Aoife Raftery shines amidst adversity in Estonia Rally
Aoife Raftery, showcased her resilience and skill during the challenging Rally Estonia. Alongside her co-driver, Hannah McKillop, when they changed a punctured wheel in less than two minutes., a testament to their meticulous pre-event practice. Competing in the Junior category of the FIA European Rally Championship, the duo, piloting a PCRS Rallysport-prepared Peugeot 208 Rally4, has consistently improved their performance with each...
Celebrating Excellence: The WOW Award
The WOW Award aims to honor the exceptional contributions and careers of women in the motor industry or motorsport. This prestigious award recognizes those who have made an outstanding impact. This year, the Women’s Worldwide Car of the Year (WWCOTY) expanded the nomination process to include the entire automotive industry. A total of 30 nominations were expertly narrowed down to ten finalists by three non-voting jury members....
Aoife Raftery achieves a career-high fourth place in the Junior category at the European Rally Championship in Rally Hungary.
Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy driver Aoife Raftery delivered her most impressive performance yet in an FIA European Rally Championship event, securing fourth place overall. This achievement marks a significant improvement from her previous seventh-place finish in the Czech Republic last season. In her second season competing in the Junior ERC, Raftery, based in Craughwell, alongside her co-driver Hannah McKillop from Antrim,...
What is driver distraction and how serious an issue is it?
Is it time to put the brakes on in-car entertainment systems asks Geraldine Herbert How significant a factor is driver distraction to road collisions? Every year, almost 25,000 people lose their lives on European roads and more than 135,000 are seriously injured. It is estimated that driver distraction is likely to be a factor in 10% to 30% of all road collisions. Drivers who text are twice as likely to crash as those who have been...
Aoife Raftery ready for “demanding and tricky” Galway International Rally
Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy member Aoife Raftery will get her 2024 season underway on her home event this weekend as the Women in Motorsport ambassador for the Corrib Oil Galway International Rally. Last year the Craughwell-based driver recorded an impressive debut season in the FIA Junior European Rally Championship. She was the first Irish woman to commit to an internationally recognised rally championship since the late and...
Ten things to know about the iconic Rosemary Smith
We remember the iconic Rosemary Smith writes Geraldine Herbert Rosemary was born in Dublin in 1937, the youngest of three children. She was smart but hated her strict convent-school education. Her father John Smith, an amateur racer himself, taught Rosemary to drive when she was only 11 and at 16 she secured a driving licence by pretending to be a year older. She attended the Grafton Academy of Fashion Design where she was awarded top...