Ciara Cahoon’s race to glory
Carlow's Ciara Cahoon has taken the world of motorsport by storm.
Born in Cape Town, South Africa, where Ciara’s mother Trudy is from, the Cahoon family moved to England in 2013 when Ciara was just three years old.
Her father, Darrin, a native of Carrickfergus, County Antrim, was soon offered a job in Carlow and after just six months in England, the Cahoons upped sticks again and made the move to Ireland.
The family settled in Killerig, with Ciara attending Grange National School and playing football with St Anne’s LGFC.
It was during this time that Ciara began her motorcycling journey at just eight years old on a CW125. Her passion for racing quickly grew, and she competed in her first event in Dublin, finishing second overall on a KTM 85cc.
Ciara now attends Tullow Community School and regularly competes in the Ulster Superbike Championship.
She competed in her first Irish Minibike Championship in 2023 where she would go on to win the Junior Elite 2-Stroke Class on her KTM 65cc bike.
Ciara continued in the Junior Elite class in 2024 where she finished as the runner-up.
She earned her full bike race licence in March after completing two MCUl induction days.
Ciara joined the Motorcycle Road Racing Club of Ireland and the Team Wood Youth Academy, riding the Tianda 300cc in the Moto 1 class in the Ulster Superbike Championship.
The Tullow rider also finished the 2024 USBK Moto 1 Championship in a strong sixth place overall to round out the year.
2025 was an incredible year for Ciara. She dedicated most of her weekends to training and developing her skills in preparation for the new season.
During the USBK Championship she raced the Team Wood Youth Academy Tianda 300co, received the incredible opportunity to ride Moto3 Honda, generously sponsored by Bryan Harding.
Ciara was crowned Belfast and District Motol Champion and won the Gareth Anderson Memorial Trophy as well as finishing 5th at the USBK Moto1 Championship and 6th at USBK Moto 3 Championship.
Ciara is currently preparing for her most exciting season yet, where she is not only set to make her return to the grid onboard the Moto3 Honda, but also plans on stepping up to the Supersport Cup as well as competing in select events in Britain.
