Motorsport Ireland has named the three finalists for Billy Coleman Young Rally Driver of the Year Award.

David Kelly (24), from Donegal Town, has been named alongside Derek Mackarel (23), from Clones, Co Monaghan, and Josh McErlean (20), from Kilrea, Co Derry are the finalists from a long list of nine candidate chosen over the last twelve months.

All the finalists faced a rigorous selection process which included interviews from a panel of judges comprising representatives from Irish motorsport, Sport Ireland and the media. All three drivers are in the running for the prestigious Motorsport Ireland Billy Coleman Young Rally Driver Award, which has a prize fund of €100,000.

Kelly’s standout achievements during 2019 include winning the junior category of the Fastnet Rally. He also had wins on the Cavan and Midland Stages rally events, as well as claiming 2^nd overall in the junior section of the Killarney Rally of the Lakes. The Donegal driver, who works as a purchasing manager in his family’s construction business, also competed outside Ireland, taking part in four rounds of the BTRDA Fiesta ST Trophy.

Mackarel won the 16A class in the 2019 Valvoline Motorsport Ireland National ForestryRally Championship. In doing so, the 23-year-old claimed a hat-trick of wins, including when switching from his Vauxhall Nova to an Opel Adam R2 for the final round of the championship in Cork. Mackarel is also a multiple National Navigation Champion.

McErlean won the Junior British Rally Championship in his Peugeot 208 R2 following maximum scores on the West Cork, Pirelli International and Ulster Rallies. The 20-year-old Co Derry driver also took a class win on the opening round of the Valvoline National Forestry Championship in January in Carrick-On-Suir. Josh is in his second year studying Mechanical Engineering at Ulster University.

John Naylor, President of Motorsport Ireland, said: “All the nominees for the Billy Coleman Award were of an outstanding calibre this year – and David, Derek, and Josh thoroughly deserving finalists.