Photos: Roy Meuronen Photography
Queensland rally driver Tom Dermody will bring classic rallying heritage to the forests of New South Wales when he lines up at the Shamrock Haulage Rally of Bathurst this weekend in his striking red 1978 Ford Escort Mk2.
Dermody and Sydney-based co-driver Eoin Moynihan will again represent DMR Motorsport, continuing a partnership that has now spanned more than a decade in Australian rallying.
The pair have been rallying together for twelve years, building a reputation as one of the quickest classic two-wheel-drive crews in the country. Dermody has been a regular competitor on the Australian rally scene, letting his driving do the talking behind the wheel of the iconic Escort.
The Escort has become a familiar sight in the Shamrock Haulage NSW Rally Championship, where the Queensland-based driver has been a consistent performer against both classic and modern machinery.
Recent results demonstrate the pace the team continues to extract from the classic Ford, including sixth outright at the Bega Valley Rally, sixth outright at the Cooma Rally, and fifth outright at the Ingham Forest Rally.
Dermody’s rally career includes significant success in classic rally competition. In 2018, he and Moynihan won the inaugural East Coast Classic Rally Series championship, while also claiming the NSW 2WD Championship in the same year.
He added another notable victory in 2023, when he secured outright honours at the South Australian based Rally of the Heartland, proving the Escort remains a formidable weapon on forest and shire roads.
The team has also demonstrated versatility across different rally disciplines. Most recently Dermody competed in the Adelaide Rally, finishing eighth outright in a Mk1 Ford Escort, while claiming second in the Classics category and third in the Heritage Trophy, with Mac Kierans calling the notes.
The Rally of Bathurst now presents another opportunity for Dermody and Moynihan to showcase the speed and agility of the Escort Mk2 on some of the best forest roads in the state.
“Bathurst is a fantastic rally and the roads really suit a car like the Escort,” Dermody said. “These cars are light and very responsive, so when you get them flowing through fast stages they’re incredibly rewarding to drive.”
Away from rallying, Dermody is also a keen motorcycle rider and racer, another outlet for his passion for motorsport and competition.
With the reliability and pace of the Escort well proven, the DMR Motorsport crew will be aiming to continue their strong form and challenge for another impressive result when the Rally of Bathurst gets underway.
With more than a decade of experience together, Dermody and Moynihan will once again rely on their teamwork and consistency to push the iconic Escort to the front of the field.
