Monaghan Motor Club member Gretchen Swinburne who has been named as part of the Irish crew to take part in a Saudi Arabia-based off-road navigation rally next month.
Motorsport Ireland, the National Governing Body for four-wheeled motorsports in Ireland today announced that Patricia Denning and Swinburne will represent Ireland at Rally Jameel in Saudia Arabia. Rally Jameel is a navigation off-road rally for women organised by the Saudi Automobile & Motorcycle Federation (SAMF).
The event starts on 4 March 2024 and continues over four days through the desert dunes and mountainous terrain, covering 1600km with the finish on International Women’s day on 8 March in Jeddah on the Red Sea.
Swinburne takes on the role of navigator – an equally demanding role given this is a navigation rally and not a speed event. She started out her motorsport career in 2015 as a navigator in stages rallying.
An impressive start with which she won the Junior Border Championship in her first year. Some highlights of navigating in stages includes a win the Laois Heartlands Twincam Challenge and a class win in Donegal International Junior Rally. Adding to her collection, she also won the Monghan Motor Club’s Combilift Perpetual Cup two years in a row.
In the 2022/2023 season Swinburne then switched her focus to navigation trials and in her first year successfully won her class in the Motorsport Ireland Navigation Trial Championship.
Taking to the driver’s seat, Denning is one of the top female motorsport drivers in Ireland with a wealth of driving experience having competed in over 150 events in her career to date. With a very impressive motorsport CV she is a double Ladies Forestry Rally Champion, and holds the unique accolade of being the only female in the world to have won a FIA Rallycross Super Final.
Commenting on the announcement, Motorsport Ireland President Aiden Harper said: “We are thrilled to have Patricia and Gretchen represent Ireland at Rally Jameel and offer our sincere gratitude to the Saudi Automobile & Motorcycle Federation (SAMF) for this incredible invitation. 2024 has been an incredibly exciting year for Irish Motorsport so far with the WRC bid and this event invitation only solidifies how well regarded Irish motorsport is on the world stage. Wishing Patricia and Gretchen the very best of luck!”
County Monaghan Motor Club 