Rally enthusiast Eoin Kinsella recently participated in the annual Rallye Festival Hoznayo, one of Spain’s most iconic motorsport events…
Every year, avid fans of motorsport from all over the world flock to the little town of Hoznayo in Spain for the annual Rallye Festival Hoznayo. Often considered a must-attend for rally fans, the Rallye Festival Hoznayo is renowned for its celebration of classic cars and vibrant atmosphere.
This year, Wexford’s own Eoin Kinsella was among those participating in the iconic event. In an extended interview, we got his experience of this iconic rally festival as well as the story of how, as Kinsella puts it, ‘a townie got into racing and ended up competing out in Spain’.
How did you get into rallying?
“I fell in love with motorsport when I was only small as my Dad (Fran Kinsella) has been involved in rallying for many years so I went to see him rally as much as I could. As soon as I could reach the pedals, that’s when he taught me how to drive! I started off with racing go-karts just for fun and realised I had quite a bit of passion for racing. As I got older I joined the Wexford Motor Club Youth Academy and started racing go-karts, but my passion was always for cars and to end up doing a WRC(World Rally Championship) rally some day.
I started in Rallycross in Mondello Park in a Peugout 107 provided by the Wexford Motor Club Youth Academy for two years and then I went on to buy my own Ford Fiesta to keep competing; along with hotrodding out in Ballymurn to get used to loose surfaces to learn how to let a car slide around. I made the switch to rallying when I was about 16 or 17 right before COVID-19 hit as a co-driver/navigator for George Leech in an Opel Corsa through the Youth Academy as well. I have been with Aaron Doran for many years now in a left hand drive Honda Civic.
I taught myself how to call out pace-notes through the PlayStation rally games so I think this might be proof that not all video games are bad for you as this led me to racing out in Spain! My Dad took me out to teach me what a roadbook was – this shows us how to get from stage to stage. Then, he taught me how a timecard works. Time is very important in rallying and you have to leave the service area at a certain time and you have to enter a stage at a certain time as well or else you get penalised. This could be the difference between winning and losing.
Before putting all this to work, Andy Hayes took the time out of his busy schedule to make sure I was ready for rally. To receive extra help from Andy is a cherished memory as he is one of the best co-drivers in the world. I am quite lucky with the opportunities presented to me from my own club and I am forever grateful for them.”
How did you come to be involved in the 2025 Rallye Festival Hoznayo?
“I was competing in this event last year with Pat Caulfield in a Ford Escort Maxi Kit-Car and we had plans to do this event again this year. With this event being extremely hard to get into, I was delighted to be asked again by Pat to come along again this year but unfortunately things didn’t go to plan and we had to pull out. Thankfully, Steve Harkness from England in a beautiful ‘Belga’ Ford Escort Mk2 was looking for a last minute co-driver as his original navigator had last-minute work commitments. Steve and I had got in contact as I was recommended to him to take up the seat and I was more than happy to do so.”
What has been your experience of the event thus far?
“This event is absolutely crazy. The fans are so passionate about rallying and it shows. They are more passionate about this sport than we are about GAA! It’s by far my favourite event I have ever seen or competed in and it gets bigger and better every year. With a record breaking attendance this year, this rally for them is the equivalent of the Fleadh for us!”
Can you tell me a bit about your races and how they went?
“We had ten different stages to complete, a shakedown (which is practice in the rallycar on a closed off stage) and a full day of recce (where you go over all the stages in a regular car to make pacenotes). Three stages on Friday and seven on Saturday. The three on Friday were absolutely amazing. The car felt good and everything was clicking just how we wanted it to.
The first four stages on Saturday didn’t go as expected. The car was fine for the first two kilometres of each of the stages but started to bog-down on us so we had to drive at a slow speed to get back to the service park to fix it. We thankfully got sorted and spent the last three stages going as hard as we could. Nothing beats the feeling of going flat out in six, 100 metres away from a 90 degrees corner to bang down the gears, rip the handbrake and go sideways all the way around. The fans love that part!”
How does it feel to be involved in this international event?
“Coming out of Ireland’s first ever Youth Academy set up by Wexford Motor Club, it’s great to get out racing internationally. It feels amazing really and I am just thankful the Spanish can understand my Wexford accent because if I was from the West or the North, that could be a different story! Being able to compete internationally is a different feeling to competing back home and to have the tricolour flag around your back when you finish the event is something special and a hard feeling to describe.”
As well as rallying, Kinsella is also an avid fan of videography. Naturally, these passions align perfectly and Kinsella is eager to capture his experience of the festival in a short film he is currently producing.
“The idea of making a movie-ish video came about because every year I get home, I always tell people ‘It’s like something out of a movie’. So, now I actually get to show people what it’s like. I have an immense passion for video creating and rallying so I think making a movie about rallying is the cream on top. It’s going to take me probably over a month or so to finish the project and I have been working on it since February. I think it will be well worth the watch even if you have zero interest in racing. Who knows, even Netflix might give me a call if they come across it.”
Kinsella closed the interview with a heartfelt expression of gratitude to ‘all the four nations crews, the boys in service, everyone texting me from back home, my Dad Fran Kinsella, Steve Harkness’ and a big thank you to ‘Jez and Graham for everything they have done to keep us going throughout the event’.
Luke Bradley
Luke is a student and a lover of all things Wexford. His favourite topics include Wexford history, entertainment and local events
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