Former Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy driver Aoife Raftery has secured a major international success, claiming the LN4 Drivers’ Championship and Pirelli Privateer Cup in the American Rally Association National Championship.
The Craughwell native sealed the titles at the Lake Superior Performance Rally 2026 in Michigan, where she delivered an impressive performance in her Ford Fiesta Rally3 alongside co-driver Hannah McKillop.
Raftery won her class and finished an impressive fifth overall, securing the championship by just two points.
Speaking about her win Aoife said, “What can I say? When I came here and competed in the ARA for the first time at the Olympus Rally last year, it was amazing, so exciting to meet drivers like Travis Pastrana and Brandon Semenuk.”
“And to make the podium in the Limited Four-Wheel Drive (L4WD) class was awesome. When Josie Rimmer, [DirtFish Women in Motorsport team manager] first talked about the potential for coming back and running a Ford Fiesta Rally3, I was all-in. This was a great, great opportunity.”
“And we’ve definitely made the best of it. With all of your help, we were on the podium every time we finished, we won [L4WD] in Southern Ohio and then we came to Michigan for LSPR and we had a shot at the title. Admittedly, it was a fairly long shot – basically Hannah and me, we had to win and then we had to win the power stage. We needed every point possible.”
“The rally was absolutely class, everything just worked. The team was great, Hannah was great and everything was pretty much perfect. Then we got to the power stage and it was one last push. The title was there, you know? You could see it, you could almost touch it. But we had one more stage to do.”
“Looking back, I can say it was definitely more exciting the way it came down to that final stage of the season. Coming into the power stage I felt focused and confident in what we needed to do. Gauging it from our previous run over the stage and our times, I felt if we could do the same and just have a clean run we would be ok.”
“We did that, we did what we needed to – but it was such a relief when our competitors came into the last control and I knew there was enough of a margin. We’d done it. And we’d all done it. Everybody here contributed so much.”
The achievement adds another significant milestone to Raftery’s career. In 2024, she became the first recipient of the Rosemary Smith Award, presented by the Motorsport Ireland Women in Motorsport Commission in recognition of her achievements and potential in rallying.
“As well as for Hannah and myself, it means a lot to win it for the DirtFish Women in Motorsport program,” Aoife added. “The support and belief Josie and everybody at DirtFish have shown me all season has been incredible and it’s a great feeling to be able to give something back.”
“That’s also why I want to say a massive thank you to everyone who supported the DirtFish WiM initiative, especially to each sponsor, donor and everyone who attended our WiM Summit and Gala attendees. Winning the championship wouldn’t have been possible without your generosity and belief in us.”
“But also for me, like I said, I really want to thank Josie and DirtFish for their belief and for backing us. It means everything to get this opportunity and, from the very start, from that first event in Olympus last year, we’ve pulled together and worked together and this is the result.”
