won €2,000 in the lotto and that covered the shipping of the car (a Ford Escort Mk. 2) on a banana boat!" Catherine said, and added, "Then, our second rally abroad was the Arctic Rally in Finland (2016) and we got married there just before the rally."

A sign on the rear of their BMW 325i E36M simply said "Just Married".

The obvious question of where they met and how it all began brought another rally event...

Matt Shinnors, a member of the Cork Motor Club, has etched his name in Irish motorsport history by competing as a rally driver on all six continents—a feat that positions him as potentially the first Irishman to achieve this milestone.

His journey culminated recently at the Rally del Atlántico in Uruguay, the final round of the FIA South American Rally Championship.

Driving a Ford Fiesta with his wife Catherine as co-driver, Shinnors faced mechanical issues on the opening day.

However, the resilient duo rejoined the event under Super Rally rules and successfully finished the challenging rally. Shinnors was full of praise for the Uruguayan stages, describing them as “fast, smooth, and flowing gravel roads, some of the best in the world.”

A journey across continents

Over the years, Shinnors has competed in some of the world’s most iconic and even unheard-of events.

His career has spanned tarmac and gravel to snow and mud—and he has driven an array of vehicles, including front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive, and four-wheel drive cars in both left-hand and right-hand drive cars.

 2024    Chachoengsao Rally Thailand            

2018    Safari Rally Kenya 

2018    Shinshiro Rally Japan         

2016    Gorman...

Privileged to drive a classic 1973 TE27 Corolla on the first round of the Thailand Rally in Chachoengsao Province Thailand

What a challenging rally. We survived the 40 degrees C heat over the weekend to bring the car home first in class.

Awesome job as usual by Catherine.

Thank you Thailand

Delighted to win the Mayo Motor Club's Frank Harrington Challenge in 2023 with the Evo 6.

Honered to be included in Michael O' Mahoney's Icons of Irish Rallying Book

Time to head back to New Zealand.

This time with Catherine and to the South Island for the Otago Rally.

We will drive a Magnum Motorsport classic rear wheel drive Toyota Starlet over the 280km two day event.

Check out the unseeded entry list. 

https://www.otagorally.com/home/competitors/entry-list

Matt retained the National Autocross Championship title in 2019.

After 6 rounds with three wins, two seconds and a third place driving his Subaru Imperza Matt clinched the title.

Matt was presented with champions award at the Champions of Irish Motorsport Awards 2019 in Citywest Hotel in Dublin on Tuesday, 10^th December.