motorsport.ie - Irish Motorsport News

McKenna US Bound!

Sat Mar 06 04:09:00 -0500 2010

Reigning Motorsport Ireland Young Racing Driver of the Year Patrick McKenna ended weeks of speculation today with the announcement that he has signed to race in the US F2000 series with Cape Motorsports.

In common with an increasing number of European racers, McKenna has decided to forego the usual treadmill of UK and European singe seater-racing for the burgeoning US junior single seater scene.

Former Irish Formula Ford Champion McKenna has decided to begin his quest for glory in the revamped US F2000 championship which benefits this year from an impressive prize fund and promotion by the Indy Racing League as the first step on the “Road to Indy”.

For McKenna, a podium finisher in British Formula Ford last season, the move to the US is a logical one.

“In Europe every step on the ladder to F1 requires much higher financial input and there is less of a culture of supporting drivers,” he says.

“In USF2000 the prize fund includes a paid drive for the winner of the championship in the 2011 Star Mazda Championship worth $350,000. There’s nothing in Europe to match that.

“Being part of the IRL family also means that there is a clearly defined path all the way to the Indianapolis 500 and racing in a series on street tracks, road courses and ovals will provide the necessary training for aspiring Indy racers.”

The series is set to be ultra competitive with the best up and coming US drivers pitting their talents against a number of star imports from Europe and South America and McKenna is expecting to be in the thick of the action from the start.

McKenna’s status as Young Racing Driver of the Year helped open doors with the leading squads in the series and he had a number of options to weigh up before opting to sign with the much decorated Cape Motorsports squad.

The St Petersburg, Florida based team won the vast majority of USF2000 races and the championship when it last competed at that level in 2006. Now, with a new Mazda engine specified for the cars and a different compound from tyre supplier in Cooper, there are new engineering challenges that McKenna is confident the squad can answer.

“Everything I’ve seen and heard about the team suggests that they are the strongest team and I believe that their combination of engineering know-how and total commitment to the USF2000 programme will give me the best chance of victory.”

As well as his €50,000 scholarship funding from Dunlop, Motorsport Ireland and the Irish Sports Council, McKenna also enjoys support from Paul Kenny of Willsborough Transport, a long time patron, and DIT.

McKenna’s pre season test programme begins in two weeks time at Roebling Road Raceway, Savannah, Georgia. The first weekend of racing in the seven-event, 12-round Cooper Tires USF2000 series Powered by Mazda is on the streets of St Petersburg, Florida on March 27th-28th.

Craig Breen set for gravel test before BRC assault

Tue Mar 02 13:31:00 -0500 2010

Craig opened the year with a fantastic second overall in the West of Ireland at the Galway International Rally, the team will now focus on their second championship campaign for 2010 as Craig mounts his challenge for glory in the British Rally Championship.

Following a four week break Craig will now begin a month of intense action during March and early April. In preparation for the opening round of the British Rally Championship (The Bulldog International Rally North Wales) and the second round of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship (The Circuit of Ireland), Craig will use two events as test sessions to fine tune the “Kick Energy” Ford Fiesta Super 2000.

Up first is his home forestry event in Carrick on Suir, Co. Tipperary the Wm. Loughman Forestry Rally, then a week later Craig and the team will make the trip to Claremorris for the Mayo Stages Rally.

Craig on getting back behind the wheel for his next outing,
“After four weeks away from competition I need to get some competitive miles on the car and to bring myself back up to peak performance before the beginning of the BRC. I have been testing an S2000 over the intervening weeks as part of my job at M-Sport but it wasn’t my car and there’s nothing like the heat of battle to get the blood pumping. The stages for the Wm. Loughman are some of the best gravel tests in Ireland and the main aim of the team is to have a good gravel package for the Bulldog. I also want to fine tune my tarmac setup for the Circuit of Ireland and that’s why we’re taking in the Mayo Stages. The Circuit will be as tough as usual and the stages will be faster than Galway so it’s important to get a competitive event in before we head there”.

March and early April Schedule:
Wm. Loughman Forestry Rally 7th March
Mayo Stages 14th March
Bulldog International Rally North Wales 27th March
Circuit of Ireland 2nd – 4th April

The Wm. Loughman Forestry Rally will mark the first anniversary of Craig’s navigator Gareth Roberts joining the team. Twelve months ago Gareth took over note calling duties and over the first weekend of their partnership the crew competed in the Rallye Sunseeker (Bournemouth, Dorset) on Saturday February 28th then travelled back to Carrick on Suir for the Wm. Loughman Forestry Rally the following day. The relationship tasted success from the start as they took a comfortable Class 2 win and finished 3rd in the 2wd category on the Sunseeker, victory in the Junior Class followed on Sunday in Carrick on Suir as the pair finished the event top 2wd car, with an 8th place overall. The partnership gelled immediately to form an unbeatable team throughout the season. They carried on their success from 2009 when they brought home the Fiesta S2000 in second place in Galway in January and now over the coming weeks they will start their assault on the British Rally Championship.

O’Neill Confirmed at CDR for Duratec Campaign

Mon Mar 01 16:28:00 -0500 2010

Cliff Dempsey Racing has confirmed a second driver for their 2010 MSA British Formula Ford Championship campaign. Nineteen year old student Cormac O’Neill, who made his debut with the team in 2009 in FF1600 taking third overall in the Irish FF championship and 5th in the UK National FF1600 series, will step up to the top British series using the same Ray chassis that he drove in FF1600 last season upgraded to Duratec spec.

O’Neill had a very promising test run in the car (at Kirkistown) last week and team owner Cliff Dempsey was very encouraged with what he saw stating “I am very pleased to run Cormac in the Duratec Championship, which has to be one of the toughest Championships around. Cormac has come on leaps and bounds during his first year in cars, finishing 3rd in the Irish Formula Ford Championship and 5th in the Webcon National FF1600 Championship, gaining valuable experience on a variety of tracks. He has had some fine podium finishes and has had several fastest laps. I do think that with a little more race craft, that he will further progress and surprise some people”.

Cormac added “I am very happy to remain in the CDR team and to be moving up to Duratec but I am slightly disappointed that I have to choose between the main championship and the Scholarship class. It would have been nice to have been able to compete for honours in both classes simultaneously as drivers have been allowed to in previous years.

Sponsored by Moston Building Contractors, the young Irishman aims to compete in all rounds. The season kicks off in Oulton Park on the 4th & 5th of April.

Petro Pet Foods Kirkistown Stages

Mon Mar 01 16:20:00 -0500 2010

The Annual North Armagh Motor Club kirkistown stages, the first round of the Hankook MSA N.I Rally Championship and sponsored by Petro Pet Foods took place on Saturday 27th February. The format consisted of six stages throughout the kirkistown race track, with total of approx 30 stage miles. Conditions for this year’s event where very good, despite heavy over night rain which lead to standing water on many corners. Reigning N.I champion, Glengormley`s Derek McGarrity in his Subaru Impreza S12B dominated proceedings taking fastest times on all six stages. Concerns were raise about gearbox problems on stage SS3, consequently the Subaru's gearbox was changed as a precaution, after SS3. Second seed Gary White, who was driving a Group A Subaru Impreza , sheared all five studs off one of his wheels as he accelerated off the startline of stage one. The wheel flew off, broke a side window and landed on the roof of the Subaru, thus ending his participation prematurely.

The final results saw Derek McGarrity and James McKee Subaru Impreza S12B take overall win by 1m 23.2s. With Stuart Biggerstaff and Kenny Hull Subaru Impreza WRC S9 take second and George Robinson and Tommy Speers Subaru Impreza WRC take third.

Raymond Johnston (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) won the Sunoco Fuels Group N category with a fine fourth place finish, while Kieron Graffin rounded out the top five in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo.

Drew Stewart took top 2WD honours with his Ford Escort Mk2, in seventh place overall.

There were 93 finishers from the 112 starters.

Pedro Pet Foods Stages Rally Top Ten Results

Derek McGarrity/James McKee Subaru Impreza S12B

Stuart Biggerstaff/Kenny Hull Subaru Impreza WRC S9

George Robinson/Tommy Speers Subaru Impreza WRC

Raymond Johnston/Fabian McAleer Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9

Kieron Graffin/Neil Doherty Mitsubishi EVO

Alan Carmichael/Ivor Lamont Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9

Drew Stewart/Steven Park Ford Escort MK II

Terry McGonigle/Damian Caldwell Mitsubishi Lancer Evo

Gary McEvoy/Keith McEvoy Mitsubishi EVO 29m

Alan Burrows/Gavin Burrows Mitsubishi Lancer Evo

Report & Photo by: Warren McConnaughie

OMC Fivemiletown Spring Rally

Mon Feb 22 17:23:00 -0500 2010

Omagh Motor Club’s opening event for this year was the Spring Rally held on Saturday 20th February. This clubman event is a very popular rally based in Fivemiletown Co. Fermanagh, the event format consistent of 8 special stages held in nearby Mullaghfad, Crocknagrally, Jenkin Hill and Doon forests. Conditions for this year’s event proved very challenging due to freezing fog, snow and ice on many of the stages.
The principal sponsor of this year’s event was Aidan Caldwell Plant & Tractors Sales and saw seventy three entries both 2 & 4WD and a few WRC cars.

This year’s event was won by Ian Cochrane and Nigel Campbell in a Mitsubishi Evo, second was Frank Kelly and Sean Ferris Ford in a Escort Mk 2 and third was Paul Britton and Martin McGarrity in a Subaru Impreza.

A total of 73 starts and 47 finishers has proven that this years event has been a tough one.

Full top ten Results

Ian Cochrane/Nigel Campbell Mitsubishi Evo

Frank Kelly /Sean Ferris Ford Escort Mk 2

Paul Britton /Martin McGarrity Subaru Impreza 2

Seamus O'Connell/Andrew Grennan Ford Escort Mk 2

Shane McGirr/Stephen O'Hanlon Toyota Starlet

Marc Johnston/Colin Harkness Mitsubishi Lancer 2

Mark Donnelly/Eugene O'Kane Mitsubishi Evo 8

Vivian Hamill/Paul Hamill Ford Escort Mk 2

Enda McNulty/Ronan O'Kane Subaru Impreza 9

Eamon Mimnagh/Ronnie Coulter Mitsubishi Evo 2

Article & Photo by: Warren McConnaughie

Seventh Heaven for Vincent and JP McAree on Mitchelstown Forestry Rally

Tue Feb 16 15:49:00 -0500 2010

Last weekend’s Mitchelstown Forestry Rally, round one of the Petro Systems Irish Forestry Rally Championship brought a superb seventh overall finish for Monaghan’s Vincent and JP McAree, on their first outing in a Group N Subaru Impreza. For 23 year old Vincent McAree and his co-driving cousin JP it was the first of two prize drives which they won after winning the junior section of the Irish Forestry series in 2009.

The car, a full specification 1999 Group N Subaru was provided by Galway man Daragh Raftery, with his hard working crew looking after the car. “I had a few miles in the car the day before the event, just to get a basic feel for it” commented Vincent.
“When we got going on the event I started to get the feel of it more. The four wheel drive in the forest was just unreal! It took us a while to appreciate how much extra speed you could carry through the corners with a Group N car, and towards the end of the event we started to get onto it more and more. We made an adjustment to soften the back of the car at the mid day service as well, which helped me to get the car to step put more, as we don’t have a handbrake for the tight junctions. I have to say we really enjoyed the event, and by the last stage I felt we were getting a better pace up with the experience we had gained.” Indeed a seventh fastest overall time on the final test, consolidated their seventh overall position, and the team was delighted to record a top ten finish on their first attempt. “I have to thank Daragh, his son and the team. They were really pleased to see the car running in the top ten, took the job of running the car seriously and had prepared the car well for the rally also. Also thanks to Jim Crozier of Sunoco Fuels for the fuel for the event, Christy Carey of Hankook for providing the tyres, Motorsport Ireland for insuring the car, and of course John Quill and everyone who runs this series.”

Round two of the Irish Forestry series is in Carrick On-Suir in three weeks time, and this will be Vincent’s second prize drive in the Group N Subaru. “I think we will have more experience going into this rally and I have to say I’m really looking forward to it. After this event I would like to continue in the Group N class, so we are looking into preparing a Group N Mitsubishi Evo 9 for the rest of the series also.” Vincent and his cousin JP are hoping for continued backing from V-Mac Silos, T-Met Recycling and Premier Welding for the rest of the season that is seeing the young Monaghan engineer graduate into much more powerful machinery.

Gary Thompson to Race in Japanese F3

Tue Feb 16 11:46:00 -0500 2010

Teenage single-seater star Gary Thompson has confirmed that he will become the first Irish driver to race in the Japanese Formula 3 series this season with the Achievement by KCMG squad.

Thompson graduates to the key Japanese single-seater feeder series after taking victory in the Rookie Cup in the Formula BMW Pacific series in his first season of car racing last year.

The 17-year-old Leaving Cert student from Donabate had been Ireland’s leading exponent in international kart racing for several seasons before taking a sensational debut victory in the first round of the Formula BMW Pacific series in Sepang last April.

He went on to add nine more podium finishes in a rookie season of remarkable speed and consistency, attracting the attention of KCMG along the way.

Thompson has had the offer of a sponsored drive with KCMG in Japanese F3 series since early in 2009 and finally confirmed the deal this week. In opting for the world famous Japanese series he is following a well worn path to one of the toughest single seater schools in world motor racing.

His team boss Paul Ip has been following his progress for some time and is delighted to secure the Dublner’s signature.

“We are very pleased to have signed Gary I have been watching Gary since he started testing in Formula BMW and was very impressed with his speed and maturity,” says Ip.

“Gary will be a fantastic asset to the team and it’s fantastic to have an Irish driver racing in Japan.
“These are exciting times for the Achievement by KCMG. We have added a third car to our F3 team this season and we are also moving into Formula Nippon with support from Toyota Motorsport, providing a factory supported academy for our drivers to progress through.

Japanese Formula 3 has long been an important arena for talented and ambitious racers. Force India star Adrian Sutil is the latest F1 graduate from the series while reigning Japanese F3 champion Marcus Ericsson has just won a plum drive in GP2, one rung below F1, for the coming year.

For Thompson, then, the opportunity to make significant career progress through the series is there for the taking. This year will be the first of a planned two-year programme in the series and he will use a National Class Dallara chassis powered by a TOMs Toyota engine.

Needless to say, he is very excited about the forthcoming campaign and is looking forward to starting testing at the beginning of March.

“I’m thrilled to have signed with KCMG who have already won many races in Japanese F3 and who have shown an interest in me right from the start of my car career,” said Gary.

“I’ve done some testing in a German specification F3 car in Valencia recently and they really are fantastic machines. The step up in power and cornering speeds wasn’t too daunting, though, and I’m confident I’ll be able to make my mark when the season gets going.

“I can’t wait to start testing. It’s going to be a tough season juggling racing commitments in Asia with study for the Leaving but I’m almost used to it now!”

Along with his new team Thompson will also be working with long time adviser John O’Hara who has guided the career of many European racers in Asia for several years. The Kildare former A1 Team Ireland driver is confident that Thompson has what it takes to make his mark in Japan.

“Gary is very talented and applies himself well to the job in hand so I have no doubts that he will quickly get up to speed in Japanese F3. It’s a tough school but this is a two-year programme and the target is to be challenging consistently for victory in season two.

The 16-race Japanese F3 series gets under way at the Suzuka Grand Prix circuit on April 17th and concludes at Autopolis on October 17th.

Bishopscourt Stages Gears Up for March Spectacular

Mon Feb 15 15:42:00 -0500 2010

Saturday 13th March 2010 is the date for this year’s McGrady Insurance Bishopscourt Stages Rally, round two of the Hankook Northern Ireland Rally Championship. Six special stages over 40 miles will be laid out around the confines of the Bishopscourt venue, by the enthusiastic members of the Ballynahinch and District Motor Club. Using areas of the tarmac racing circuit, the concrete infield section and even the famous jump, it provides an exciting days sport for the competitor.

Once again Fintan McGrady of McGrady Insurance has stepped in to sponsor the event, and Fintan will compete for top two wheel drive honours in his immaculate 2 litre MK2 Escort. “It’s our fourth year being involved with the event, and the motor club do a great job of staging the rally. It’s a fantastic day out, especially for spectators, as they can see so much of the action from one vantage point. As a local company based in Downpatrick, McGrady Insurance sees the rally as an important event for the area.” Fintan is certainly looking forward to the rally, having finished 15th overall and 2nd in class on last year’s event. “The main thing is to enjoy the event, and there is always plenty of driving in Bishopscourt so it will be enjoyable for sure. I’d also like to wish new Clerk of the Course Paul Conlon, the best of luck with the event.”

Indeed the new Clerk of the Course is Paul Conlon, who successfully ran the Bishopscourt Summer Stages last year, and he is very much looking forward to the new challenge. “We are working away at the moment finalising everything. I don’t expect it to be too much different than the rally last July, but there is no doubt there is a bit more pressure with it being an NI Championship round. There a few wee changes to the layout this year, but I hope for safe and successful days motorsport, enjoyed by competitors and spectators alike.” So far 15 entries have already been received including that of reigning Northern Ireland Champion Derek McGarrity, who dominated last year’s Bishopscourt event. For more information on the event and to download a copy of the official regulations log on to www.ballynahinchmotorclub.com

BREEN MOVES INTO PORSCHE SUPERCUP

Wed Feb 10 15:40:00 -0500 2010

Niall Breen (23, Ireland), Jono Lester (20, New Zealand), Tim Sandtler (22, Germany), Harald Schlegelmilch (22, Latvia) and Ferdinand Stuck (18, Germany) share up to €180,000 as a cash injection into their racing budgets for the international Porsche Mobil1 Supercup or the Carrera Cup Deutschland.

One of the five selected drivers, Niall Breen totally dominated the 2006 Formula BMW UK Championship, taking the title with nine out of 20 race wins before moving into British Formula 3 and finishing fifth overall the following year with Carlin Motorsport. In 2008 he contested most of the Formula 3 Euro Series with Manor Motorsport before running into budgetary problems. Now he follows in the footsteps of fellow Irishman, Damien Faulkner, who was twice runner-up in the Porsche Supercup series.

Breen, from Dundalk was enthusiastic about his new challenge in the Porsche Mobile 1 Supercup series, which supports nine of the Formula 1 fixtures, saying: “I'm delighted to be back racing and I'm looking forward to this new challenge in 2010 and beyond.

“I enjoyed my career in single-seaters but the current economic situation resulted in funding becoming more difficult to source. I’m currently working on raising the extra budget to compete and would like to thank all my sponsors who have supported me in my racing career to date. I look forward to working with them again in the near future.

“During the test, it felt like I'd never stopped racing! We each had a 5-lap installation run on new tyres followed by a 7-lap test on Thursday morning. In the afternoon, we had a further 10 laps on the same tyres. Then on Friday morning, I had a 3-lap run on Thursday’s tyres before pitting for new tyres for my final six laps.

“Porsche Motorsport is very professional in all respects and the preparation of the car was excellent. I would like to thank Jens Walther, Head of Porsche’s brand trophy series, for the invitation and selecting me to become part of the programme”, said Breen.

With this, Porsche writes yet another chapter in its long-standing and hugely successful junior development programme in motorsport. “We’re very pleased with this talent search,” summarised Jens Walther. “All participants were extremely disciplined. We had neither an accident nor a technical defect with the three brand-new vehicles. We carefully weighed up each candidate against each other. The five drivers we selected can rightfully call themselves a “Porsche Motorsport Talent”. All in all, we were very impressed by the standard of participants and hope to see as many of them as possible contesting the Porsche one-make series.”

Twelve drivers from six countries spent two days, last Thursday and Friday, February 4/5th testing three 450 hp Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race cars at the Vallelunga Circuit in Italy. Each driver had the same number of new tyres at their disposal and assisted by Porsche engineers, they each worked on setting up the vehicles.

Porsche racing aces Jeroen Bleekemolen and Jan Seyffarth were on hand to give participants valuable tips and advice, assisted by computer-aided data analyses. In 2008 and 2009, Bleekemolen won the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup, with former Porsche Junior Jan Seyffarth securing third in last year’s Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland. The budding young racers were also judged on criteria such as personality as well as team and communication skills.

BARRABLE’S BRILLIANT MAIDEN VICTORY

Mon Feb 08 15:36:00 -0500 2010

he new 2010 Citroen Racing Trophy Ireland kicked off in style on the Citroen Irish Tarmac Rally Championship, with round one the Galway International Rally. A record fifteen of Citroen’s 1600cc C2 rally cars, including R2 Max’s, R2’s and one Super 1600 crossed the ceremonial start ramp in Oranmore on Friday evening.

But the action kicked off early on Saturday morning, with 9 special stages for the crews to tackle, three stages repeated three times, and weather conditions were tricky, a cold foggy day, and plenty of mud and slippery tarmac for the Citroen drivers to contend with. Nevertheless the Citroen C2 R2 Max’s were very impressive in the slippery conditions with Andrew Hockridge the fastest Citroen driver on stage one, 14th fastest overall and just half a second ahead of Marty McCormack. Andrew’s rally however was soon over with an unfortunate throttle pot failure on stage 2, causing retirement, but Draperstown driver Marty McCormack soon took over the mantle, a stunning time on stage two taking him into tenth place overall in the event and leading the Citroen challenge. Another good time on stage three put McCormack over a minute ahead into first service.

Perhaps a surprise second was C2 R2 Max newcomer Robert Barrable. The Dublin former Formula Ford racer was loving his new Citroen, with the experienced Damien Connolly on the pace-notes. At this stage defending Citroen Racing Trophy Ireland champion Adrian McElhinney was third just 11 seconds behind Barrable, with another C2 newcomer Cork’s Shane Buckley setting some impressive times in the C2 R2 he acquired from Barry Evans. The former Irish Fiesta ST front runner was really enjoying his C2 and changed little on the cars set up, and it would be very interesting to see how he would go with a Max upgrade fitted to his C2 R2.

Early dramas in Galway included the retirement of young Omagh charger Mark Donnelly. Tipped to be a star of the future, he was learning his newly acquired ex Jason Pritchard machine, but a gearbox problem forced his retirement on stage one. With a replacement fitted Mark rejoined on the Sunday, but an off on the second test curtailed the young drivers learning process. Another young Omagh driver, Declan Leonard was also making his first foray with C2 R2 Max hired from DJ Motorsport but a stage one excursion in the fog dented his hopes, and he too rejoined on the Sunday for valuable mileage in the car, and set some good stage times, after changing his pace-notes back to supplied notes.
Graham Colfer had hired a Citroen C2 R2 from Sean Agnew and had driver turned navigator Seamus O’Grady in the co-driver’s seat. The Dublin driver and former 205 Challenge front runner was setting some very impressive stage times in his R2 machine before engine mounting failure caused retirement on day one. However with that repaired he also rejoined on day two to set more promising times, and Graham may be a future contender if he acquires a Max specification machine.

Donegal driver Joe McGonigle is another new to the Citroen C2’s in 2010, having contested the British Championship in his Honda last year. With Niall Burns in the co-driver’s seat, Joe was having a decent run in the ex Shaun Gallagher R2, now upgraded to Max specification. A front wheel puncture on leg two cost valuable time, but he ended the event 24th overall and 5th C2 home, ahead of Co. Tipperary’s Mark Kane who had a topsy-turvy event! With his car just completed after an upgrade to Max specification before the event, Mark was adapting to the new mount, but a simple roll on stage 4, when he clipped the inside of a tight corner was the start of a weekend of niggles which included brake troubles. Amazingly despite rolling the car into a field on stage 4 he lost just 25 seconds on the stage, and he finished 25th overall proving his C2 was tough enough to take him to the finish. Limerick’s Keith Lyons had hired a R2 Max from Mark Gamble of JAM Motorsport in England, and after a long lay-off Keith really enjoyed his return to rallying, with Trevor Payne reading the all important pace-notes. A trouble free run ensured he finished 42 seconds ahead of Mayo’s David Carney in his immaculate new C2 R2 Max. David with co-driver Ray Fitzpatrick bedded himself in with his new car, and picked up the pace stage by stage, on what was very much a learning event. Andrew Bushe was contesting the event in his C2 S1600, and eventually finished 20th overall after dropping almost two minutes with power steering failure, but he had a difficult run as he tried to set up and adapt to his car in the slippery conditions.

Back to battle out front and at the end of the first leg Marty McCormack and his Welsh co-driver Dai Roberts were placed 11th overall and leading all the more powerful 2 litre class R3 machines, with Conor Harvey in his R3 Civic just two seconds behind. “The car was performing really well and I was happy with our times which were the main thing. We lost a little time on the second loop with a cut slick when a lot of our rivals went on a wet tyre, but we took the wet’s for the evening runs and things went well for us, so it was generally a very good day.” Robert Barrable ended the day almost two minutes back, but still an impressive 16th overall. “On the first day I had a lot to learn with the new car, and at times I was over driving the car and suffered a few overshoots, but I was really enjoying the car.” Adrian McElhinney over a minute behind him in 20th overall. Day two brought six special stages, two repeated three times including the famous Black Road mountain stage near Loughrea. The fog had lifted for the second day and generally the conditions had improved for the faster second days stages, but the dramas started early. On the first Black Road stage, leader Marty McCormack crippled to the end with two front wheel punctures, dropping over two and half minutes and out of the Citroen Racing Trophy lead. “I think I know where I got the first puncture when we caught the side of a stone, but I don’t understand the second one” quipped Marty. “We got a small road penalty as we changed the wheels for the next stage, and then we got back into the lead of the Citroen’s, but collected another puncture on the penultimate stage. Again I don’t know where I picked this one up but it cost another 30 seconds and that was it. Fair play to Robert though he was driving well and his pace had really picked up all event.”

At the finish it was a delighted Robert Barrable who on his maiden Citroen Racing Trophy event took the honors. “Maybe it was beginners luck!”Joked Robert “The car ran perfectly, and a big thanks must go to Gary and Geoff and the team. We went for a conservative tyre choice for day one, but took a few more risks with slicks on day two, and it started to pay off. On the last loop we had a real good attack and we took a second off Marty on the last stage, and I have to admit I didn’t expect to be anywhere near the front positions. To collect 4000€ for second in class R is also a fantastic bonus and a credit to Citroen Racing for their efforts in organizing this new trophy.” Round two is on the Circuit of Ireland Rally at Easter.

Craig Breen Galway International Preview

Wed Feb 03 17:32:00 -0500 2010

If we turn back the clock twelve months, Craig Breen entered the Galway International Rally and embarked on a voyage that would take him to three Fiesta based championship titles, the National Junior Rally Championship Crown, Billy Coleman Award and International Fiesta Shootout Victory. 2009 Highlights for Craig “I think winning in Finland last year was a turning point. There were lots of quick drivers and to go there for the first time and win was a rare thing. Also the Pirelli Star Driver, considering the people I was up against. But I think the most obvious highlight was winning the Fiesta Shoot Out because it gave me the opportunity to work at M Sport.”

Now a year on Craig takes the first step on the road of his second year of full time rallying and to help the young rally driver of the year he brings the all new Fiesta S2000 to the West of Ireland for the opening round of the 2010 Citroën Irish Tarmac Rally Championship. Craig “I drove the new car at the Kirkbride Airfield, Cumbria just before we brought it home and the car was just awesome. My first time to drive the car in anger was last Saturday morning in Co. Cork at the National Forestry Championship Test Day. The gravel test gave Gareth and I seat time in the car. Tom (Tom Gahan) advised us not to make to many changes just drive the car; get to grips with the way it feels corning, under braking and at speed. We put about 70 km up over the day and came away with a much better understanding of the handling. This set us up perfectly for our first tarmac test last Monday. From the start I could feel the potential. We tried out a combination of different settings; including springs, shocks and tyres. By the last run of the day we were delighted with our final setup. The power, stability and maneuverability of the car is unbelievable and I just can’t wait for the first stage in Galway.”

“Our goal this year is to compete in the Citroën Irish Tarmac Rally Championship here in Ireland, the MSA British Rally Championship and selected outings in the World Rally Championship. I know there will be a lot of pressure but all I can do is push on as I did last year. I’ve got a huge team behind me and I’m sure that will reflect in what I do this year. I love every minute of rallying and I’m hoping this is my year to pay back all the people that have supported me so far, including my family, friends, everyone in the Carrick-on-Suir Motor Club and of course all my sponsors.”

“At the launch I was delighted to announce the team’s new sponsorship package for 2010. Over the Christmas period my P.R. team and I worked hard on putting a proposal together that would attract a major corporate sponsor. This work really paid off during the last few weeks and now I and the team are very privileged to have Kick Energy, Kel-Tech, Motorsport Ireland, Pirelli, Castrol and Suirway as partners for the 2010 season. It also gives me great pleasure to have Tom Gahan Motorsport on board again this year. By now Tom and the team are part of the family that makes up Craig Breen Rallying.”

“Now to next weekend, Galway comes first in the championship and can be one of the most difficult events of the season. I had a great result last year, finishing tenth overall and hopefully the debut of our new S2000 can bring us some luck. Weather conditions can be a lottery and is bound to play a big part but the team and I are very confident.”

Thompson’s Early Christmas Present

Mon Dec 21 11:56:00 -0500 2009

While most Dublin teenagers were out shopping ahead of the holiday rush, single-seater star Gary Thompson was making the most of an early Christmas present as he began his 2010 testing programme in Valencia.

Formula BMW Pacific Rookie Cup champion Thompson is graduating to Formula 3 in the new season and the Donabate racer began his preparations last week with a three day test in a German Formula 3 specification Dallara-Volkswagen F307 run by Performance Racing.

The test was an opportunity to get some important homework done ahead of the coming campaign when Thompson is planning to race in the Japanese F3 series. With Japanese testing limited due to weather at this time of year, the outing in Spain was planned to kick start training for the leap in performance he will experience in his second season of racing cars.

Throughout the three days Thompson, who was overall runner-up in the Formula BMW Pacific series to go with his Rookie Cup in his debut season in cars, impressed the Performance Racing crew and ended the test among the fastest German spec machinery.

In addition Thompson was quicker than several of the more powerful F309 cars in what he is certain was a very useful exercise ahead of his move to Japan.

“We had every conceivable variety of weather conditions in the three days and it was great to really come to terms with a Formula 3 car in a proper extended test,” said the Cebu Pacific and Aviation Display supported racer.

“I’d like to thank Performance Racing for their help and professionalism during the test. It’s a very impressive team and there was a great atmosphere throughout the test.

“Day one was wet and I focused on learning the car and track so that I could push to the maximum in the dry on day two.

“The third day was extremely windy and I was delighted to be amongst the quickest on a very busy track.”

Thompson is now focusing his attention on Japan in the new year and ahead of that he will head to Batangas in the Philippines for testing with Aran Racing in a Formula 3 Dallara-Toyota TOMS F304 before beginning the Japanese phase of his pre season testing programme in February.

But now he plans to take a well earned rest over the Christmas holiday.

“I’ve done an incredible amount of travelling this year and I’m looking forward to taking a break at Christmas. I’ve already got my Christmas present so I suppose I should get back to the books during the break as well,” said the 17-year-old Leaving Cert student.

Motorsport Ireland Statement - Sinclair Resigns

Sat Dec 19 16:46:00 -0500 2009

It is with the deepest regret that I inform you that Alex Sinclair has resigned as Chief Executive Officer of Motorsport Ireland with immediate effect.

This also includes his resignation from the other positions he holds within motorsport, namely as a member of the Motor Sport Commission, the Executive Council of MI and as a Director of Irish Motorsport Federation Ltd.

He will remain until 31st March 2010 to assist in the administration of the sport in the interim.

I wish to thank Alex for all that he has contributed to motorsport over the last twenty years and must say that he has acted in the most professional manner and with the utmost integrity at all times. He would be an asset to any organisation and will be sorely missed.

I wish Alex and his family well for the future.

John Naylor,
President,
Motorsport Ireland

Source: Motorsport Ireland

Victory for Vincent in Irish Forestry Junior’s

Sat Dec 19 16:42:00 -0500 2009

For 23 year old Monaghan rally driver Vincent McAree, and his co-driving cousin JP McAree, the 2009 rallying season has brought a rich reward for their victory in the Junior section of the Irish Forestry Championship. Thanks to the hard work of the organisers of the Petro Systems Irish Forestry Championship and the generosity of Galway rally driver Daragh Raftery, Vincent McAree will now get a prize drive in Daragh’s Group N Subaru for the first two rounds of the 2010 Irish Forestry series. It’s a significant step up for the young Monaghan charger who has been campaigning a 1600 Peugeot 206 and C2R2 this season, and one he is really looking forward to.

“I can’t wait to try the four wheel drive Group N car in the forests. We will have a lot to learn, but if things did go well on the first two rounds, maybe it would be worthwhile to continue in Group N. There’s a big thank you to John Quill who has worked so hard to promote the championship and to Daragh for the use of the car. Also to Motorsport Ireland who are funding the insurance for the car, Sunoco Fuels for providing the racing fuel and Silverstone Tyres for the rally tyres, which all help make it such a great prize. In addition to this British Rally Champion Keith Cronin has offered his services to help advise us on set up and driving techniques, and there would be no better person to teach us a few things about Group N machines.”

Vincent is the first to admit that his 2009 rally campaign wasn’t the best of seasons for the McAree Engineering team, but there was some success. “On the Moonraker we had a good result, first in class and second in Mitchelstown in our old 106, but we had a series of three non finishes with engine maladies with our 206 Peugeot, but I think we have sorted that now with Dynotune now working on the engine. It wasn’t a brilliant season for us, unlike 2008 when we finished second in the National Junior Championship, but we have come out with a prize at the end of it. There is no doubt Craig Breen was the fastest Junior, and due to his third place overall finish in the Forestry series he forfeited this prize, so we were lucky. It was great to see him receive the Billy Coleman Award this year however as he definitely deserved it.” With the help of V-Mac Silos, T-Met Recycling and Premier Welding Vincent also hired a Citroen C2 R2 in 2009 furthering his experience, but he hoping for better fortune in 2010. “I’m really looking forward to driving the Subaru, and to the forest championship again. I think it’s a great series and to be provided an opportunity to try something like this is really special.” It could be a prize drive well worth keeping an eye on in 2010.

Photo: www.rallyprint.com

Thompson To Make his Macau Bow

Tue Nov 17 04:19:00 -0500 2009

Teenage single-seater star Gary Thompson is getting set to make his debut in one of the most important theatres of world motor racing as the Formula BMW Pacific series gears up for the final round of the 2009 championship in Macau.

Dubliner Thompson, already confirmed as the winner of the Formula BMW Pacific Rookie Cup and overall runner up in the series in his debut season in cars, heads to the former Portuguese colony knowing that points considerations are no longer of concern and he can focus entirely on his first experience of one of the world’s most demanding street circuits.

The 17-year-old Leaving Cert student tuned up for his first experience of the fabled 6.2km Guia Circuit by testing for two days in Batangas, Philippines last week in an Aran Racing run Dallara-TOMS Toyota F3 car. The test was also a precursor to the Dubliner’s planned move to the Japanese Formula 3 Championship next season.

Thompson will formally sign a contract to race with top Japanese F3 team Achievement by KCMG in Macau this weekend. He is also investigating the possibility of dovetailing next year’s F3 commitments with some European racing and will be having meetings with prospective squads in Macau ahead of planned testing in a Formula Masters car at Valencia in early December.

This weekend’s 15th and final round of the Formula BMW Pacific Championship in Macau marks the conclusion of a hectic and very rewarding first season of racing cars for Thompson who has taken overall and class victories as well as ten podium finishes from 14 starts in Asia.

He has raced at four FIA World Championship events, in Malaysia, Britain, Hungary and Singapore and is now preparing to make his bow at one of the most iconic venues on the international motor racing.

Thompson is looking forward to an opportunity to race at Macau in his first season in cars and looks upon it not just as an opportunity for glory this weekend, but also as a chance to gain much needed track knowledge for next year’s Macau Grand Prix FIA Formula 3 Intercontinental Cup event with team Achievement by KCMG.

“I’m really pumped about racing in Macau this weekend,” says the Cebu Pacific and Aviation Display supported racer.

“It’s just my first season in cars and it’s going to be a thrill to race at a circuit that pretty much every driver in the world wants to compete on at some stage in their career. It won’t be easy to make an impression because we have just one short untimed session before qualifying and the main objective, more so than at any other track, is to maximise track time.

“The walls and barriers are very close and staying on track is going to be a challenge but I’ve shown before that I can get the hang of tracks reasonably quickly so I’m looking forward to it. I suppose it’s a great opportunity to race there in my first season and learn the circuit for the future when I hope I can race in the Macau Grand Prix F3 race.”

Thompson and his team travelled to Macau this week courtesy of Asia’s third largest low-cost carrier, Cebu Pacific. Cebu Pacific flies from Macau to Manila daily and to Clark four times weekly. Passengers can avail of its trademark low fares and extensive Philippine network through www.cebupacificair.com.

McKenna wins Young Driver of the Year 2009

Mon Nov 16 18:42:00 -0500 2009

Motorsport Ireland are delighted to announce that twenty two year old Patrick McKenna from Swords, County Dublin has been selected as the winner of the “Dunlop Young Racing Driver of the Year” title for 2009.

From a short list of six drivers who qualified for consideration throughout the season Patrick has shown himself to be the outstanding talent over the past motor racing season.

This year, Patrick contested the British Formula Ford Championship in a French made Mygale racing car run by Jamun Racing based in the UK.

While an outright win proved elusive, the judges were clearly impressed by two second place finishes, three third place finishes, three fastest race laps and two pole positions in a form of racing that is noted for its competitiveness. Competitors from USA, Australia, Finland, Germany, Holland, Brazil, India and the UK ensured Patrick was competing against the best in the world making his achievements all the more noteworthy.

Patrick, like so many others, began his motorsport career in Kart Racing winning both the Irish Open Kart and the “C” Plate Kart Championships before moving on to FF1600.

This is not the first time Patrick has come to the attention of the judges, as he was runner up last year for the Dunlop Young Racing Driver of the Year Award. Sponsored by Willsborough Transport and DIT Sports, thanks to Paul Kenny, this young student of Manufacturing Engineering intends to race in either Britain or the USA next year.

The Dunlop Young Racing Driver of the Year Award is sponsored by Dunlop with additional support from the Irish Sports Council and Motorsport Ireland. The award, the Dunlop Sexton Trophy, includes a supported season in motor racing during 2010 to the value of €50,000.

Other drivers who qualified for the final stages were Robert Barrable, Lee Newsome, Kevin O’Hara, Aron Smith and Gary Thompson.

The formal presentation of awards will take place at the Dunlop Champions of Irish Motorsport Awards Lunch in the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Santry, on Tuesday 8th December.

Breen wins Billy Coleman Award

Mon Nov 09 15:47:00 -0500 2009

From a final list of three, Motorsport Ireland is delighted to announce that the winner of the 2009 Billy Coleman Award for the Young Rally Driver of the Year is Craig Breen.

Craig, from Kilmurry, County Waterford is just 19 years old and made his debut in Rallying in August 2007, having graduated from a successful career in Kart Racing. The other two finalists were Jonathan Cunningham from Claregalway and Kevin O’Connor from Askeaton.

In winning four separate Rally championships in 2009 Craig has shown himself to be an outstanding talent in all respects.

The highlights of the year included winning the National Junior Rally Championship and finishing 3rd overall in the Birr Forestry Stages Rally, beating many 4 wheel drive turbo charged cars in the process.

Craig also clinched the International Fiesta ST Trophy at the final British round of the World Rally Championship on 25th October.

Craig’s ambition is to be the first ever Irish winner of the World Rally Championship. With the talent he has displayed this year who would bet against it?

The next step on this journey begins next season when he competes for the British Rally Championship. Craig will also take in a number of World Rally Championship events as a precursor to switching full time to the World Championship.

The Billy Coleman Award is presented annually to the most outstanding young Rally driver during the current year. The award consists of a support package for Rally competition in 2010 to the value of €50,000.

Funding for the award is provided jointly by Motorsport Ireland through its affiliated clubs and the Irish Sports Council.

The formal presentation of awards to the Champions of Irish Motorsport will take place at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Santry, Dublin at 12.30pm on Tuesday 8th December 2009.

Disappointment for Murray at Barcelona

Mon Nov 02 22:21:00 -0500 2009

A disappointing weekend for Eoin Murray in Barcelona for the final rounds of the Seat Supercopa Championship. Lying third in the championship with a mathematical chance of winning Eoin entered the weekend in positive mode. Qualifying on Friday set the tone for the weekend when three of his fastest laps in the session were disallowed forcing him to start the first race from eighteenth on the grid of thirty six. Good progress over the opening laps meant that by lap four he was up to ninth when an over ambitious manoeuvre by British driver Daniel Welch took both drivers out spelling disaster for the championship challenger.

Failure to finish race one meant he could not compete in race two and essentially put an end to his championship aspirations. Murray started race three from position thirty-five on the grid and finished the final race of the season in style with a fantastic comeback drive to eight position by the chequered flag. Alas the lack of points for the weekend means that Eoin was leap frogged by European champion Norbert Michelisz into third and he finished the Championship in fourth place.

Commenting afterwards Eoin said. “Naturally I am disappointed with the outcome of this weekend however I must look at the season in the whole to make a fairer assessment. I joined a brand new team Oasis Motorsport one week before the first round & together we fought for the championship right until the final round. The stewards took 4th (12 points) place away from me at the first round in Valencia and looking back that has cost us dearly. However together we scored Three race Wins, Two second places, Two Thirds and set Four fastest laps. I would like to express my thanks to all the team for doing such a fantastic job this season. I said right at the start that this would be a very close contest and go right to the wire which it did. It was even more competitive than I expected and probably the toughest championship I’ve ever competed in. I must extend warmest congratulations to Marc Carol on winning the championship. I know how hard he worked and deserves his success.’’

Asked about his future plans Eoin said “It is early days yet but I have had some discussions already. Things are already looking really positive for 2010.”

Thompson Clinches Rookie Title!

Mon Nov 02 22:20:00 -0500 2009

Dublin teenager Gary Thompson clinched the Formula BMW Pacific Rookie Cup title at Okayama, Japan today, and with it the runner up spot in the main series.

Thompson finished third and sixth in rounds 13 and 14 of the key single seater feeder series to secure Rookie Cup honours a round early.

Saturday’s third place was his tenth podium finish of his debut season and he followed it up with a battling recovery drive in Sunday’s wet weather conditions.

Thompson qualified fourth and finished third in his E rain Motorsport run Cebu Pacific/Aviation Display car in Saturday’s race after an exciting battle during which he was constantly in the thick of the action at the front.

After running second for much of the 14 laps of the 3.7km former Formula One circuit race following a great getaway, Thompson’s car lost power slightly in the latter stages and he slipped to third.

Starting third for Sunday’s race run in a torrential downpour, Thompson was soon closing on the second place driver and looking good for another podium visit when he locked his rear tyres and slipped off track.

He resumed in 14th place and began a tigering recovery drive which eventually resulted in a sixth place finish which was enough to secure the Rookie Cup title.

Afterwards Gary was able to reflect on winning his first title in car racing after a busy weekend.

“It’s great to win the Rookie Cup and finish second in the Drivers Classification in my first year in cars. To have the Rookie Cup on my CV is good, and, while as a racing driver I don’t think I can be totally happy with being second, I’m pleased to have secured second in the championship.

I was fast and consistent throughout the year, all the while learning new tracks and learning the car and the series. However, now with everything sewn up, I can go to Macau and just go for it. There is nothing to lose and I can’t wait to race at one of the most famous tracks in world motorsport.”

Final Round: November 22nd , Macau, China.

Seat Supercopa Shootout at Barcelona

Tue Oct 27 16:39:00 -0400 2009

After fifteen rounds, over five gruelling weekends the Seat Supercopa enters its final round at circuit of Catalunya in Barcelona this weekend. The championship has been closely contested all the way through and there are three drivers remaining with a fighting chance to take top honours together with a paycheque of €30k and a drive in the WTCC. The top standings going in to the final round taking into account dropped scores are Spanish drivers Marc Carol on 129 points, Oscar Nogues on 112 Points and Irish driver Eoin Murray on 107 points.

With a total of forty-three points on offer for the weekend Irishman Eoin Murray is still confident of his prospects however he readily accepts that he will need a few breaks and a lot of luck if he is to succeed. His form to date would suggest that the former European Alfa Romeo Champion is well capable of causing an upset. Murray has already had 3 wins, 2 seconds, 2 thirds and set 4 fastest laps in the championship so far and has proven himself to be a very tough competitor.

Commenting on his Championship so far the Firhouse man said “Oasis Motorsport are a very young and ambitious team, this is only their second season racing. They gave me the chance at the beginning of the year and I am happy I have rewarded them with this championship mount and some great results along the way.’’

Looking forward to the weekend ahead Murray commented “As I said previously mathematically I can still win the Championship however it is a big mountain to climb and we will need a definite ‘rub of the green’ to land top honours! Championship leader Marc Carol will be the one under pressure and our goal is to score as many points as possible, we will not be giving up until the chequered flag drops in the final race.”

A large contingent of supporters fly out to Barcelona this weekend to support Eoin in his quest to win a second championship and all are looking forward to seeing him attain his goal of a drive in the WTCC.

Thompson Considers Options

Wed Oct 21 16:47:00 -0400 2009

With less than a fortnight to go to the penultimate event in the Formula BMW series, title challenger Gary Thompson is already laying the groundwork for next season.

Thompson, who leads the Rookie Cup standings and lies second overall in the Formula BMW Pacific championship in his first season of car racing, has a number of offers with top single-seater teams in Asia and Europe for next season and is edging closer to a decision.

The Donabate teenager has had a long standing offer to race with a front running team in the Japanese Formula 3 series next year and this remains his preferred option.

However, several teams have requested that holds off on a final decision until he tests with them and, to that end, Thompson is preparing to test a Formula Masters car run by title winning team Jenzer Motorsport at Hungaroring next month.

In addition, no less than five teams in the new F1 support series, GP3, have tabled offers to Gary who is currently mulling over the pros and cons of running in the start up championship.

As well as that, two teams operating in Formula Renault Eurocup series have expressed an interest in running the highly rated Dubliner.

It’s a convenient headache for Thompson who is likely to hold off on making a final choice until the completion of his maiden car race season which resumes at Okayama, Japan the weekend after next.

“It’s a good situation to be in, to be honest, but I’m not going to make any hasty decisions,” says Thompson. “The Japanese F3 team offer has been on the table for a long time and it looks the right way to go at the moment.

“It’s a heavily subsidised drive with a team that have put their faith in my ability with an offer from early in the season. Having said that, I’m always open to discussion and I’ll think over it carefully and talk to my dad before I make a final decision.

“It’s more important right now that I focus on the work at hand in the Formula BMW Asia series with my team, E-Rain. It’s all about making the most of the opportunities I have this year in my Aviation Display/Cebu Pacific supported car and next year will take care of itself.”

Thompson and his team will depart for Osaka on board Asia's third largest low cost carrier, Cebu Pacific, next Tuesday, 27th October. The team receives full support from Cebu Pacific which operates three weekly flights from Osaka to Manila, Philippines.

Murray wins at Jerez in Seat Supercopa

Mon Oct 19 16:36:00 -0400 2009

Eoin Murray took an emphatic victory, by a margin of 4.8 seconds, in the feature race of the Seat Leon Supercopa at Jerez in Spain this weekend. The result ensures that the championship battle will go right down to the wire in Barcelona in a fortnight’s time. It will be a three way battle between Eoin and Spanish drivers Marc Carol and Oscar Nogues.

Eoin qualified in 6th position for the first race of the weekend however he was adjudged to have set his fastest time by improving his time in a yellow flag sector and had to suffer the disappointment of being penalised back to 11th position on the grid for the race. In the race Murray quickly improved his position to finish a credible 7th and gave himself a decent platform for race two. A solid start in race two saw Murray pass the championship leader Marc Carol and move to fifth position at the midway stage in the seven-lap sprint race. Knowing that seventh would give him a front row start for the feature race (top 6 positions reversed) and with both drivers ahead not registered for championship points it was the perfect result.

The pressure was on for the Sunday morning feature race. Murray knew he had to win to keep his championship hopes alive. He did not disappoint as he passed pole-man Carol at the second corner and continued to open a comfortable gap taking the chequered flag some 4.8 seconds ahead of championship rivals Marc Carol & Oscar Nogues and posting fastest lap in the process.

Eoin commented after the race: “We were ‘on the back foot’ after a difficult practice session and then the penalty on qualifying made matters worse. I didn’t panic at any point and I was confident we could turn the situation around. I knew I had to win Sunday’s race and it was also important to try and get the point for fastest lap. Everything worked out as planned and my team Oasis Motorsport gave me the fastest car on the day which was rewarded with a comfortable win”.

The Championship standings, after the weekend and including dropped rounds has Eoin in third position just 5 points behind Oscar Nogues and 22 points behind the leader Marc Carol. Murray now moves ahead of newly crowned European champion Norbert Michelisz with a 12 point advantage over the Hungarian driver going into the final round.

Eoin comments about his title hopes at Barcelona: “I feel I can still win the Championship however it will not come easy as we have a big mountain to climb. Championship leader Marc Carol will be the one under pressure and I will not be giving up until the chequered flag drops in the final race”

Eoin’s next race is 30th October/1st November at circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain.

Jerez crucial to Championship Prospects

Thu Oct 15 22:59:00 -0400 2009

Jerez in Spain is the venue for rounds 13, 14 & 15 of the Seat Leon Supercopa. Irish driver Eoin Murray driving for the Oasis team is looking forward to a strong weekend to bolster his championship standings ahead of the final round in Catalunya in November. Eoin who is currently joint third in the championship needs a good result this weekend if he is to have a realistic chance of keeping his championship prospects alive.

Commenting from home before his departure to Spain Eoin said “This championship has been a roller coaster ride for us, being a new team this year, but I am happy with our achievements so far. We will have to work very hard to get a series of strong results this weekend to give a reasonable prospect of challenging for the championship at the final round in Catalunya in three weeks time. We always knew that the championship would remain in the melting pot right to the end. We are aiming to keep it exactly that way with a strong performance this weekend”.

Built in 1985 and used to host the F1 grand Prix the Circuit at Jerez covers 4.4 Km. Although Eoin has not previously raced at this Circuit he feels confident in his ability to learn new tracks very quickly. The Friday test session will be a very busy one for Eoin and Team Oasis as they try to work out a good set-up on the car for the weekend.

Qualifying takes place on Saturday morning with two races, back to back, on Saturday and the feature race on Sunday. You can follow Eoin’s progress over the weekend, and get more details on his season by logging on to his new-look website – www.eoinmurray.com

Dempsey Captures Fifth Win of 2009

Wed Sep 30 20:38:00 -0400 2009

Juncos Racing’s Peter Dempsey started today’s race from the pole position, led every lap, and finished it with a win, showcasing yet another dominating performance from the young Irishman. Today’s win marks Dempsey’s fifth win of the 2009 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear season, with his other wins being at Virginia International Raceway, Iowa Speedway, and both races at the doubleheader event in Autobahn. Dempsey is now leading the overall Championship by 15 points (444-429) over Adam Christodoulou of JDC Motorsports.

Dempsey had an excellent start, and when the race resumed after a first-lap caution, Dempsey had a perfect restart, immediately pulling away from second place competitor, Conor Daly. By lap five, Dempsey had a 3-second lead over Daly, and by the time he crossed the finish line, he had created an incredible 7.769-second gap between himself and the 17-year old. Dempsey also clocked in the fastest lap of the race with a time of 1:20.540, as well as winning a $500 check from “Racing for Kids” for being the top finisher out of the drivers participating in the program this season.

“I’ve always wanted to win a race at Road Atlanta, and I’m glad I could make amends for last year’s disappointment”, says Dempsey. “I’m happy to have my family over from Ireland as well; I’m extremely thankful for their support over years. The car was unbelievable today, and Juncos Racing once again proved that they are the best team in the paddock. I’m glad I could gain a few Championship points on Adam (Christodoulou) because it slightly takes the pressure off me going into the race at Laguna Seca, but it’s important for me to stay focused on job at hand and do the best we can do going into the last race.”

“I’m so proud of the whole team and my drivers this weekend”, says Team Owner, Ricardo Juncos. “With Peter, this has been our most important victory so far, so it was a special win that we really needed. We are going to keep working hard like always to finish the season strongly. I just want to thank the whole team, my wife, and my family for all of their continued dedication and hard work.”

Juncos Racing entered this weekend’s penultimate race at Road Atlanta with two Championship leads and will still leave with two Championship leads going into the final race. The final race of the 2009 Star Mazda Championship season will take place in just two short weeks at the Mazda Raceway in Laguna Seca, California.

Third in Pirelli British Rally Championship 2009

Wed Sep 30 20:32:00 -0400 2009

In the forests of North Yorkshire based around the market of Pickering, last weekend for Alastair was another chapter in what has been a superb debut rally season in a four wheel drive Group N car. By virtue of his mature drive to finish the Trackrod Rally in Yorkshire, Alastair secured a fantastic third place in what is his debut season in the Pirelli British Rally Championship in a four wheel drive machine.

“Our mission was to protect our third position in the BRC at the weekend, and that’s what we achieved. It was a bit nerve wrecking at times, as there were a few rough sections that were hard on the car, but it ran faultlessly all day.” Driving with the championship position in mind isn’t an easy task and Alastair admits that he had a slow start on stage one, a small over-shoot not helping matters, but on stage 3 he picked the pace up, being just 2.3 seconds slower than leader Keith Cronin, and just .07 behind on stage four.

“There were times during the day that Adam Gould and Dave Weston were maybe only one or two seconds in front, and it would have been tempting to really go for them, but we just had to ease back that bit. They were good fast flowing stages, and there was more time to be gained on the flowing sections, but there was no point risking throwing it all away.” Indeed Alastair’s season which netted him third place has been a model of steady progress, consistency and speed, top placings combined with finishes on every single round of the British Championship.

Alastair expressed thanks to all his sponsors, to Gerry (Mc Garrity) and all at McGarrity Motorsport and Pro- Tec Motorsport, “The car has been ultra reliable all season. Rory Kennedy and Barry McNulty have been superb with their hard work from the co-driver’s seat on the recces and the rallies. Pirelli and the BRC organising team have delivered a championship that has been competitor friendly and above all very enjoyable. The MSA Elite has provided good support and input to the season, but I cannot forget my family who have been there at all the rounds and all the friends who have given up their free time for test sessions and preparations throughout the season.”

But the season is far from over for Alastair as the Mitsubishi is being transformed into tarmac trim for this weekend’s Cork 20 International Rally, the final round of the Irish Tarmac Championship. Indeed Alastair is lying a magnificent third overall in the series and leads the Group N race. “Again we have to finish to ensure that title, and it would mean a lot to secure that Group N Tarmac Championship.” It’s important for me to have a clean run in preparation for next week’s Pirelli Shoot-out in Sweet Lamb. For sure the competition on the shoot-out will be intense with drivers being assessed in both two and four wheel drive machines, fitness, media skills and even tests on the FIA rulebook… A bit of revision to do!! I’m looking forward to it, and it will be great experience and an added bonus should I to be lucky enough to come out on top.”

With the shoot-out and all the championship’s out of the way the new IRC Rally Scotland event in November will be the next rally for Alastair to test his skills against the top European works’ Super 2000 teams, and once again many of his BRC rivals. With no championship pressure it will be great event for Alastair to have a real go.

Alastair’s third place in the BRC was a superb result on a weekend when Dungannon’s Kris Meeke lifted the IRC Rally title and Cork’s Keith Cronin won the British Rally Championship. “It was fantastic to see it. I think Kris is long overdue a championship win like this, and it’s just brilliant. As for Keith I think he has done a superb job to win the BRC. He has proved his pace all year, and he clinched the championship in style on the Trackrod.”

For all the latest news, check Alastair’s website-www.alastairfisher.com

Four Podiums for Thompson in Sentul

Tue Sep 29 09:09:00 -0400 2009

In a frustrating weekend of missed opportunity Gary Thompson finished fifth and 11th in the double header of Formula BMW Pacific races at the Singapore Grand Prix event in Marina Bay.

A red flag in qualifying when another driver crashed cost Thompson dear as the truncated session badly affected his chances of annexing a grid position for each of the races that would have represented the pace he had been running in practice.

Having missed out on a fast time early in the session thanks to tyre problems, Thompson was in the process of recovering with a lap that looked on target for a front row start when the red flag flew.

As a result Thompson had to make do with third and tenth on the grid for Saturday and Sunday races instead of second and third which had looked likely before the intervention.

In race one on Saturday afternoon, Thompson made a good start but was pushed wide as he tried to go round the outside of turn one and lost two places. Thereafter he raced hard and managed third fastest race lap despite damage to a rear shock absorber, further reinforcing his lead in the Formula BMW Pacific Rookie Championship.

Race two was always going to be a challenge from tenth but Thompson, confident that he could run quicker than many of the drivers around him, made a good start and made his way up to eighth in the early stages.

Unfortunately on lap nine he was the victim of a somewhat overambitious overtaking attempt from the ninth paced driver, the ensuing clash knocking the Cebu Pacific supported driver off track and back to 12th.

He eventually finished 11th, seventh of the pacific series registered drivers and third of the Rookies. The points haul consolidated his second place in the overall and rookie cup series standings but Thompson was frustrated not to have scored better.

We were more competitive than the results we got this weekend and it was tough to recover after qualifying. Once youre in midfield its sometimes tough to control what goes on around you.

But I guess that happens sometimes and the main thing is that I was at least able to bring the car home for some decent points, said the 17-year-old from Donabate.

Next Round: November 11th, Okayama Japan

Kenmare Historic Stages Rally 2009

Wed Sep 23 22:53:00 -0400 2009

It is with renewed vigour that Killarney and district Motor Club has gone back to the drawing board to get the Historic Stages Rally back on track after its lay off last year.

Known this year as The Kenmare Historic Stages Rally the whole event has moved just down the road from Killarney to Kenmare.

Kenmare Town is this year’s title sponsor in association with The Kingdom Newspaper as media sponsors, Clerk of the Course for the event Kevin Flannery thanked Kenmare Town and The Kingdom Newspaper on behalf of Killarney and District Motor Club, the event organisers, and stated how pleased he was to have them on board this year.

The rally will be a counting round of the 2009 Southern 4 Championship (Historic Section) and will bring significant tourism business to Kerry and Kenmare.

Kevin along with help from a dedicated committee have put together a route with a total of seven stages. The route consists of 96 stage kilometres and 80 road kilometres all run in daylight with centralised service.

Some classic stages have been revived by the club which have not been used since the early 80’s, these stages were used in such classic rallies as The Circuit of Ireland, The Circuit of Munster and the early days of The Rally of the Lakes.

Rally Headquarters for the event will be the Brook Lane Hotel.

Action starts on Saturday 5th of December when Recce and Scrutiny for the event will take place.

The rally will start from the square in Kenmare on Sunday morning and the first car is due at the finish ramp again at the square at approximately 3.30pm that evening.

A full field of 150 cars is expected for the final event of the year which attracts competitors from all over Ireland with a good number of crews coming from overseas also. In addition there have been a number of enquiries from crew based in mainland Europe

Regs and updates will be available on:
http://www.killarneyhistoricrally.com and http://www.rally.ie

Murray invited to join Seat Eurocup at Imola

Fri Sep 18 00:54:00 -0400 2009

Former European Alfa Champion Eoin Murray has been offered a one race deal with top Italian team Rangoni Motorsport for the final round of the Seat Leon Eurocup at Imola in Italy this weekend. Eoin who is currently competing in the Seat Leon Supercopa in Spain has been offered the drive with the front running Italian squad as to help their championship contender Massimiliano Pedalà for final round this weekend.

The signing of Murray as team mate to Pedalà for this critical weekend comes on the back of some very strong results by the Irish driver in Europe in recent years. It is unlikely Murray will get the opportunity to score many points for himself as he is there is support Pedalà and try to help him gain maximum points. However should Murray score the most points during the weekend he will scoop the prize of a fully funded factory Seat driver in the WTCC race in Japan.

Commenting on his signing Eoin said “I’m delighted Rangoni Motorsport has given me the opportunity to be back in the Eurocup this weekend. I have a very strong record at Imola, it is one of my favourite circuits and I have had many pole positions, fastest laps and race wins there in the 2004 & 2005 European Alfa Challenge. I’m looking forward to working with this team for the first time and I will do my best to support my team mate in his effort to win the Championship this weekend."

Awesome Second Overall for Alastair on Lakeland Stages’ Rally!

Tue Sep 15 22:00:00 -0400 2009

Last weekend’s Fisher Engineering Lakeland Stages’ Rally presented an opportunity for Alastair to get both himself and his Group N Mitsubishi Evo 9 back into gravel mode before the final round of the British Rally Championship in two weeks’ time. It also gave him a chance to demonstrate his pace on his home rally, organised by Enniskillen Motor Club; a counting round of the Northern Ireland Rally Championship. Alastair remarked, “The headquarters of Fisher Engineering in Ballinamallard provided an excellent venue for both scrutineering and the start of the rally. Enniskillen Motor Club has always been renowned for organizing an excellent event and as always the stages were very challenging. It was a fantastic day’s rallying and the fine weather was an added bonus!”

After the opening two stages, Alastair and co-driver Barry McNulty lay second overall in their PPG / Fisher Engineering EVO 9, just 5 seconds behind Sean Devine’s S11 Subaru WRC, and ahead of all the other Group N and WRC opposition. Indeed that was a position they were to maintain right to the finish. “We had decided not to go max. attack on the first stage in order to get bedded in, as it was a short stage and also to give us an opportunity to evaluate the Group N opposition; this probably played in our favour as the stage was very slippery due to surface gravel.”

Onto stages two, three and four where the McElwaine Electrical Lancer set two more second quickest times, to arrive back at the Garrison mid-way service in a fabulous second place overall and leading Group N, with the similar Evo of Jonny Greer holding second in Group N.

It wasn’t without its moments however, as Alastair and Barry experienced on stage 3. “The second stage was a tricky one in places with some big jumps and crests, but it was actually coming out of a high speed jump dip on the third stage that almost ended our assault. It has to be the biggest moment I have ever had and it’s as close as I ever want to be to going end over end; the back of the car just lifted in the air and we landed bang on the nose. There is no doubt we were very lucky we didn’t damage the radiator or the intercooler.” Bent chassis legs and minor cosmetic damage were the worst injuries subjected to the UK Direct Car Sales Lancer and indeed over the remaining four tests Alastair directed the Evo to several more impressive times, which was good enough to ensure him a superb second place overall and first in Group N.

Alastair commented at the finish, “It was a very worthwhile day which allowed me to get back into the flow of the gravel. I was pleased from the start to be on the Group N pace and Jonny Greer wasn’t too far behind either which also made for an interesting day, and I was simply delighted to reach the finish in second place.”
Alastair will now be concentrating his efforts on the Trackrod Rally in two weeks’ time. “We need to finish the Trackrod to secure third in the British Rally Championship; after that’s over the focus will be on the Cork 20, hopefully securing 3rd O/A and the Group N title in the Irish Tarmac Championship”, he concluded.

The Pirelli shootout in early October which will be prove to be a very testing challenge for Alastair as he goes head to head with his BRC counterparts for a chance to win the Pirelli works drive. For the latest news, check Alastair’s website www.alastairfisher.com

McElhinney Lifts the Citroen Racing Trophy Title

Mon Sep 14 18:13:00 -0400 2009

Donegal driver Adrian McElhinney has become the 2009 Citroen Racing Trophy Ireland winner, securing the title with a victory on the final round of the series, the second day of the Wexford Stages Rally. With co-driver Shane Buckley who took the co-driver’s title also, they brought their Citroen C2 R2 to the Wexford finish, to secure their awesome prizes, a new C2 R2 Max upgrade kit, from Citroen Sport, prize money and six free BF Goodrich rally tyres. “We decided this morning, the best way to make totally sure of the title was to go for it today, and we had a trouble free day, unlike yesterday. To win the series is just brilliant, and next year will be another step up for us driving the Max specification car. The team has worked hard all year, and our car has been the only one to finish all of the rounds, someway or other! Shane has also done a great job on the pace-notes. Honestly with me being from Donegal and Shane from Co. Kerry, I don’t what he is saying half the time, but once he starts reading the pace-notes it’s perfect!” Adrian’s main title rival Barry Evans took second place on both rounds, but that was by far the whole story of rounds six and seven of the Citroen Racing Trophy Ireland.

Round six, day one of the Wexford Stages Rally, and the big surprise was Tipperary’s Paul Manton, who stormed into the lead, with some very fast stage times. In the championship race, Barry Evans needed victory, and perhaps a little misfortune to strike championship leader McElhinney, and it actually had struck! “We were queuing up for the start line of the first stage, and I noticed the battery voltage reading very low” said Adrian. “It was getting very worrying, the screen went off on the dash-board, and we lost the power steering, as the battery started to drain. We lost minutes as Barry and Mark Kane both passed us on the stage. At the end of the first stage we disconnected everything we didn’t need and got to service and changed the alternator. It was just one of those days for us, on the second last stage on a tight right hander with a slight cut the car bottomed and the exhaust pulled off the front pipe, so there was a horrendous noise, then on the final stage the clutch cable snapped!” His eventual fourth place finish on round six was somewhat of a miracle and assured him of the title, barring any queries or anything over anyone’s times. Not so lucky were Martin Tynan, who once again retired with a broken drive-shaft, and John Quill who broke his engine mountings, both retiring on day one.
Mark Kane made a slow start by his own admission, and would eventually claim third on the opening day, although his car wasn’t picking up correctly. Second was Barry Evans, who made a real bid to keep his championship hopes alive. The Monaghan driver had a gearbox problem to report on the opening loop, and his service crew led by racing ace Jonny Fildes did a sterling job to put in a new gearbox in the time allowed. Barry was within 20 seconds of the leader with two tests to go, and decided to take a gamble on a harder compound of tyre, to really push for victory. It was a gamble that was worth the risk, but an over–shoot and stall ensured that he was sixteen seconds off the winning spot at the end of the day. Indeed it was Paul Manton who scored a well deserved victory at the end of the day in a faultless drive.

Day two, round seven, and once again the fast Wexford Stages were being enjoyed immensely by the C2 R2 crews. Once again it was Paul Manton on a charge, as he simply annihilated the opposition with a time 24 seconds faster than his nearest C2 R2 rival on the first test. But things took a turn for the worse on the second test, as Paul explains. “There was a 30 minute delay before the stage start, and I knew that the tyres would be cold. But I was just trying maybe a bit too hard, and just made a mistake on the fourth or fifth corner of the stage. We went up two banks and that was it, all over. I went from hero to zero in about 5 seconds!” With Paul out, Adrian McElhinney in contrast to day one had a trouble free day to take victory despite catching a few cars on stages, and on this rally he was also driving on his own pace-notes for the first time, in preparation for his trip to the Rally Antibes in France.
For Barry Evans again it was a hard fought second place, and second for the second year running in the championship, whilst Mark Kane’s C2 R2 went better on the final loop after a change of fuel pump, throttle hesitation problems having held him back, but third place also gave him third place in the Citroen Racing Trophy Ireland standings.

Exciting plans for next year’s Citroen Racing Trophy Ireland are already underway, and thanks to support from Total and Citroen Sport the competitors have once again enjoyed one of the best prize funds in Irish motorsport, and Adrian McElhinney from Donegal town the big prize winner. Adrian has also been selected by Citroen Sport to bring his newly built Citroen C2 R2 Max to the Rally Antibes, in the South of France on the 16th-18th October, for an end of season bonanza, where he is entitled to generous rewards from Citroen Sport. “The team have worked so hard between events to prepare the car correctly, and really it will be great to bring the service crew out somewhere different as well, hopefully with a bit of sunshine too, after all the effort they have put in this year.”

Albacete night race

Tue Sep 08 23:21:00 -0400 2009

This weekend Eoin Murray will contest rounds 10, 11 & 12 of the Seat Leon Supercopa at the fourth event in Albacete, Spain. Eoin will be aiming to continue his impressive winning streak, this season, having won at the previous two events at Jarama & Portimão.

The Albacete event will be particularly challenging as the feature race is a ‘Night Race’. Eoin is really looking forward to the event having once previously competed in a night race at Silverstone in the Ford Fiesta Championship 8 years ago. The first Free practice session is at midnight on Thursday to give the drivers a chance to get acquainted to the conditions.

“It has been a long time since I raced in the dark but I remember I really enjoyed it. It’s a great experience and something a lot different to a daylight race. Everything is more difficult to judge as you really have to rely on your headlights to show you the way! I am looking forward to the first practice session to sample the track for the first time and see how well the track will be lit up.

At the midway stage in the season Eoin currently lies in fourth position in the championship and just 12 points behind the leader Spanish driver Marc Carol. With 43 points on offer over this weekend, the aim for the former European Alfa Romeo champion will be to score consistently in all three races.

Commenting on his chances for the weekend Eoin said: “This championship is incredibly close so I’m really enjoying the competiveness. With three races during each weekend the championship table can change very quickly so I’m hoping I can stay in the hunt until the final round.”

Eoin launches his new look website this week with a new gallery section where high resolution copyright free images can be downloaded after each event. There is also a new multimedia section where videos can be viewed. The homepage features the championship points and a twitter comment which is constantly updated so you can keep up to date with Eoin during a race weekend. – www.eoinmurray.com

Fisher Flies Once More on Ulster International Rally!

Wed Aug 26 18:02:00 -0400 2009

21 year old Alastair Fisher followed up his third place on the Rally Isle Of Man, with a superb second place amongst the British Championship regulars on the weekend’s Ulster International Rally. For Alastair, co-driver Rory Kennedy and the Pro-Tec/McGarrity Motorsport team it was a flawless weekend, with no dramas with the car, and not a mark on the Group N Mitsubishi Evo 9, as they finished 6th overall in the rally, the third of the Group N cars home, behind two former British Rally Champions, Gwyndaf Evans and Mark Higgins. However as Gwyndaf was not BRC registered it leaves Alastair taking 2nd place BRC points.

The event went well right from stage one, Tardree on the outskirts of the rallies new base in Antrim. “The first stage was very slippery. Even though we were only the tenth car on the road, there was a lot of mud pulled out onto the road. We choose a cut slick which wasn’t a bad choice for the loop of stages, and on stage one we had a good time, and I was happy.” Onto the famous Glendun and Torr Head stages near Cushendun, and Alastair kept up his consistent, fast pace, a pace that had brought him consistently within a second a mile of the top Group N times set by Keith Cronin, Mark Higgins and Gwyndaf Evans. “Up to Saturday lunch time really our pace was consistently just one second per mile down on the leaders, which was a lot closer than on the Manx. By that stage we also had put a good gap between us and those behind us, so for the Saturday afternoon stages we backed off to ensure our finish.”

The change in pace in the PPG Lancer was reflected too on Friday evening, with an excellent time on the daunting cliff edge Torr Head stage in the dark, the test that unfortunately claimed Keith Cronin. “I enjoyed that stage, our notes worked well, and our tyre choice was correct. It’s a daunting test for sure; you simply cannot afford to be off line, or its disaster!” Alastair and Rory didn’t put a wheel wrong all weekend to record a superb result at the Antrim town finish, a result which strengthens Alastair’s lead in the Group N Irish Tarmac Championship, and his third place overall in the British Rally Championship. ”We will have a look at the Cork 20 to aim for the Irish Championship, but also it’s important to try to retain our position in the BRC on the Trackrod. Dave Weston Jnr is still a threat there and we need a good finish on that final round. We are aiming to contest our home rally, the Fisher Engineering Lakeland Stages as a bit of a gravel test, and I’m really looking forward to the fast forests of the Trackrod Rally.” Times have been busy for the British Rally Elite member, having just completed a two day sponsorship and mechanical training seminar at M-Sport as part of the ongoing training provided by the British Rally Elite Scheme, you can keep up to date with Alastair’s rallying progress on his brand new website www.alastairfisher.com

Patrick’s Podium Bliss

Wed Aug 12 11:49:00 -0400 2009

Patrick McKenna heads into the second half of the UK Formula Ford season in Silverstone next weekend boosted by podium finishes in the last two events at Snetterton and Donington Park.

Dubliner McKenna, the reigning All Ireland and Northern Ireland Formula Ford Champion, endured a difficult start to his first full season abroad when he broke his thumb in a pre-season testing accident at Oulton Park.

Ligament damage to the thumb sustained in an on track altercation at the third event was a further setback but McKenna is now starting to put together a consistent run of performances to match the expectations created by his stunning pre-Christmas testing form.

Driving a Mygale-Scholar with Jamun Racing in one of the most competitive racing series on the junior single seater ladder, McKenna has shrugged off early season travails to force himself into contention in several recent races and, following the short mid-season break, is looking forward to confirming his status as one of the strongest drivers on the grid, starting at Silverstone next weekend.

“It was a tough start to the year with two injuries to the thumb in quick succession but we’re really starting to gather momentum now,” said McKenna from his home in Swords, County Dublin this week.

“We were quick in the wet in pre-season testing but then we had the crash at Island Bend at Oulton during the first dry test day of the season. I had two pins inserted in the thumb and then missed five weeks of pre-season testing.

“I only had the pins taken out three days before the first round. Then I was spun out of second place at the third event and then pushed wide later in the race which sprained the thumb again.”

“It’s tough enough racing in most competitive series around and trying to learn the tracks and the gel with a new car and team without having to do it one-handed!

“Still, we’re back on an even keel now and I’m able to run at the front consistently without any problems from the thumb. As well as the podiums, I’ve started from the front row and led races this year so I feel like it’s coming for us.

“The target is to maintain this level of competitiveness, try and get a couple of wins and then head to the end of year Formula Ford Festival on the back of a consistent run,” added Patrick

It’s been a good year so far thanks to the support I‘ve had from long time sponsor Paul Kenny and Willsborough Transport. I’d also like to thank Motorsport Ireland, Dunlop and the Sports Council, D.I.T Sports, Jamun racing and Scholar engines.

In addition to his racing activities, McKenna recently completed an ordinary degree (diploma) in Engineering and is now going on to the third year of a degree at Bolton Street, Dublin. From a racing background, Patrick’s brother Mark was a former British Formula Ford competitor while father Brendan was a front runner in the Irish Formula Ford championship.

Murray looks forward to Algarve Race

Sat Aug 01 09:13:00 -0400 2009

The Autódromo Internacional do Algarve is the setting for rounds 7,8 & 9 of the Spanish Seat Supercopa Championship as it joins up with the Le Mans series for what promises to be a wonderful weekends racing at the Portuguese holiday resort of Portimão. All eyes are on Irish driver Eoin Murray, following his successful victory at Jarama in Spain at the last round. Eoin is currently lying 2nd in the standings just 14 points adrift of Spanish driver Marc Carol and with a maximum of 43 points on offer over the three races Eoin with be aiming to reduce the championship gap at the top of the points table.

Eoin has had a shakedown test at the Circuit this week but despite limited running with the car he declares it one of the best tracks he has raced on with very fast flowing corners and blind crests and is really looking forward to the race weekend.

The Autódromo Internacional do Algarve is 4.692Km long and was completed in October 2008 at a reputed cost of €195 Million. It is a superb venue, which includes Karting track, Technology Park, five star hotel, sports complex and apartments.

Commenting on his chances for the weekend Eoin said, “With the high temperatures here, the key will be to find a race set up that is easy on the front tyres. We are working really hard to give me the best possible opportunity to score some more valuable championship points this weekend.”

Dempsey Aims to Stay on Top in Autobahn

Tue Jul 21 22:03:00 -0400 2009

Championship leader Peter Dempsey goes in search of another haul of points to bring his dream of Star Mazda series glory a little closer in Autobahn, Joliet, Illinois this weekend.

The Ashbourne driver was in dominant form with his Juncos Racing car on the oval in Iowa just over a week ago but knows that maintaining his advantage will be no easy task on the Illinois road course this weekend.

Facing a double header of race action on Sunday, Dempsey and his Juncos crew prepared for battle with a two day test at the venue last week, emerging satisfied that they have established a good base set up with the car.

While he is eager to maintain the momentum built up after the last two events on ovals, Dempsey acknowledges that Autobahn is a very different proposition.

“We had a two day test at Autobahn last week which went quite well, and we found a set up that gives us a good starting point for the weekend”, says Dempsey. “Of course Autobahn is a road course so the team has completely altered the suspension layout, and it’s like starting all over again.

"We can assume nothing after Iowa, but the team works well and has a great approach to the job ahead. I’m confident we can be right up there pushing for results and points on Sunday."

Points Standings after seven rounds:-
1 Peter Dempsey 252 Points
2 Adam Christodoulou 243
3 Caio Lara 213
4 Conor Daly 211
5 Joel Miller 210

Alastair Fisher- Star Drive on the Isle of Man

Fri Jul 17 19:47:00 -0400 2009

For 21 year old Fermanagh rally star, Alastair Fisher, last weekend’s Rally Isle of Man, a round of the prestigious British Rally Championship, really was a star turn for the young up and coming rally driver. With experienced co-driver Rory Kennedy alongside, Alastair in his Group N Mitsubishi Evo 9 returned to the TT Grandstand on Saturday with a magnificent third overall result, and to be awarded on the podium one of the prestigious Pirelli yellow jersey’s, for the drive of the event. “It was a good rally for us” quipped Alastair. “The car felt good from the start, and really we put a lot of work in before the rally, with the recce also. It was important to mark out all the bumps, as you can be hitting them at very high speed on the Isle of Man. It’s been a good season so far, and we have had good runs on the Pirelli and Jim Clark rallies in the British series, and Killarney and Donegal at home, but to get the Pirelli jersey on the Manx has been the highlight so far.” The Pirelli jersey entitles Alastair a place on the end of season Pirelli shootout, where the winner receives a funded drive for the 2010 season, and ironically Alastair had a titanic battle for third place, with the 2008 shootout winner Adam Gould in his Pirelli Subaru. “It was a good race with Adam, and it’s a pity he crashed out. We had the odd moment too, a couple of overshoots on the long stage on the first day, but generally it settled down after that.”

The name Fisher, from Ballinamallard, and the Manx Rally have had a long affection with Irish rally fans, with his late Uncle Bertie, the four times Irish Tarmac Champion, so nearly winning the event on several occasions, and late cousin Mark also winning Group N on the island. Alastair isn’t often asked about their influence, but he is very proud of their previous rally achievements. “It is something I’m proud of. Uncle Bertie had some great drives here, he was so unlucky not to win the rally, and many of those drives, Rory was alongside too. I remember Mark had a brilliant drive here in a Group N Evo 5 too. Yes it’s something I don’t talk a lot about, but I have many good memories growing up around the rallies, and for sure it’s been a big influence.” With Alastair’s father Ivan also a top kart racer, and successful co-driver, Gerry McGarrity who ran Mark Fisher’s cars preparing the Evo, and Bertie’s old co-driver Rory Kennedy in the hot seat, the great Fisher tradition is being carried on in modern day rallying. For Alastair his first season in a Group N four wheel drive machine has been exceptional, but he also realises it’s essentially a learning year. “We felt the time was right to move from my previous Fiesta to the Evo this season, and it’s a matter of learning a bit, and picking up the pace stage by stage, which has been working. Obviously I wish to get as far up the ladder as possible, and for now my focus in on maintaining my third place in the British Rally Championship on the final two rounds on the Ulster and Trackrod rallies.” At present Alastair also has another career to think about as he is a student of Construction Engineering at Queens University Belfast, but he has ambitions in rallying too.
“I think I need to build up my speed and experience, and the British Championship is a good series to contest for the stages and miles. On a greater scale, the IRC is very interesting, and of course the WRC, but I think these Super 2000 cars are quite exciting.” Alastair’s rally experience started with rally-sprints in his teens, and then he progressed to a Vauxhall Corsa rally car, before entering the Fiesta UK and Irish series, taking the Irish title, and missing the British on a tie break. “The Fiesta’s were a great car to drive, and a great championship, ideal to build experience. I admit when I got into the Evo, at first it took a while to adjust to the speed of the car, and speed you can carry through corners with the four wheel drive, but as every stage goes I’m feeling happier, and happier. There is a bit of a break now before the Ulster International, but we may fit in something in between then, just to keep the game up.”

For now Alastair, a member of the British Rally Elite is working on his fitness, and media skills, and he is looking ahead to the Ulster Rally, not only for the British series, but the Irish Tarmac Championship as well, as he now leads Group N in the series.

Dempsey Dominates in Iowa!

Sat Jul 11 22:44:00 -0400 2009

After topping the time sheets throughout the meeting Peter Dempsey and Juncos Motorsport duly dominated the Pizza Ranch 100 in Iowa yesterday to move into the lead of the Star Mazda Championship.

Fastest in both free practice sessions before setting pole position in the single car qualifying session, Dempsey led from start to finish and recorded fastest lap in an incident packed race to sprint clear after the final caution for a crushing seven second win.

It’s Dempsey’s second win of the season and the first for Hooters Juncos Racing who plucked the underfunded Ashbourne driver from the sidelines two races ago. Afterwards the Dunlop Young Racing Driver of the Year paid tribute to the efforts of his team.

"I just can't thank the Hooters Juncos team enough for giving me such a great car all weekend," he said. "I've been going along race-to-race trying to find the money to continue, never with enough to go testing before a race, and now I got to test at this track before I came here to race, and next week we're going to do a test at Autobahn, the next track where we race.

“This is the way racing should be and I'm lucky to have this opportunity and happy to score a win here for the team and for Irish Sports council and Quayside.ie who have been fundamental in keeping me racing this year."

Already familiar with track layout and chassis setup before Thursday’s first free practice session, Dempsey topped the time sheets in both sessions and then confirmed that superiority with a controlled run to pole in the one lap shoot out session on Friday afternoon.

Heading into the second oval race of his career, Dempsey was focused on staying out of trouble and staying clear of the baying pack in the 100 lap race which would turn out to be one of several yellow flag caution periods.

On each hectic restart Dempsey was able to draw clear of the chasers and on the final occasion build a seven second lead before the chequered flag fell. With the win in Iowa Dempsey became the second multi-winner of the season and opened up a nine point lead at the top of the championship standings.

In an overt display of national identity, Dempsey had dyed his hair green for the weekend but denied that he would be maintaining the emerald hue to the top of his head for the next round in Autobahn in two weeks.

“The hair colour was a one-off, just something I did for a bet with the team but the momentum we have now is something I’d like to maintain. We’re back on a road course at Autobahn, my first with Juncos and we’ll have to push hard to find the right set up.

“But the last two weekends have shown that all of us in the team have the hunger to achieve and we have a good platform now for the rest of the season.”

Star Mazda Series 2009
Points Standings after seven rounds:-
1 Peter Dempsey 252 Points
2 Adam Christodoulou 243
3 Caio Lara 213
4 Conor Daly 211
5 Joel Miller 210

Rounds 8 and 9: July 24 – 26, Autobahn Country Club, Joliet, Illinois.

Dempsey's Quest for Extra Topping in Pizza Ranch 100

Fri Jul 10 10:06:00 -0400 2009

Peter Dempsey’s quest for Star Mazda series glory continues in Iowa on Friday where the Ashbourne racer is bidding for glory in the Pizza Ranch 100.

Dempsey ran as high as second before finishing fourth on his oval racing debut in Milwaukee three weeks ago and the reigning Motorsport Ireland Young Racing Driver of the Year is hoping that he and his new Juncos Racing team can continue their good form this weekend.

With 207 points on the board, just four off the series lead, Dempsey knows that another good showing this weekend will keep him in contention for his first US career title.

The competitiveness shown by the pairing of Dempsey and Juncos Racing on their debut in Milwaukee delighted all and Dempsey is looking forward to another oval race this weekend.

“We had a two day test at Iowa on the 28th and 29th of June which went well and we got up to speed quite quickly,” says Dempsey. “Iowa is a high speed oval but only 7/8's of a mile long with high banking. It’s flat out in a Star Mazda and we were averaging 144mph.

“I was losing time on the straights on the data so we did some checks on the car. We realised the compression across the 2 rotors in the Mazda engine had dropped off. There was a 20% difference between the two.

“So, we decided not to run the second day to save the wear and tear on the car. Despite the engine issue which will be solved by the race, we were happy with the chassis and aero setup of the car and Juncos Racing did a great job. We are excited and optimistic for the weekend.”

After two one hour sessions of free practice, qualifying for round seven of the series is at 3pm Friday afternoon, 9pm Irish time, followed by the Pizza Ranch 100 at 8.30pm, 2.30am, Saturday morning, Irish time.

Star Mazda Series 2009
Points Standings after six rounds:-
1 Adam Christodoulou 211 Points
2 Peter Dempsey 207
3 Joel Miller 194
4 Alex Ardoin 187
5 Caio Lara 186

Dempsey’s Oval Satisfaction in Milwaukee

Tue Jun 23 23:16:00 -0400 2009

Peter Dempsey produced one of the drives of his career to finish fourth for his new team Juncos Racing in Milwaukee last Saturday.

The result helps maintain Dempsey’s challenge for the Star Mazda Championship series title, the Ashbourne racer netting an unexpectedly large haul of points on his oval racing debut to lie just four points off the championship lead heading to round seven.

After a hectic week organising the latest phase of his career, Dempsey arrived in Milwaukee never having driven on an oval, let alone raced on one, but he shrugged off the obvious disadvantages of his preparation by immediately getting down to competitive lap times with his new team.

Ahead of the weekend Dempsey had been on the verge of being forced to stop racing due to a funding shortfall when he was thrown the career lifeline he has been desperately hoping for.

The reigning Dunlop Motorsport Ireland Young Racing Driver of the Year was approached by Juncos Racing following his battling performance in New Jersey the previous week, and the Florida based outfit tabled an offer that has allowed the Ashbourne driver to stay in the Star Mazda Championship series.

The relief of not having to worry about funding was translated into instant competitiveness on the Milwaukee Mile where he finished the second practice session eighth fastest. Heavy rain in the region meant qualifying was abandoned, however, and Peter’s fastest practice time of ninth overall would be his grid position for Saturday’s 100 lap race.

His instant rapport with Juncos engineer Ernie Gonella was evident in the sure footed handling of the Hooters/Irish Sports Council/Quayside.ie machine with which Peter was able to work his way towards the front with relative ease.

By half distance Dempsey was up into a sensational second place, and he was getting set to challenge for the lead as the race headed towards its conclusion. A late race yellow flag caution period bunched the field up, however, and he came under attack from the third and fourth placed drivers close to the finish.

Despite the late setback, Dempsey was ecstatic about the result of the weekend, not least because he half expected to watch the race from the sidelines. It’s a result, he says, that vindicates his decision to persevere in the face of apparently insurmountable odds.

“I’ve won a lot of car races in the last few years but this fourth place ranks among the best of my successes,” said Dempsey afterwards. “I wasn’t sure I’d be racing, and when I did get the call from Ricrado Juncos I still assumed that this weekend would be about getting up to speed on ovals.

“Instead we managed to put together a really competitive race, and we’ve maintained the challenge for the championship. It’s a young team, but the way they worked over the weekend gives me great hope for the rest of the season.

“The car was in road course spec until the night before practice began, and the boys worked though the night in the awning up to their ankles in floodwater to get the car prepared for the oval.

“It was a massive effort, and I was proud to be able to produce a result after it all.

“I’d like to say a big thank you to Motorsport Ireland, Dunlop, the Irish Sports Council and Quayside.ie for the support which has got me this far.

“Now I’m looking forward to some proper testing ahead of the next round and really putting together a concerted effort to win this title.”

Points Standings after six rounds:-
1 Adam Christodoulou 211 Points
2 Peter Dempsey 207
3 Joel Miller 194
4 Alex Ardoin 187
5 Caio Lara 186
6 Anders Krohn 172

Next Round: Iowa Speedway July 10th.

DONEGAL DOMINATION BRINGS SIXTH WIN A ROW FOR CRAIG BREEN!

Mon Jun 22 21:02:00 -0400 2009

Round four of the Fiesta Sport Trophy Ireland, was on the Saturday stages of the Donegal International Rally, the most prolific rally in Ireland, and 19 year old Waterford driver Craig Breen took the Fiesta FST victory in dominant style. Indeed it’s a style and a victory that has taken Craig to his sixth Fiesta Sport Trophy win in a row, such has been his pace in both the UK and Irish versions of this successful one make series.

Going into Donegal Craig led the Irish series by fifteen points, and he knew that this was a significant round, if he was going to build any cushion. Co-driver for the event was Scottish lass Kirsty Riddick, and Craig was confident of a good result after the recce. “I had a good recce and was confident Kirsty would do a great job.” The competition in Donegal was fierce and rain on top of the Donegal tarmac was an interesting prospect for the first stage. “The day started off wet. On the first stage I took the first few corners easy, and felt what the grip level was like, but it felt quite abrasive, and I was happy to push. However it worked out and we recorded a time 8 seconds clear of everyone, which was a great start.” With stage two cancelled Craig and Kirsty brought the Diarwood Fiesta back to service, for a change to a dry setting, as the weather turned more clement for the second loop of the same tests. On stages 3 and 4 Craig was once again fastest, and by this stage had built up a 22 second advantage over Mark Donnelly, with Robert Barrable third at this point.

The fifth stage was the legendary Knockalla mountain stage, with its sheer drops into the Atlantic Ocean on the left, it’s one of the most breathtaking strips of tarmac in Irish rallying, and was to be crucial stage on this event. At this point Craig needed to pace himself carefully, and second fastest time, just half a second behind fastest driver Shane Buckley was ideal and Craig’s lead was to be further extended to thirty seconds when second placed Mark Donnelly retired with gearbox problems. With two stages left, a fastest time for Craig and Kirsty in the Kel-Tech Fiesta rounded off a perfect day. “It was a great day for us and to win in Donegal was just superb. I just wish we can keep this run of success going on the next events.”

The next event on the hectic schedule is the next round of the Fiesta Sport Trophy UK, which is back to the forests this weekend for the Scottish Rally. It’s an ambitious calendar for Craig, who has just put in an entry for the World Championship Rally Finland. “We are hoping to contest Finland, Catalunya and Rally GB, which would mean that we would contest the four rounds necessary to qualify for the award for the Fiesta Sport Trophy International. I think we are lying second in that series at the moment, by virtue of the win in Portugal, and also because the scoring system gives a point per stage win, and fortunately we won all the stages there.”

It’s been a fabulous season for the young Waterford star, and on dropped scores he is joint leader with Matt Edwards in the UK Fiesta series, he leads the Irish, and has a strong chance
in the International FST series. “I believe no one has ever won all three Fiesta championships! It would be nice to try to achieve that, but there are many corners to turn before we start to think about it. At the moment I’m really enjoying driving the Fiesta’s and I’m also really looking forward to more miles in the new R2 Fiesta. We are waiting to see whether we can use that car on the remaining National Junior rounds at home. I was really impressed with it, when I drove it at Chatsworth, it felt very strong.”

There is little doubt that the former kart ace is one of the most exciting prospects in Irish rallying for quite some time, and in 2009 Craig and his team are putting everything into their efforts to climb the rallying ladder.

Victory for Murray in Seat Supercopa

Mon Jun 08 21:57:00 -0400 2009

Eoin Murray is now lying second in the Spanish Seat Supercopa championship following a strong performance in Jarama this weekend claiming his first outright victory in this highly competitive series.

Murray qualified in 11th position for race 1 of the three race format. A downpour at the start of the race gave way to rapidly drying conditions. A quick decision was made by Eoin to switch to slicks tyres on the grid however the tyre change was completed outside the regulation time limit. Thus incurring the wrath of the race officials & forcing him and a number of drivers to start from the back of the grid. A strong drive from 30th position in the slippery conditions saw Eoin fight to 20th position at the end of the opening lap and ultimately finish in 12th place at the chequered flag.

Race 2, determined by the finishing positions of race 1 meant that Eoin, starting from 12th place, was in with a fighting chance to take good points from this race. In the event a strong performance in race 2 saw him climb to 6th position taking a good haul of points but more importantly securing pole position, on the reversal of the top six finishing positions, for the feature race on Sunday.

Starting from pole position, the former European champion dominated in a faultless light to flag victory. This was further underscored by taking the bonus point for fastest lap (1’42.419) in the process. After cruising to a comfortable win Murray commented “I am delighted with this weekend and I have to thank my team Oasis Motorsport who gave me a great car. I feel I’m gelling well with this new team and I think things are looking very positive for the rest of the season”

Eoin’s next race is 1st/2nd of August at Portimao in Portugal.

Thompson Adds to Season Roster

Tue May 19 21:24:00 -0400 2009

Gary Thompson heads to the Hungaroring near Budapest next week for testing ahead of the latest addition to his race programme in his debut season of car racing. The 2009 Formula BMW Pacific Championship leader has announced that he will drive in the Formula BMW Europe round supporting the Hungarian Grand Prix in July with Raikkonen Robertson Racing.

The 16-year-old Dubliner scored a win and third place on his Formula BMW Pacific series debut at the Malaysian Grand Prix to head the early points standings in the important single seater feeder category.

Thompson has confirmed plans to drive at the Formula BMW Europe series races at the British and Belgian Grand Prix later this season and is delighted to have added another event to his 2009 race calendar.

I’m really looking forward to racing at Hungaroring, the Aviation Display supported driver said. I’ve had a great start to the season with E-Rain Motorsport in Asia and I’ve enjoyed testing with Raikkonen Robertson in Europe so it’s been fun so far."

The Hungaroring looks like a very tight and twisty circuit for F1 cars but I suspect Formula BMW cars will be able to stretch their legs a bit more. Still, I know it’s going to be a big workout, especially in the heat of Central Europe that the circuit is so well known for.

Following his testing duties at the Hungaroring, Thompsons next race action on May 29th is back at Sepang, Malaysia, the scene of his sensational car racing debut last month.

This year’s Formula BMW Pacific series takes in events at Formula One Grands Prix in Malaysia, and Singapore as well as events in Japan, Indonesia and the world famous Macau Grand Prix festival.

Thompson will also take part in events counting for the Formula BMW Europe series at the Hungarian, British and Belgian Grand Prix when he will drive for the Raikkonen Robertson team.

Formula BMW Pacific Championship (After Two Rounds):
1. Gary Thompson - 28 Points
2. Chris Wootton - 22.5
3. Ryo Haryanto - 22

Next Round: Sepang, Malaysia 29-30 May

Dempsey Second at Utah

Tue May 19 13:47:00 -0400 2009

Peter Dempsey finished second in the third round of the US Star Mazda Series at Miller Motorsport Park, Utah on Saturday.

The reigning Dunlop Motorsport Ireland Young Racing Driver of the Year made the most of his opportunities to score his second podium in succession, adding 40 points to his season total to lie just five points off the series lead.

Dempsey was consistently quick throughout the weekend and, despite slipping to fifth towards the end of Saturday morning qualifying, was able to battle his way back into contention in the 22 lap race that afternoon.

Despite missing the pre-event official test day, Peter was able to find a good set up with his AIM Autosport run car and was in the groove from the start of free practice on Thursday.

That wasn’t too bad considering we had to fight back after qualifying,” he said afterwards. “We scored good points for the championship and we’re still right there chasing for the title. The team and all my supporters have worked hard to get me here and I’m glad I’m able to give them something back for their faith in me.”

Peter played himself into the weekend, working on the car’s set up in Thursday’s free practice sessions without concerning himself with lap times.

“The weekend went well considering we missed the series test and we were limited on tyres all weekend,” he said afterwards. “On the first day of running I had no new rubber and just worked on mileage and car setup.

“On to the second day it was my first time to run on new tyres and the car felt good, even though I wasn't driving to the limit as I didn't want to risk giving the guys any extra work.

“Into qualifying and I knew I had to up my game to get to the front which I did with my fastest ever lap of Miller Motorsport Park, 1.44.16, just three tenths off the pole lap. This was good enough for second and I stayed there right until the final lap of qualifying when I got bumped back to fifth which was a bit frustrating.

“Just six hundredths of a second would have put me second on the grid but I knew I would have a good race car so we were satisfied with the result.

“When the lights went out at the start of the race I made a good start and got up to P3 by the end of the lap. On the next lap I was passed on the main straight. Then we had a full course yellow from which I got a good restart but I didn't want to risk getting taken out so I settled for fourth.

“By lap seven I was back up to third and chasing down the leaders. I got to within 1.5 seconds of them until I pushed too hard and made a mistake at turn three. This cost me three seconds and I knew then that the best thing to do would be to finish on the podium.

“Eight laps from the end the leader hit a mechanical problem and this promoted me to second which is where I finished and I picked up good points for the championship. All in all, a satisfactory result.

“I would like to thank The Irish Sports Council, Motorsport Ireland and Dunlop for all the support they have given me. AIM Autosport did a great job to give me the car I needed to get the result.

“I would like to say a special thank you to all the people that assisted me and making round three happen, I am very lucky to have so much support.”

Peter’s next outing is a double header of races at New Jersey Motorsports Park from June 12th to 14th.

Results:-
1. Adam Christodoulou 22 Laps
2. Peter Dempsey
3. Joel Miller
4. Richard Kent
5. Caio Lara
6. Alex Ardoin

Star Mazda Series 2009 Points Standings after three rounds:-
1 Adam Christodoulou 119 Points
2 Peter Dempsey 114
3 Joel Miller 106
4 Alex Ardoin 98
5 Caio Lara 92
6 Jorge Goncalvez 84

UK Legends - Mondello Race Reports

Wed May 13 19:33:00 -0400 2009

Saturday 9th May
Heat 1
The Legends series got their bumper two day race meeting at Mondello underway on a bright and breezy Saturday afternoon.
Heavy cloud lying over the Kildare circuit ensured changeable weather conditions throughout the morning session.
A bumper grid was bolstered by the visiting UK Legend series, an impressive line up of 14 top class drivers travelled over for the two day meeting at Mondello.
The Irish Legends Series which is in its inaugural year boasted five Irish drivers who lined up alongside their establish UK colleagues.
Torrential heavy rainfall in the morning made qualifying hazardous but clear summer sunshine dried out the track by the time the Legends lined up for the first heat of the day.
Niki Meredith, the driving force behind the Legends series in Ireland performed superbly in the morning warm up setting sixth fastest time, but with the grid being drawn out of a hat he lined up 13th, directly behind John Jon Higgins, on the grid of 19.
Steve Hill, the Legends series traveling COC in the UK outlined the benefits of their unique race communication system with drivers. It allows the race co-ordinator to talk to the entire field of drivers, relaying important messages mid race.
The “Raceceiver” now in its second year and has proved a massive success according to Hill.
The unit requires the driver to wear a small receiver with an earpiece, similar to an iPod which allows the driver to hear all the race commands coming from the race controller.
After seeing the Raceceiver in action, it remains to be seen whether the introduction of such a system for Mondello will be considered to improve race communication around the circuit.
John Jon Higgins, the UK championship leader made the journey across the water and added some star power to the meeting.
Iain Holden was alongside Richard Pocklington on the front row of the grid with Simon Belcher and Lee Fitzpatrick further back on second row
Ben Power and Paul Mansell completed the third row of the race grid.
The brightly coloured Legends in pristine condition with the unique styling and bodywork make the series a fascinating viewing spectacle for the spectator and its proving hugely popular in the UK.
Due to the nature of the car, a rolling start is required for the Legends with a pace car out front which pulls off.
Despite a few off track forays, all Legends made it safety out of the opening corner but the action was to develop down into turn three.
Sean Murphy, Mick Mercer and Phillip Kershaw were all involved in shunt as a number of Legends re-appeared displaying body damage after just a third of the opening lap gone.
A brief session in the pits was required for Stephen Treherne, with some rapid bodywork alterations required to remove some stray panels.
Lee Fitzpatrick set the early pace with Irish hopeful Niki Meredith up to fourth spot after just one lap.
Meredith put in some scintillating opening laps to edge into third place after two laps gone, snatching third from Simon Belcher with a daring dash into the final turn of lap two.
The racer from Blackrock driving on the International track for the first time called on all his experience to gain the crucial advantage over the UK visitors in the opening stages.
Paul Mansell got all out of shape on turn three and was lucky to avoid a nasty impact as he managed to keep his car out of major trouble and resume racing.
Saturday was a new departure for the Legends as they raced on the International circuit for the first time in five years.
Lee Fitzpatrick in the ink black Legend was allowed open up a significant early advantage as the battle for second place between Meredith and Pocklington developed behind him.
John Jon Higgins found himself back in seventh place after a first lap incident but soon got to grips with his new surroundings as he got used to the demands of the Mondello International circuit.
The field was well spread out by lap four as battles emerged throughout the field.
The clash between Meredith and Pocklington allowed Simon Belcher to close right up on the pair to make it a three way battle for second.
Paul Mansell was having an incident packed afternoon and he had a lengthy visit to the gravel on the final turn of lap five, the wide wheels on the car allowing him to gratefully drag his Legend out of danger.
Meredith bravely held onto second place by smallest of margins from Belcher, the bumper separating the racers as they crossed the line for the final time.
Lee Fitzpatrick led from start to finish, driving a flawless race as he managed to stay ahead of the frantic battle behind him.
UK Championship leader John Jon Higgins finished in fifth spot after some fantastic Legend racing.

Star Performance: Lee Fitzpatrick
Fastest Lap: John Jon Higgins 2:01.623

Final Classification
1. Lee Fitzpatrick
2. Niki Meredith
3. Simon Belcher

Heat 2
Heat two of this bumper weekend of racing brought all the thrills and drama associated with Legends racing.
The starting procedure for the legends race is unique, the pace car leads the field around for a warm up lap before peeling off and letting the field commence with a rolling start, which begins once the cars cross the start/finish line for the first time.
Visitors to Mondello who had no prior experience of the excitement of the Legend Series were treated to the unusual sight of the Legend car. Sitting low to the ground, it resembles a miniature American stock car and boasts a 1250cc engine underneath their kit car hoods.
The shells range from a 1934 Ford Coupe and 1937 Dodge Sedan to a 1934 Chevy.
In order to keep the racing full of incident and excitement, the grid for the second race of the day was reversed from the order of the first race.
18 legends lined up for the second heat of the day with just one Legend not making a re-appearance from the first race.
Lee Fitzpatrick had clinched the first heat of the day as part of this two day bumper Mondello weekend.
Lawrence Davey started on pole position with John Jon Higgins, the UK championship leader just behind him in second spot.
Stephen Treherne and Nick Brace lay further back on row two.
The grid placement and allocation procedure ensures an action packed race with plenty of overtaking manoeuvres and crowd pleasing episodes.
Yet again all Legends made their way safely through turn one before a giant coming together at turn three, Richard Pocklington came off worst and had to retire back to the pits, re-emerging after some hasty running repairs.
Niki Meredith again showed his flair for this type of racing as he set about slicing his way through the field and by the end of lap two, had forced his way up to fifth position.
The race ended abruptly for Phillip Kershaw and Paul O'Brien after a mere two laps with both seeking refuge back in the pits.
The highly impressive John Jon Higgins made the most of his good start and showed the crowds just why he is the current UK Legends Series leader.
By the start of lap four, Higgins held a whopping lead of 4.5 seconds from Stephen Treherne, his closest challenger in second. On his way to victory Higgins recorded the fastest lap of the race with a 2.01.304.
Treherne and Fitzpatrick were scrapping furiously for second spot, both keen to close the gap on the rampant leader Higgins.
Despite the close confines of the Legend cockpit, Gerard McCosh was ably assisted by a co-driver in the shape of a pink pig, who kept an eye on the rear bumper of the Legend. Despite global fears of swine influenza, the pig was cleared to race by Mondello officials.
As time ran out for his challengers, Higgins maintained a massive gap from the rest of the chasing pack, an unassailable 6.8 seconds and he was no doubt helped by the race for second spot, which involved four Legends.
An epic battle developed between Fitzpatrick, Treherne, Davey and Meredith in the clash for second spot.
In the end it was Fitzpatrick who narrowly held on for second spot, from Treherne in third and the Irish representative Niki Meredith in fourth.

Star Performance: John Jon Higgins
Fastest Lap: John Jon Higgins 2:01.304

Final Classification
1. John Jon Higgins
2. Lee Fitzpatrick
3. Stephen Treherne

Legends Final
The grid for the third and final Legend race of the day was again re-shuffled with Paul Mansell starting from pole with Lawrence Davey completing the first row of the grid.
Ben Power and Richard Pocklington were both hoping for a better performance as they were given the chance to shine, lining up on the second row.
The leading Irish driver amongst the visiting UK racers, Niki Meredith started back in the sixth row, alongside a race winner from earlier in the day and UK Championship leader, John Jon Higgins.
There was early drama when Phillip Kershaw and Sean Murphy both tried to grab the same piece of track and had a small shunt at the entrance to turn two but both kept going.
The impressive pairing of Niki Meredith and John Jon Higgins made a storming storm, Higgins making it all the way up to second spot from his starting position on the sixth row.
Meredith confirmed the Legends class certainly has a bright future in Ireland with his excellent performances over the three Legends races and can be extremely proud of his performance on day one.
The imperious Higgins completed his charge from the back to the front of the grid when he snatched first spot on lap two from Lawrence Davey.
Higgins showed the consistency required of all top class drivers when he yet again seized top spot and began to carve up a commanding lead of three seconds from Davey in second.
Spectators were gripped by the enthralling battle for second involving no less than four Legends, with Davey, Marshall, Fitzpatrick and Meredith all jousting for the position.
Meredith was not settling for fourth and made his move to third spot on lap three, edging out the unfortunate Ross Marshall.
There was high drama on lap four, when Lawrence Davy and Ross Marshall clashed coming down the main straight, Marshall coming off the worst, spinning 360 degrees before ending up on the grass, both cars luckily avoiding the pit wall and serious damage.
Paul Mansell also decided to check out the scenic vistas of Kildare, venturing cross country on the final turn of lap five, visiting the gravel before wrestling his car back on track.
The dream victory the home crowd and Niki Meredith were hoping ended on lap five. With Meredith pushing hard for second place, he attempted a dive down the inside of Fitzpatrick at turn 7A but his Legend's transfer box selected neutral and he overshot the corner slipping back, losing momentum but maintained third spot.
The UK star of the day, John Jon Higgins had worked up an unassailable lead as the race entered the closing stages, his 5.8 second lead proving too much for the pursuing Lee Fitzpatrick in second spot.
Higgins quickly developed a comprehensive knowledge of the Mondello circuit, and was lapping with ease by the end of the third Legend race of the day.

Star Performance: Niki Meredith
Fastest Lap: John Jon Higgins 2:00.766

Final Classification
1. John Jon Higgins
2. Lee Fitzpatrick
3. Niki Meredith

Sunday 10th May
Legends Heat 1
The Legends kicked off day two of the bumper meeting at Mondello with spectators keen to see the same level of high octane racing they were treated to on Saturday.
The grid for the first heat of the day is randomly drawn, with the grid then reversed for the second heat of the day.
17 Legends made the grid line up, with just two Legends missing due to exertions on the previous day.
Racing conditions could only be described as pristine, blistering summer sunshine basking the Mondello track, with clear blue skies overhead.
Richard Pocklington lined up on pole with Matthew Pape alongside him.
Lawrence Davey and Simon Belcher made up the second row of the grid with yesterday's Irish hero, Niki Meredith taking his place on row five.
Crowds milling around the paddock eagerly awaited the first race of the day from this exciting class. The Legends undoubtedly were the highlight of the first day of the meeting with spectator's eager get another glimpse of this unique class.
UK Championship leader, John Jon Higgins was unrelenting in his pursuit of victory; obviously keen to prove his outstanding performances of yesterday were no fluke as he set down an early statement of intent, grabbing the lead after just one lap of the Mondello International circuit.
Simon Belcher and Richard Pocklington made up second and third respectively.
Niki Meredith struggled to recapture his form from yesterday, not helped by a bad draw for the grid, he found himself treading water back in ninth position with four laps gone before eventually coming home in eight spot overall.
Higgins is clearly running in a class of his own, and after just four laps he had extended his early lead to 1.266 seconds.
Teammates Belcher and Treherne displayed no team orders were in operation as they fought manically to secure second place, going door to door down the main straight at the start of lap four.
The battle consuming Belcher and Stephen Treherne allowed Richard Pocklington to close right up on the pair, as he bided his time in the quest for second spot.
The race suffered one casualty, with Matthew Pape's Legend cutting a forlorn sight as it was carried back to the paddock, with its front left tyre drooping down from the bodywork.
As Higgins swung out of Dunlop for the final time, he had a clear track back to Belcher in second spot as took the chequered flag unchallenged to make it three wins from four racers at Mondello this weekend.
The key battle of the race involved the three Legends duelling for second place, with Simon Belcher edging out his team mate Stephen Treherne with Richard Pocklington making up the three.

Star Performance: John Jon Higgins
Fastest Lap: John Jon Higgins 2:00.307

Final Classification
1. John Jon Higgins
2. Simon Belcher
3. Stephen Treherne

Legends Heat 2

John Jon Higgins produced another performance of the highest quality to take his tally to four wins from five starts in the Legends series.
Stephen Treherne sat on pole with Paul Mansell on second and Ben Power in third
Niki Meredith was hopeful of a better performance following a disappointing heat one, but the grid reversal gave him every opportunity, catapulting him up to fourth on the grid.
The unstoppable force of John Jon Higgins lay ominously behind Meredith in fifth spot.
Higgins possesses the incredible talent of being able to find space in the smallest of areas. By turn one, he had leaped into second spot and began climbing all over the rear of Stephen Treherne.
Lee Fitzpatrick had a lucky escape in the middle of lap two when he veered wide onto the grass but the thick, forgiving tyres on the Legend allowed him to lurch back on track and keep Niki Meredith firmly rooted back in fourth spot.
Despite ceding the top spot to Higgins, Treherne managed to hold onto the rear bumper of the leading emerald green Legend.
The front three Legends were separated by less than 1.5 seconds when the safety car was deployed on lap three.
This safety car introduction, bunched the pack right back up together as they got back racing at the start of lap five.
Niki Meredith seemed to lose pace following the session under the safety car and he had to battle extremely hard to hold off Lawrence Davey who in turn was coming under unbearable pressure from Pocklington.
Meredith managed to hold onto to fourth spot and crossed the line with Davey stuck to his rear bumper. Meredith must be commended for his competent display of defensive driving.
Yet again, it was the peerless John Jon Higgins who took the chequered flag from Stephen Treherne who can be satisfied in keeping touch with the leader, who in turn was followed home by Lee Fitzpatrick in third.
Despite the outstanding display from John Jon Higgins, the consistent performances of Fitzpatrick certainly caught the eye.
Next best of the Irish was Phillip Kershaw who came home in eight spot.

Star Performance: Stephen Treherne
Fastest Lap: John Jon Higgins 1:59.053

Final Classifications
1. John Jon Higgins
2. Stephen Treherne
3. Lee Fitzpatrick

Legends Final
Matthew Pape started on pole with Paul Mansell alongside him for the final Legends race of the weekend.
Simon Belcher and Ben Power made up the second row, with Nick Brace and Ross Marshall further back on row three.
The leading Irish hopeful Niki Meredith started from row four. In the previous two heats Meredith was unable to re-capture his blistering form of yesterday.
The red hot favourite John Jon Higgins started from the outside of row eight with many spectators debating just how long it would be before the man from Chester would again dominate proceedings.
17 legends lined up for the final race of the marathon weekend meeting at Mondello.
The Legends powered by the1250cc Yamaha engines undoubtedly provided the best racing of the weekend, packed with excitement and competitive racing.
Despite suffering damage in previous race, Matthew Pape was able to take his place on pole position.
Meredith sensing a possible win in the last race of the weekend blitzed through the field, making up two positions on lap two, sliding by Lawrence Davey and Lee Fitzpatrick.
Pape made the most of a clean start, opening up a marginal lead from Meredith and the chasing pack.
Pape's rotten run of luck continued as he was forced to retire at Mazda corner on lap six, relegated to watching the conclusion of the race from the bank.
Meredith undid all his good work on lap three, when he ran wide and was shunted back down the grid, coming across to start lap four in sixth place.
John Jon Higgins used his strategy to bide his time, seizing first place at the start of lap four, picking off places with clinical ease before launching all out attack on the lead of Pape.
Following the form book of the weekend, the victory was clinched by the outstanding John Jon Higgins. Despite starting back on row eight, he claimed the win with 2.6 seconds back to Lee Fitzpatrick his nearest challenger in second.
The battle of the race was taking place further back the track, with a five way clash for fourth spot involving Davey, Meredith, Marshall, Pocklington and Belcher.
Meredith can be proud of his performance, nipping past Davey on the final lap of the race to take fourth position and cap off a fine weekend for the man from Blackrock.

Star Performance: Niki Meredith for his fight back
Fastest Lap: John Jon Higgins 1:59.952

Final Classification
1. John Jon Higgins
2. Lee Fitzpatrick
3. Stephen Treherne

Photo by: Chester
Report by: Gary Fox

Solid Start for Murray in Seat Supercopa

Tue May 05 22:21:00 -0400 2009

Eoin Murray had a solid start to his first Spanish Seat Supercopa championship during the weekend. The Irish ace signed a deal to race in the championship with Portuguese team Oasis Motorsport just one week before the first race in Valencia.

Qualifying was always going to be a challenge as there were 38 cars all looking for a clear piece of the track. Eoin endured a difficult qualifying session being held up on his lap with new tyres and only managing 10th position. A strong first race and Eoin moved up to 5th which gave him 5th position for the start of race 2. A great drive saw Eoin finish on the second step of the podium for the second sprint race on Saturday afternoon.

The former European champion had a tough race on Sunday but managed to cross the line in 4th position. This great weekend which would see Eoin lie in third position in the championship was only briefly celebrated as Eoin was hit with a harsh 25 second penalty for contact with a Spanish driver during the race. The penalty dropped him to 12th position and fifth in the championship.

“It was an aggressive but fair move in my opinion. The driver closed the gap to defend the corner too late in the braking zone and there was nothing I could do as I was already committed to passing him on the inside. There was very little contact and he lost no other positions on the track. It seems a very harsh decision but we have to accept the decision of the Spanish Stewards.”

Despite the penalty in race 3 Eoin had a very strong debut for his new team Oasis Motorsport. There is now a six week break for the team to prepare for the second round of the championship in Jarama. Like the remaining tracks in the championship, this will be Eoin’s first visit to the track.

“Despite the disappointing decision in race 3 I was happy with the weekend. We had three strong races. However we are aware that we need to raise our game for Jarama. As a team we need to extract more pace out of the car if we are to win races and I’m confident we can do it. I’m really looking forward to the next challenge now.”

Race 1:
1.O.Nogués, 21’04”136
2. M.Pedalà, 21’08”004
3. M.Carol, 21’09”472
4. A.de la Reina, 21’09”942
5. E.Murray, 21’11”622

Race 2:
1. M.Carol, 21’28”804
2. E.Murray, 21’30”857
3. N.Michelisz, 21’31”041
4. A.Fontes, 21’33”297
5. D.Saraiva, 21’34”654

Race 3:
1. M.Pedalà, 25’12”920
2. M.Carol, 25’18”298
3. D.Saraiva, 25’20”640
4. E.Murray, 25’24”550 (+25 second penalty moving Eoin to 12th)
5. A.Fontes, 25’25”079

Eoin’s next race is 13th/14th of June at Jarama in Spain.

Ireland wins World Cup of Motorsport

Mon May 04 19:59:00 -0400 2009

A1 Team Ireland are the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport Champions of 2008/2009. Adam Carroll led the Ireland squad to two dominant victories in the final event of the season at Brands Hatch yesterday to win an historic world title for Ireland.

Carroll and Team Ireland were unstoppable all weekend, taking two pole positions, two victories and a fastest lap to take the title by 17 points from reigning Champions Switzerland.

Ireland’s perfect day began when Carroll won the Sprint Race with the help of more slick pit work from the Ireland crew who converted an early second place into a secure lead which Carroll held to the flag. In the Feature Race Carroll was in control throughout, leading from the start and keeping command of the race through the two pit stops to run out the winners over the Netherlands by just over ten seconds.

Ireland dominated the statistics of the season, ending the season with five wins, six pole positions, five fastest laps and three further podium finishes in a dream season for the squad. Afterwards Carroll described the emotion of taking the title: “That was fantastic,” said Carroll afterwards. “I always knew this was someday going to come and I knew I was ready to do the job so I’m ecstatic really. I’d like to thank the team for giving me the opportunity to prove what I can really do. I think I cried for most of the last laps. Actually, I really did cry on the in-lap. It is such a relief to get it done.”

Ireland Team Principal Mark Gallagher reflected on the achievement of winning the title after four long, hard seasons in A1GP. “I’m just so proud of everyone in this team for what we’ve achieved here. But this weekend is just the culmination of a long, hard climb to the top that has tested us all and to find out today that we have proved to be worthy of the challenge is emotional.

“It’s been such a long time coming but it proves that if you want something enough then you can fight through all the difficulties to make it happen. I’d like to pay tribute our rivals particularly the Swiss and Portugal teams who have fought hard all year and thank them for the hard and fair competition we’ve enjoyed with them. I’d also like to thank all the fans, partners and sponsors for their help and support throughout the last four years and I hope that this title represents some reward for them.

“Adam has won this title with some style,” said Gallagher. “His arrival at the team was, I think, a catalyst for us. He’s a driver of a different calibre. With Adam we could set about fixing some of the issues we had identified as holding us back. He is part of a great team and he’s paid us back in spades.

“This is a terrific experience. It’s very satisfying to make a plan and see it come to fruition. We’ve been sticking at it and grafting hard and today we’ve seen it through and carried off the World Cup of Motorsport™. It’s a terrific feeling.”

Dempsey wins Star Mazda Round 2 at VIR

Thu Apr 30 18:40:00 -0400 2009

Surviving a race liberally sprinkled with punts, shunts, debris and yellow flags, Irish racer Peter Dempsey pulled off the 'hail Mary' pass of the weekend to win Round 2 of the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear at VIR.

Nicknamed 'the Irish Steamroller' for his four wins, including three in a row, during the 2008 Star Mazda season, Dempsey, the Dunlop Motorsport Ireland Young Driver of the Year 2009, who started on the outside of the front row, drove his #3 AIM Autosport /Motorsport Ireland / Quayside.ie Mazda to a 0.038-sec. margin of victory over Louisiana native Alex Ardoin, rounding out the top-3 was Joel Miller. It was the battle between Miller, Ardoin and pole-sitter Adam Christodoulou -- all team mates on the JDC Motorsports team -- that allowed Dempsey to slip through with two laps to go into first place on the re-start after the final full-course yellow.

"I was swallowed by JDC cars, but I knew they weren't going to take each other out, so I was able to use that and squeeze my way through right at the end," said Dempsey. "I drafted Alex and Joel stayed tight, but I knew the pit lane exit was right there and I figured if I ended up in the grass then so be it. I more or less had to make the pass because I barely made it to this race and wouldn't be at the next one if I didn't win, so I'm really happy to have crossed the finish line first. I really need to thank Motorsports Ireland, Dunlop and the Irish Sports Council, as well as a bunch of other friends and supporters, for helping me get here. This one is for them."

Finishing first (and 15th overall) in the Expert Series for drivers 30-44 years old was another Irishman, Patrick Q'Neill, driving the #64 Mundill / O'Neill Construction Mazda. This was O'Neill's first start of the 2009 season and provided an interesting lesson in the fruits of generosity; Dane Cameron, the 2007 Star Mazda champion, won his title driving a car borrowed from O'Neill.

"The race was pretty chaotic on the re-starts, so it was important to get a good draft on the inside, minimize the risks and get the car home/' said O'Neill. "I'm really proud of Peter today and really happy to be one of two Irish winners on the same podium."

Moffett Takes Magnificent Monaghan Victory in Citroen Racing Trophy Nail-biter!

Tue Apr 28 21:09:00 -0400 2009

The third round of the 2009 Citroen Racing Trophy Ireland proved to be an absolute classic tussle, for the Citroen Sport C2 R2’s, on the Monaghan Stages Rally. Local youngster Sam Moffett, clinched his first C2 R2 Irish victory by the narrowest of margins, on an event that had four different leaders within the nine special stages, such was the close competition between these equally matched 185 horse power front wheel drive machines.

It was Sam Moffett who set the bench-mark time of 9 minutes 18 seconds, on the opening Smithborough stages, but just behind him, his Clones rival Martin Tynan, stopped the clocks on exactly the same time, whilst Monaghan’s Barry Evans was just one second adrift in third. Championship leader Adrian McElhinney was relieved just to have made the start, as he was at one point, twenty-fifth on the rallies reserve list! Indeed he was only sure of a run half way through his recce, and that was partly due to his fiancé kindly pulling her entry for the event. Adrian was three seconds off the leaders on stage one, but dropped a critical twenty seconds to the new leader on special stage two. That new leader was an inspired Barry Evans with David Lyons co driving. He took the lead, but it was to be short lived, Barry slipping into a ditch and retirement on stage three, Dunraymond. As the cars headed into service after three stages, it was Sam Moffett leading by eighteen seconds after two excellent times on stages two and three. In second was now Martin Tynan and a surprise third was relative C2 newcomer Mark Kane. But even more surprising, was young Stephen Baxter. The Enniskillen lad, was only on his second ever rally, and had been seeded nearly last, but when his times filtered through he was fastest C2 on stage one with a 9 minutes 12, and lay fourth service, three seconds ahead of championship leader Adrian McElhinney. Conditions were beginning to dry for the second loop of three stages, and Adrian changed his Carbon Lorraine brake pad compound at service, hoping to gain an extra advantage. Armagh driver Sean Agnew was making a return to the series, and admitted it was taking time to re-adapt, but poor Paul Manton was in early trouble. The Cashel driver dropped over five minutes in stage two as an oil pipe blew off, temporary repairs being made at the end of the stage. It was worthwhile however as Paul continued on the event, and would eventually pick up fifth placed points.

Onto stage four for the leaders, a re run of the Smithborough stage, and Adrian McElhinney was fired up taking fastest time, a time that was to later be equaled by the flying Stephen Baxter. However Stephen’s rally ended sadly on stage five with an off- road excursion. Indeed fastest times on stages five and six brought Adrian McElhinney to within four seconds of the leader, and he was now tying with Martin Tynan for second place! The pressure was on 19 year old Sam Moffett with just four seconds in hand and same three stages for the last time remaining. Added to this Mark Kane in fourth was still only nineteen seconds back, and as the rain started to fall at service, everyone was leaving their choice of BF Goodrich rubber to the last minute.

A last minute retirement on the last loop was Sean Agnew, allowing Paul Manton, who had more trouble with his oil pipe on the second loop into fifth at the finish. Also to hit a little trouble on the final stage was Mark Kane, who had engine mount woes. However this didn’t stop him taking a well deserved fourth in his second rally in a C2 R2. The battle at the front however had turned into a war! On stage 7 Adrian McElhinney was fastest, taking one second from Tynan, and more crucially five seconds off Moffett, so Adrian was now leading by one second from a tying Moffett and Tynan. At the end of the penultimate stage, Moffett crossed the finish line with mud hanging from his front left wheel, a testament to a close shave. However he was still fastest taking three seconds off Martin Tynan, and critically fifteen off McElhinney who had been up a bank. It was the deciding blow for Adrian, as although the Donegal driver put in a storming time on the final stage, nine seconds faster than anyone, it was now good enough only for third place. It was between the two young drivers Moffett and Tynan, on a final stage shootout. It was Tynan who was faster, but only by one second, leaving victory to Sam Moffett by just two scant seconds! After nine tough stages of rallying it was an amazingly close finish and it really sets up the championship race before the next round in Cavan.

It’s Sam Moffett’s first Citroen Racing Trophy victory and he was understandably delighted at the Hillgrove Hotel finish. “It was so close all day, and it was tricky in places too with the weather. We had no real problems however, and to win the C2’s on my home event is just magic.”

Photo: Roy Dempster

Mondello Park (12th April)

Thu Apr 23 18:50:00 -0400 2009

Historic's Race 1:
Jackie Cochrane established that he is the driver to beat in this year’s Historic class with another flawless performance to record his second victory of the season. Clear blue skies and warm spring sunshine greeted race fans who arrived early at Mondello Park on Easter Sunday for the first race in the Historic class. A wide variety of cars lined up for this the second day of the season with the invitational Minis ensuring a large grid of 21 cars lined up on circuit. The Mondello circuit was in pristine condition for the Bank Holiday weekend meeting organised by the Leinster Motor Club. Due to their invitational status, the Mini class were not competing for Championship points and started at the back of the grid. A number of Minis ran on slicks which ensured some extremely quick times and competitive racing. Cochrane in the Tiger Sunbeam was again the man to catch in qualifying and he took pole position followed by Alan Kessie in the Gryphon with David Kelly in the Elan back in third. Stephen Doyle who produced an outstanding performance to record an unlikely but well deserved race victory on the opening day of the season was absent from the Mondello circuit but is expected back for the next date on the racing calendar. Cochrane started on pole but saw his lead snatched by the determined Kessie who blazed off the grid and led down into turn one. The Gryphon opened up a marginal lead after one lap, allowing him to remain out of the reach of the incredibly quick Sunbeam. Pamela Cochrane and Clive Brandon duelled in the opening laps, but Cochrane held off the emerging threat from the Lotus Europa. The sheer pace of the Tiger proved too much for Kessie on lap three as he was unable to hold off the raw power of 4700cc Tiger compared to his 1700cc Gryphon. The straight line speed advantage of the Tiger allowed Cochrane to blitz down the long main straight and reclaim the lead. Despite the difference in engine size, Kessie, with a deft display of driving skill, remained in touch with Cochrane, pushing the Tiger to its maximum. The fight with Kessie almost saw Cochrane break through the magic minute lap time in Mondello, running just 0.86 over the minute. The frantic pace of the leading pair meant they began encountering traffic as early as the fifth lap with the battle for top spot becoming more intense. David Kelly in the Lotus Elan was unable to stay with the Kessie and Cochrane battle and he slipped back to 11 seconds off the pace by lap five. At the halfway point, Kessie continued to make life extremely difficult for Cochrane and just when it appeared that the pressure was becoming too much for the leader, disaster struck for the Gryphon with Kessie forced to retire with a broken gearbox. David Kelly was 17 seconds down on the Tiger by this stage and was unable to bridge the yearning gap and provide any challenge to Cochrane as he romped to victory unchallenged with his characteristic headlights blazing through the warm haze created by the searing sunshine at the Kildare circuit. Back down the field, the race for third spot was developing into a titanic battle between Simon Doyle’s TVR Tuscan and Clive Brandon. Doyle’s race was to come to a premature end however, when he came to an abrupt halt on lap 11 with a visit to the gravel trap at Honda corner

The Mini of Albert O’Donnell and Viny O’Reilly in the Austin Healy both went into the gravel at Dunlop corner, narrowly avoiding major impact. Earlier in the race, O’Donnell had been setting the pace for the Mini group but collected O’Reilly on his way off the track as he just pushed marginally too hard in his attempt to edge out O’Reilly. In the end it was once again Jackie Cochrane from Armagh taking overall race victory and the honours in Class One with David Kelly in second spot in race classification. Clive Brandon in the Lotus Europa enjoyed victory in Class Two. Back in Class Three, Niño Forte took the honours. With Class Four going to David Moloney.

Historic's Race 2:
Jackie Cochrane made it three wins from four starts this season with another commanding performance in the Historic class at Mondello. Cochrane started alone on the front of the grid after the retirement of Alan Kessie following a gearbox failure in his Gryphon during the first race of the day.Vinny O’Reilly managed to make it back on the track for race two after carrying out emergency running repairs to his Austin Healy after a collision with a Mini at the end of race one. David Kelly in the Lotus Elan and Simon Doyle in the TVR Tuscan made up the second row of the grid.O’Reilly showed no ill effects of the collision when a daring run into turn one resulted in him jumping up a number of places to fourth spot Kelly from Greystones in Wicklow signalled his intentions early when he made an early break for top spot, trying first to find space on the inside before darting to the outside of Cochrane’s Tiger but massive acceleration from the 4700c engine wouldn’t yield to the 2000cc Elan There was early drama when a red flag on lap four meant the race was briefly suspended. A track inspection carried out by the Mondello track team, found an oil spill on turn three. Fortunately the spill was off the racing line and some quick work by the track team allowed the race to get underway after a short break. As drivers assembled back on the grid to await further instructions, a decision was reached to re-start the race with original grid positions This meant track officials had to work frantically to shuffle the cars back into the original starting positions but Vincent O’Reilly and Clive Brandon suffered the loss of a number of places as they had made huge inroads up the race field before the red flag. The delayed 18 minute race got back underway with 14 minutes still left on the clock. David Kelly and Simon Doyle got a second chance to rein in the rampant Cochrane in the Tiger but Cochrane slammed the door shut on Kelly as he darted up the inside as yet again the Tiger had too much pace for the chasing pack. It was a case of history repeating itself, as Cochrane’s unrelenting dominance showed no signs of abating even after the disruption of the delay and his luck continued when Doyle’s TVR Tuscan only lasted half a lap of the restart and he was forced to retire early. Pamela Cochrane was also an early casualty after the restart and she parked her MGB in the grass halfway down the main straight. Doyle’s retirement left Edmund Cassidy and Viny O’Reilly to battle it out for third spot. Mark Byrne sought to make it a three way race, pushing his Austin Mini to its maximum but he was unable to reel in the pair. The delay had little visible effect on Cochrane in the Tiger and he began opening up a large gap from the pursuing Kelly in second, taking the opportunity to extend his lead to a massive ten seconds by lap five. Further down the field, Kevin Flanagan in the Mini and Richie O’Mahony in the bright purple Porsche enjoyed a private battle for eight spot. Superb driving from Flanagan in the Mini briefly managed to hold off the Porsche before eventually ceding to the much quicker car. With Cochrane’s win now a formality, focus switched to the emerging battle for third spot. The vast power of Edmund Cassidy’s Tiger Sunbeam was put to the test by the brave driving of Viny O’Reilly in the Austin Healy. O’Reilly used every inch of the Mondello circuit to twice outmuscle Cassidy, on lap 10 and 11.The ensuing duel saw spectators captivated as O’Reilly snatched third spot after what can only be described as a complete display of driving skill by the man in the Austin Healy.

Despite directly competing against the 4900cc of the Tiger Sunbeam, he managed to manoeuvre his 1430cc Healy into third spot. The defining move of the race came when O’Reilly, who had lost position to the Tiger three times on the main straight, dived into the Dunlop turn for the last time. As both cars lined up side by side for the last time, O’Reilly held his nerve and position in the dash for the line to take the chequered flag for third spot. Overall classifications saw Jackie Cochrane take the win in Class 1, with Viny O’Reilly taking top spot in Class 2 with Nino Forte victorious in Class 3.and David Moloney was victorious in class 4 next race for the hrca will been in Mondello on the 9th May 2009.

Uno's:
Robbie Redmond added his name to the list of potential Uno Championship contenders with a terrific win at Mondello on Easter Sunday. Chris Lenehan from Kilcullen went quickest in morning qualifying to claim pole for this, the second race of the 2009 season. The 1300cc Uno’s provided some thrilling racing with 12 cars lining up on the grid, a bumper grid for the class. Robbie Redmond from Celbridge and Chris Lenehan set the early pace and by lap two held a commanding lead from the chasing pack. Honda corner was to prove to be the biggest challenge to the Uno drivers and a chain of events which begun with Paul Thornton sliding into the gravel on lap three led to the introduction of the safety car. Following Thornton’s meeting with the gravel, Sabrina O’Reilly stalled at the apex of the turn, leaving the Uno stranded on the racing line leaving race officials with little choice but to deploy the safety car. Mark Twomey nearly joined O’Reilly and Thornton in the Honda corner graveyard but he managed to keep going after a brief flirtation with the gravel trap. Both Uno’s had to be removed ensuring the safety car remained out for a number of laps which bunched up the field, removing any advantage built up by the early pace setters. Three laps after it emerged on track the safety car retreated back to pit lane and racing resumed after the prolonged delay. The irresistible attraction of Honda corner to the Uno class continued when it welcomed its third Uno of the day when Colin Clinton ended his race there on lap 11Derek O’Sullivan was involved in a number of contentious incidents during the race, including a heavy collision with Mark Twomey as they emerged from Dunlop corner on the very last lap. Twomey struggled back onto the track but came agonisingly close to a finish line, stopping short with the line in sight, a little over 30 yards away. O’Sullivan was later excluded from the race after overtaking under the safety car period. By the conclusion of the race, turn one was littered with the wreckage of three Unos who lay testament to the frantic and competitive standard of racing on display today. Following an extended clash with Lenehan, Robbie Redmond took the win from Val Thompson in second spot.

Story: Gary Fox
Photo: Terry Holmes

Breen starts the party with third Fiesta win

Thu Apr 23 18:49:00 -0400 2009

Craig Breen further underlined his credentials as Ireland’s brightest rallying hope with his third victory in as many events last weekend (17/18 April).

The financial meltdown of the past few months has served to highlight the often previously undetected flaws of the global economy, the international markets and, of course, the people working in them. Even those with not the slightest interest in hedge funds, sub-prime loans or the price of the Euro have now become familiar with phrases like quantitative easing.

Perhaps now, speculators working in the futures markets, should look at an entirely new stock - that of Craig Breen.

The 19 year-old sealed his latest victory in the dramatic setting of the Kielder Forest in Northumberland, England.

The Pirelli International Rally played host to the third round of the Kick Energy Fiesta Sport Trophy, and after a gearbox failure put him out of the first round and cost him vital points, Craig needed a strong result if he was to get his title bid back on track.

Things didn’t quite go to plan when on the opening day, Craig and his co-driver, Gareth Roberts were hampered by the clouds of dust kicked up by fellow title protagonist, Kris Hall, “We were running second on the road, and soon into the first stage we got caught behind Kris limping along with a puncture. That cost us 10 seconds trying to get past him,” Craig explained.

He was able to make up for the lost time on the second stage and give himself a 6 second lead in the Fiesta class and 13th overall.

Last week, the young pair had a spectacular roll which destroyed their car whilst pushing hard for overall points in the Circuit of Ireland rally and as the rally moved to the daunting Kielder stages, Craig admitted, “The forest there is not great for confidence building, I can tell you! I was still feeling the effects of last weekend’s off, and to be honest I was nowhere near committed enough on the fast stuff.”

This cost the duo time and their lead was cut to just two seconds. But - needing to dig deep - Craig responded by attacking the following two stages. His advantage was not only restored, but extended - “At this point of the rally, the Fiesta Sport Trophy finished, so we won by fifteen seconds. We were over the moon. To win in Portugal (the Fiesta Sport Trophy International class, on the Rallye de Portugal), win (the Fiesta Sport Ireland round) on the Circuit of Ireland and now come to here to England and win again, what more could I ask for?"

However, with little time to reflect on, or bask in the glory of their victory, Breen and Roberts jumped straight back in their fast Ford in a bid to score more British Rally Championship points.

Craig explains, “We were locked in a battle with fellow Irishman, Marty McCormack for the top two- wheel drive honours. Unfortunately, we lost 9 seconds to him on Special Stage 7 but it looked like it was ‘game on’, all the same. Sadly, proceedings were brought to a halt on the following stage when a car caught fire and burnt to the ground, causing the cancellation of stages eight, nine and ten. We headed back to the service area, with two hard stages to go. On stage eleven, we put ourselves one second ahead of Marty and I was really looking forward to going for a good go at it in the remaining stages!”

Two stunning stints behind the wheel in the remaining two stages saw Craig and Gareth classified 10th overall, the first two-wheel drive crew and finish first in the R3 class.

Craig said, “It was an incredible day. But as I was being presented with my Fiesta awards, I was suddenly called to the interview area and was then presented with the Pirelli Star Driver award for the Rally! This accolade puts me into a shootout with every other winner of the award over the season, and if I win I will receive a fully-funded drive in the British Rally Championship in a top of the range Group N car.”

He added, “To say that I’m absolutely shocked is an understatement. I never expected to win the International, Irish and British Fiesta rounds one after another - but to then win the Pirelli Star Driver as well, was the icing on the cake."

Craig’s next event is the Killarney Rally – the third round of the Irish Fiesta Sporting Trophy Championship, on the 1 - 3 May.