Shamrock Motorsport was launched in 2013 following a successful first trial event at the NSW round of Australian Rally Championship at Coffs Harbour, where Richie Dalton finished inside the top 10 in his first ever rally, in a hired Rallyschool.com.au Mitsubishi Lander Evo 6.
Two months after this event Richie, purchased his first rally car, a Subaru WRX. The team only contested one event in the Subaru, the 2013 National Capital Rally, taking second outright.
Following this event, the Subaru was sold and a Lancer Evo IX was purchased. In this car, the Shamrock Motorsport team continued their successful year with two third places and a first outright win, which secured them the 2013 Australian 4WD Rally Championship.
The Shamrock Motorsport team then contested the 2014 season and more success followed, claiming the title for 2014 Australian 4WD Rally Championship with numerous outright victories.
In 2015 and 2016, Richie stepped away from the sport to build his business and further fund his rallying ambitions.
In 2017 the team entered an exciting new chapter by committing to the New Zealand Rally Championship with a brand new Ford Fiesta Proto specification car – a four-wheel drive rally car with Mitsubishi Lancer running gear.
After a setback in the 2017 season, the team contested only the second half of the season, yet completed a full campaign in the NZRC in 2018.
Teething issues put a halt to the success of the Shamrock Motorsport Team in 2018, with various mechanical dramas hindering the car, and preventing them from reaching the potential they had.
In 2019, the decision was made to compete in the Australian Rally Championship. The team’s Ford Fiesta was shipped back to Australia and was taken to Activ RallySport, to modify it into Australia’s slightly different G4 regulations.
Then, after a COVID-19 interrupted 2020, the decision was made to purchase the ex-Harry Bates Toyota Yaris AP4, the car that won the 2019 Australian Rally Championship.
The car, having a 100% win record at the time of purchase, is a proven car, and is managed by the team at Neal Bates Motorsport.
Now in his second season in the Yaris AP4, Dalton has quickly come to grips with the new machine, resulting in multiple podium places in ARC rounds during 2022.
He also used the car to win the Rally of the Bay, a round of the NSW Rally Championship, in August 2022.
