motorsport.ie - Irish Motorsport News

Aron Smith wins Dunlop Sexton Trophy worth €50k!

Wed Dec 07 12:50:00 +0000 2011

21 year old Aron Smith from Rathfarnham, Dublin has been crowned Motorsport Ireland’s Young Racing Driver of the Year for 2011. The €50,000 award comes on the back of Aron’s successful year competing in the RenaultSport UK Clio Championship. Having won a handful of races during the season Aron brought the title chase down to the last race of the season in Brands Hatch. Unfortunately he missed out on the title but arrived home in a very close 2nd.

This year also saw Aron make his BTCC debut, with a great run in Knockhill for the Triple Eight Engineering Team. This has added to the rumor that we will see the young Irish man on the grid in the 2012 British Touring Car Championship.

O’Brien makes final 3 for 50k prize!

Wed Nov 23 23:10:00 +0000 2011

Templeogue’s Andy’Brien has this week been shortlisted as one of Ireland’s top three racing drivers in only his second season of Motorsport. Eighteen year old O’Brien became the 2011 Ginetta Junior Ireland Champion in September after coming very close to winning in 2010.

Since he began racing in 2010, Andy has shown that he has raw pure talent putting on some amazing displays of mature driving during 2011 and always keeping championship victory as his main goal. As a result of winning the Ginetta Junior Ireland Championship, Andy’s prize will be a part funded season competing in the UK in the 2012 Ginetta GT Supercup, in a 3.5 Litre Ginetta G50.

Commenting on the latest news, O’Brien described how it feels to be selected as one Ireland’s best racing drivers. “This has been an amazing two years for me. To have been able to race so close to the front last year, and then go on to win the championship this year was fantastic, but this nomination just tops it all off and I couldn’t be happier. This is a fantastic reward for a tough season’s racing as it was very close in the championship. It’s also a great reward for all the hard efforts of my Dad who has done a brilliant job on preparing my car over the last two years. I would love to win this award as there has been some excellent previous winners and the prize fund of €50,000 would be a massive help toward my plans to race in the UK next year”.

The winner of the 2011 Dunlop Motorsport Ireland Young Racing Driver of the Year award will be announced at the Dunlop Champions of Irish Motorsport Awards on Tuesday 6th December.

CRAIG COMES HOME TO HERO’S WELCOME

Sun Nov 20 00:13:00 +0000 2011

It has been an incredible week for Irish Rally Driver Craig Breen. Just a week ago he and his Welsh co driver Gareth Roberts clinched the FIA World Rally Academy Championship on the last stage of World Rally Great Britain, the final round of the WRC Academy Series. By Tuesday, Craig had travelled to Melk, Austria, to take part in the FIA Institute Trials. After four days of driving and non-driving assessments Craig received news on Friday, that he had made it on to the FIA 2012 Institute Programme. But on Saturday afternoon celebration took the place of competition as Waterford welcome back their World Champion!

Craig returned home to his native Waterford City for the first since claiming the FIA World Rally Academy Championship (World Junior Championship) to a hero’s welcome by his family, friends and supporters. John Roberts Square, Waterford City became electrified with the sound of the screaming Ford Fiesta S2000 as Craig screeched up the Quay by the bank of the river Suir, turning into the City Centre at the Clock Tower and onto the stage in front of hundreds of fans that came out to salute their hero and his achievement on the world stage. Craig was first greeted by host for the event the legendary Eddie Wynberry.

Like true rally fans, inclement weather was not going to deter the CBR supporters from greeting their hero. With the rain falling and under the a sea of Christmas lights the new World Academy Champions exited the Fiesta S2000 and were greeted to cheers as they joined event host Eddie Wynberry on stage.

Craig was congratulated by Waterford’s Mayor, Cillr Pat Hayes, Motorsport Ireland President, Joe Corcoran President Motorsport Ireland, James Coleman, Chairman of the Rallies Committee, Motorsport Ireland, Austin Mallon from the Irish Sports Council.

From Carrick on Suir Motor, Club President George Clancy and Club Chairman, Terence Kearney. Terence also presented Craig and Gareth with specially designed photos portraying the pair in action on World Rally Spain. The spectacular shot was taken by WRC photographer Richard Balint during one of the night stages on the event and displayed the Kel-Tech Ford Fiesta S2000 in all its glory.

Guests who could not attend on the day also passed on messages of congratulations:

Gerard Quinn, Director of Motorsport, Ford of Europe said,

“Congratulations to Craig and Gareth for their fantastic achievement in winning the inaugural FIA WRC Academy. Having had a difficult season they fought back in determined fashion at Wales Rally GB to take the title. I am confident that Craig has a bright future ahead of him in rallying and he will continue to be a great ambassador for the Academy, WRC and his country. I have supported the Academy throughout the season and I firmly believe it creates huge opportunities for young rally drivers to achieve success that could ultimately see them at the pinnacle of the sport that is the WRC. I wish Craig and Gareth every success in the future.”

Noel Brett, Chief Executive, Irish Road Safety Authority said,

“On behalf of the Road Safety Authority I’d like to extend my warmest congratulations to Craig on his magnificent achievement in winning the WRC Academy Championship. Not only is Craig a champion on the road but off the road too. As a Road Safety Ambassador for the Road Safety Authority Craig has supported the promotion of responsible driving, particularly in getting the message across to ‘Keep the Race in its Place’, i.e. on the track and not on the public roads. Thanks to Craig’s commitment to road safety he has helped ensure that safety wins every time.”

John Treacy, CEO of the Irish Sports Council said,

"The Irish Sports Council is very proud of Craig's achievement; he has demonstrated his talent in an incredibly competitive international sport. I know from happy experience that the people of Waterford give a great welcome home to their sporting ambassadors; I hope Craig, his family and supporters enjoy the day, it is well deserved.”

Breen crowned FIA WRC Academy champion!

Sat Nov 12 20:39:00 +0000 2011

Waterford’s Craig Breen has won the World Rally Championship Academy title after a dramatic last day at Rally Great Britain. Breen won the title following victory in 5 of today’s 6 stages in Wales, claiming the title and the €500,000 winner cheque.

Breen went into today’s last day knowing that he would have to win four of the six stages to be in with a chance of victory but with Championship rival Egon Kaur winning the first stage today the pressure was increased on Breen meaning he had to win 5 stages. However the 21-year-old responded with a flawless last five stages to finish fastest on each and win the rally by 4 minutes and 36 seconds from Kaur.

This left both drivers on 111 points for the season but on count-back of stage wins across the Championship Breen was declared the World Rally Championship winner with more stage victories than the Estonian. The former Motorsport Ireland Young Driver of the Year won 14 out of 17 stages across the weekend to secure the Championship.

Breen was delighted after the victory; “It’s an amazing feeling,” said Breen. “I know I was the quickest driver over the whole series so to win is just brilliant.”

Alex Sinclair, Chief Executive of Motorsport Ireland, was first to congratulate Breen; “This is a fantastic occasion for Craig, his team and for Irish motorsport. We knew that Craig had the talent to compete at World level and this has shown everyone that he has the potential to go on and become a full World Rally Champion. This is just the start of what will be a very exciting career for Craig and for Irish motorsport,” Sinclair said.

Breen moves closer to World Rally Title

Sat Nov 12 16:36:00 +0000 2011

Waterford’s Craig Breen continued to move closer to a World Rally Championship Academy title after a near perfect day today on Day Two at Rally Great Britain. The 21-year-old won 7 of today’s 8 stages in Wales in the World Rally Championship Academy, meaning he picks up 7 points to add to his tally of 2 he won yesterday. Breen has now won 9 of the 11 stages over the first two days of action.

The young driver held an overnight lead of 26.8 seconds over Alistair Fisher with Breen’s title rival, Estonian, Egon Kaur further back in third place. Breen started where he left off yesterday as he finished joint fastest on the first stage with Fisher but over the following three stages he pulled away from his rivals, winning each stage and establishing a 46 second lead over Fisher with Kaur 1 minute and 42 seconds behind.

The second loop of stages today exemplified the sort of class that Breen is showing this weekend as he was fastest on three of the four stages this afternoon with neither Fisher or Kaur able to get close to him. The only driver that was faster was Molly Taylor who finished 7 seconds ahead of Breen on the last stage of the day. The former Motorsport Ireland Young Driver of the Year is now 4 minutes and 5 seconds ahead of Kaur in second with Fisher back in third, 4 minutes and 38 seconds behind the leader.

If the positions stay like this tomorrow then Breen will have to win five of the remaining six stages to take the World Rally Championship Academy title and the €500,000 winners cheque having gone into the event 20 points behind Kaur.

The final 6 stages of the event for the World Rally Championship Academy take place tomorrow with the first stage starting at 9:30am. For more information log on to www.wrc.com/wrc-academy or www.craigbreen.com

Problems for Breen at RACC Rally de Espana

Wed Oct 26 00:01:00 +0100 2011

Irish rally driver Craig Breen claimed an accreditable 15th overall and 4th in the Super 2000 category today on World Rally Spain after three intense days of action in Salou, Catalunya. It was a bitter sweet end to the event for the twenty one year who impressed over day on as the mixed surface event got underway on gravel but after sustaining a broken rear right driveshaft during Saturday, the WRC Academy contender was left to be content with holding station and finish out the Spanish round consolidating his position. At the finish Breen commented, “I’m delighted with this morning’s performance. We had a clean run and set some fastest class times on proper tarmac stages. The problems yesterday morning put pay to any hope of a podium finish which was disappointing. Over the year I’ve shown my pace on the snow in Sweden and both the gravel and tarmac here this weekend. Our concentration switches back now to the WRC Academy for the final showdown on Rally GB.”

The only mixed surface event in the World Rally Championship started on Friday with a double loop of three gravel stages totalling 160km’s. Breen competing in the SWRC (Super 2000 category) for the first time made an encouraging start claiming 11th fastest stage time and slotted in 3rd in class on SS1. On stage two, the 35km's of 'Terra Alta' the Irish driver set the benchmark in SWRC, recording the 10th best overall. His time moved him to 2nd in the class and he remained 11th O/A. As the crews entered midday service Breen had shown the talent which turned heads on IRC Rally Scotland just two weeks previous.

The rerun of Pesells kicked off the evening stages and Craig dropped one position to 4th in the Super 2000 class as Czech driver Martin Prokop leapfrogged the Irish driver, but Craig hit back on SS5 retaking the podium place over the long 35km’s of Terra Alta 2. The opening day was completed in darkness and dust of stage six, with the Kel-Tech Engineering Fiesta S2000 driver consolidating his days’ work, holding 3rd in SWRC, 24 sec off the lead Nasser Al-Attiyah (Qatar) and 14th overall going into the first overnight halt.

Craig said after completing the final stage of the day, “It’s been a very long day but I’m very pleased to hold third (in SWRC) overnight. We had a good run on the morning loop, the highlight being my stage time on the second test (fast in the class/10th O/A). This evening’s stages were cleaner for the rerun, Prokop (Martin) pulled back some time on us over the first one out but I set a good time on the long stage (Terra Alta 2) to retake third so all in all I’m happy with day one.”

Day two Saturday saw the rally revert to full tarmac and the action began with the mammoth 45.97km’s of El Priorat. There was agony however for the Irish driver only nine km’s in when he broke the right rear driveshaft on his Fiesta S2000. He dropped over a minute in the stage and fell to 4th in SWRC; he then continued to lose time over the following two remaining stages in the loop and as he entered midday service he found himself 2:45.9 off the class leader Nasser Al-Attiyah.

With the setback behind him after service, Breen consolidated his position over the afternoon rerun of stages but after losing so much time the chance of a podium place was gone.

Craig remarked after the final Saturday stage, "I was gutted when I suffered the driveshaft problem this morning. We were hampered over the two remaining stages in the loop and I just had to nurse the car back to service. Then over the afternoon stages I found it hard to find a rhythm. On the rerun of El Priorat (45.97), the surface is very smooth compared to at home Ireland and the time was slow. It was better over stage's 11 and 12, this is my first S-WRC start and I'm here to learn.”

Sunday saw an early start and Breen was regenerated for the final days fight, a double loop of three stages completed the penultimate WRC event of the season. Breen with no real pressure on him set the SWRC pace on the morning opener and was second quickest on SS14. In midday service he reported, “I’m glad to be able to show some speed this morning.” Over the rerun he again set the quickest time on the first out of service but then consolidated over the last two closing stages to record his 4th in class and 15th O/A result.

Murray takes thrilling season finale

Mon Oct 17 15:47:00 +0100 2011

Approaching the final weekend of the 2011 Ginetta Junior Championship, Niall Murray was hoping to finish his 2011 campaign with at least one race victory. On the back of a superb weekend at Brands Hatch, Niall was brimming with confidence coming in to the weekend and still in with a chance of coming third in the championship.
Qualifying was thrilling to say the least with positions changing on every lap as tenths of a second split several drivers. Leading for most of the session, Murray was having a superb run only to be piped at the end by Brad Bailey, however Niall had done enough to secure second on the grid for both races.
With a superb start off the line, Niall led into the first corner ahead of Brad Bailey and Jake Giddings. Over the early stages of the race, Murray built up a comfortable lead at the head of the field, driving superbly well. As the race progressed, Seb Morris and Sennan Fielding had begun to close in on Murray in his Beacon Racing Ginetta. Niall defended well but a number of challenges from Morris eventually saw him lead for a brief period but as they crossed the start finish line Murray was back in the lead once more. Sennan Fielding had managed to get passed Morris and was now hunting Murray for the lead. Eventually Fielding found a way past with two laps to go. Murray was now defending hard from Morris and slight contact from Seb left Niall briefly back in third until he regained his second position. As they approached the chequered flag, Niall got a superb tow from Sennan Fielding and the pair crossed the line just one tenth of a second apart with Fielding getting the advantage to take his first victory of the season.
With positions decided from second fastest lap times, Niall Murray lined up second on the grid once more behind Brad Bailey. A superb start off the line put Niall into a comfortable lead during the early part of the race. However as in race one, championship winner Seb Morris was applying the pressure on Niall as both were eager to take the final win of the season. Over the next couple of laps, the lead positions were changing on every lap with nothing separating the pair. With paint swapping on several occasions, the race for the lead was shaping up to be one of the best of the season. Brad Bailey who had started from pole was doing his best to keep with the lead pair until contact at Becketts put Bailey off leaving the lead pair to concentrate on the battle for race victory in the dying moments of the race. Now in second, Murray got a good run to get along side Morris coming out of Luffield to lead going into the final lap. Niall defended his lead superbly but despite a last ditch effort from Morris approaching the chequered flag, nobody could deny Niall Murray a fantastic race victory in the final round of the 2011 Ginetta Junior Championship.
Speaking after race two, Niall commented on his best weekend this season. “I’m absolutely ecstatic to have taken the final race victory of the season. I felt we could have easily won race one yesterday, but to take the final race victory of the season in front of this huge crowd on live TV is brilliant. I’d like to say a massive word of thanks to my sponsors Murray Motorsport, my team Beacon Racing and my family for all their support throughout the season. I can’t wait for next year now!!”

Thomspon makes history with Taiwan F1 outing

Thu Oct 13 13:05:00 +0100 2011

Gary Thompson helped officially open Taiwan’s all-new Penbay International Circuit in spectacular style last weekend when he got behind the wheel of a two-seater Formula 1 car.

The 19-year-old Dubliner, who has spent this season contesting the Japanese Formula 3 Championship, became the youngest Irishman in history to drive a modern grand prix car, as well as the first from any nation to pilot one in Taiwan, after accepting an invitation to offer distinguished guests passenger rides at the 3.5km circuit’s opening.

It was also an opportunity for Thompson to catch up with team personnel from KCMG who, having overseen his 2011 single-seater campaign, were now sampling their first taste of running Formula 1 machinery. It was also a new experience for the thousands of fans in attendance, many of whom had never witnessed a grand prix car in the flesh before.

Of course this was just another day at the office for Thompson who, despite the wet conditions, enjoyed his time behind the wheel of the Minardi F1x2 which produces in excess of 700bhp thanks to its race-derived 3-litre Cosworth V10 engine.

Gary Thompson: “The car has a lot of power which can be difficult to exploit in the wet, but I know the circuit and KCMG CEOs enjoyed the wheelspin regardless! I’ve been racing in Asia for the past three seasons so to be the first person to drive a Formula 1 car in Taiwan is personally extremely rewarding. Penbay International Circuit is a great venue with a lot of potential in a part of the world that is really beginning to embrace motor sport. Everyone at the track did a fantastic job to get it up to standard in time for the event. You never know, I might be back here one day putting my local knowledge to good use!”

Eoin Murray all Set for the Final Race in the SEAT Supercopa Series

Tue Oct 11 21:35:00 +0100 2011

Eoin Murray, one of Ireland’s most well known motoring personalities and SEAT brand ambassador, took to the track last month in the first of a two-part race programme in the Italian Seat Supercopa series driving for Drive Technology Italia at Vallelunga “Piero Taruffi”. The Autodromo Vallelunga is located a few kilometres from Rome, and is 4.08.kilometers in length. The concluding race takes place this weekend at Monza, outside Milan on the 15th and 16th October. Monza is one of the oldest and most famous GP circuits in Formula 1.

Competing in free practice on Friday, Eoin and his team struggled initially with pace as they were forced to run with used tyres, which were not ideal for the conditions. However on Saturday in the qualifying races, Eoin immediately set the benchmark for the other drivers and held pole position until the final moments of Qualifying One. Later in the afternoon Eoin set pole position for Qualifying Two, which placed him to start in 2nd position overall for the first race.

Race One started well with Eoin placed in 2nd position for most of the 50 minute race. In the last 15 minutes problems began to occur when Eoin’s tyres started to overheat leading to reduced grip on the track. As Eoin struggled for pace, he drifted back to 4th place with approximately seven minutes to go, where he ultimately finished.

With the top eight finishers of Race One reversed for Race Two, Eoin started in 5th place and held this position for the opening laps of the race. While following the leading group for the first 20 minutes the SEAT driver began to struggle with an overheating engine resulting in a loss of power. Eoin took an early pit stop to find some clear track and allowed his engine to cool. Eoin’s pace quickly increased, which saw him move to third position where he would ultimately finish, always gaining on the leaders and finishing just two seconds behind the second place driver. This was a fantastic achievement for his first race in the Italian series considering the challenge of the gruelling 50 minute long race, compared to the shorter races Eoin is accustomed to. This successful weekend is something he hopes to build on for the final race at Monza this weekend.

Commenting on the racing series, Eoin said, “I’m really happy with how the last race went and delighted with the podium finish. Race One was difficult as we did not find a good setup for the car over a long distance race and Race Two was particularly tough due to the engine overheating problems but I was happy with my pace and the success for the team. All in all it was a very positive weekend, the first time with the team and we seemed to gel well together. I’m looking forward to Monza for the final race of the season and hope for a good result there also.”

Breen shows his class in Scotland

Sun Oct 09 18:22:00 +0100 2011

Young Irish driver Craig Breen showed his class today as he finished 4th at the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) event in Scotland. The Waterford native, who is competing in the World Rally Championship (WRC), entered the Scottish event for competitive practice ahead of the WRC Rally Great Britain next month.

Breen, former Motorsport Ireland Young Driver of the Year, made an impressive start to the event in Scotland on Friday evening finishing 4th after the opening two stages. Saturday proved more difficult for him with the weather having a big impact on driving conditions. At the halfway point on Saturday Breen had dropped to 7th but he upped his challenge after service and finished 5th going into the final day.

The 21-year-old started well on Sunday and some impressive stages pulled him clear in 4th position. However on Stage 11 Breen suffered a cracked exhaust manifold, which he was unable to repair at service. This left him down on power for the remaining four stages but the talented young driver held on to 4th position in his M-Sport Ford Fiesta S2000, 6 seconds ahead of IRC Championship leader Jan Kopecky.

Another Irish driver, Robert Barrable, finished in 16th position in his Skoda Fabia after a tough weekend over the Scottish stages. Breen will now compete in the next round of the World Rally Championship in Spain on the 20th October in the Super WRC and then the final round of the WRC Academy at Rally Great Britain on 10th November.

Watson gears up to sample Ginetta Juniors at Silverstone

Fri Oct 07 21:56:00 +0100 2011

Northern Ireland’s Andrew Watson has recently secured a deal with HHC Motorsport to compete in the final rounds of the 2011 Ginetta Junior Championship at Silverstone. The sixteen year old has spent the last two seasons competing in the Ginetta Junior Ireland Championship in a Ginetta G20 becoming a very accomplished racing driver. In 2011, Andrew finished fourth in the championship with six podium finishes including two race victories and three fastest laps which included one class lap record at Anglesey in July.
Andrew, who is using the Silverstone weekend to prepare himself for a full assault on the 2012 Ginetta Junior Championship, spoke about how much he is looking forward to the weekend. “I can’t wait to join the Ginetta Junior Championship at Silverstone for the final rounds of the championship. I’ve always wanted to race on the BTCC package so it’s a dream come true for me. I’ve really enjoyed my two seasons in the Ginetta Junior Ireland Championship and I have learned so much. I now feel I have the necessary experience to step up to the British Ginetta Junior Championship and be competitive. I’ve tested the Ginetta G40 recently and it’s a superb car. It will be a great experience to race with some of the fantastic talent in the field whom I’ve been watching during the year”.
Andrew would like to say a massive word of thanks to his sponsors Hilton Foods Ireland, Donnelly Group and the Killyhevlin Hotel & Health Club, without their support this opportunity simply would not have been possible.

Fisher to Contest Rally of Scotland in Fiesta S2000

Thu Oct 06 23:12:00 +0100 2011

Alastair Fisher will contest RACMSA Rally of Scotland, the penultimate round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, from October 7-9 in a Ford Fiesta Super 2000 run by M-Sport, the company responsible for Ford’s World Rally Championship effort.

The 23-year-old from Trillick in County Tyrone took part on the inaugural Rally of Scotland in 2009 in a Group N Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX. He will return to the Perth-based event this season in a pacesetting Fiesta S2000 when he will go up against several leading IRC contenders on the all-gravel event.

“The competition in the IRC is very tough but it’s good to get out there and put yourself up against these drivers and show what you can do,” said Fisher. “I want to push for a strong finish but I’m also looking to build my experience of driving a Super 2000 car and to work with M-Sport again is great. Our pace in the WRC Academy this season has been strong, so it will be interesting to see how we can compare against the IRC regulars.”

Rally of Scotland, will enjoy several live television transmissions on satellite station Eurosport over the rally weekend and it is ranked as one of the IRC’s most demanding and spectacular events. Former champion Kris Meeke, who like Fisher is from Northern Ireland, once said its stages are the best in the world.

“The stages are fast and flowing and offer a really good challenge, particularly the night stages,” said Fisher, who will be co-driven by Daniel Barritt. “I’ve got some knowledge of the route and the area so I’ll be sure to make the most of that. And with the live coverage on Eurosport there’s also a chance to get some good publicity.”

The event features 15 stages over a competitive distance of 122.38 miles. Action starts with the first of two night stages on Friday October 7. The event concludes with two stages through Scone Palace where Scottish kings were once crowned.

Fisher has previous S2000 pedigree to call on having won his class in second overall on the Donegal International Rally back in June at the wheel of the same Fiesta he will use in Scotland. Although the event will mark the first time Fisher has competed in the car on gravel he is set to take part in a pre-event test on the Wednesday prior to the rally. Fisher’s car will be equipped with Pirelli gravel tyres.

Murray claims maiden victory!

Mon Oct 03 21:31:00 +0100 2011

Niall Murray came to Brands Hatch on the back of a superb run at Rockingham some two weeks earlier. Murray, fast becoming a regular visitor on the podium was keen to climb that final step to take his first victory.

Qualifying brought mixed fortunes, struggling at the beginning and then a red flag splitting the session left Niall with a lot to do as the session resumed. Getting quickly back up to speed, Niall was dealt a cruel blow having his fastest lap deleted, which would have put him on the front row of the grid. Eventually Niall would have to settle for tenth on the grid for race one.
A good start for Murray allowed him to make up a number of places to complete lap one in fifth. While challenging Tom Howard for fourth, the lead pair of George Gamble and Sennan Fielding made contact putting the pair out and Niall now found himself in third and right on Howard’s back bumper for second. Approaching Hawthorn corner Niall got a fantastic run on Tom Howard to pass him around the outside promoting him to second. With Jake Giddings now firmly in his sights, the trio of Murray, Giddings and Morris were almost running bumper-to-bumper. Niall followed Jake up to Druids passing him for the lead. However slight contact from Giddings on the run down to Graham Hill bend resulted in Niall running slightly wide allowing Giddings and Morris back into the lead. Murray got his head down and by the time they returned to Druids corner on the following lap Niall got past Giddings once more and put himself securely into second and now set about taking the lead from Morris. Approaching Druids corner on the next lap, Murray got a superb run on Morris to take the lead as they exited the corner. While leading the race, a mistake from Niall allowed Morris back in front but when coming out of Paddock Hill bend on the following lap, Niall was along side Morris to re-take lead but the latter forced Niall onto the grass resulting in him spinning but luckily for the Irishman he spun back onto the track and the advantage he had built up prevented him from falling down the order. As the chequered flag dropped it was Morris who took the race win with Niall in second and Max Coates now in third. However following a meeting with the Race Officials, the Clerk of the Course handed Morris a three second penalty for his manoeuvre on Niall thus handing Niall Murray a very well earned and deserved maiden victory.

Starting from the back of the grid for race two, Niall was really going to have his work cut out to emulate his impressive race one form. Murray got yet another superb start despite having to avoid series newcomer William Palmer who struggled to get his car off the line. At the end of lap one, Niall was now up to eighth position and putting fellow championship rival Max Coates under pressure. Over the next few laps Niall tried everything to find a way past Coates who was defending hard to keep his championship challenge alive. Eventually finding a way past at Surtees, Niall now set about making his way further up the order with Seb Morris next in his sights. Out in front Myles Collins ran wide coming out of Paddock Hill bend and was followed by Brad Bailey, which immediately promoted Niall to third and now challenging for second. With only two laps remaining, there was nothing separating the lead pack of Charlie Robertson, newly crowned Ginetta Junior Champion Seb Morris and Niall Murray. As they came out of Clearways for the final time Charlie Robertson had a very slender advantage to win over Morris but Murray moved to the inside and was just piped by Morris at the line to finish third by a mere six hundreds of a second! In addition to his fantastic podium finish, Niall also set the fastest lap of the race with a 1.46.612, one of only two drivers to drop below 1.47 in the race.

Speaking after race two, Niall reflected on his best weekend ever, “This has been the best weekend of my racing career. I’m very confident that with even one more lap I could have won the second race! However I am delighted to have taken my first victory this weekend and to come from the back in race two I was hoping for a top five at best, so to get third and challenge for the lead was just brilliant. Were now lying a very strong fourth in the championship with a mathematical chance of third, which would just be amazing in only my first season! I’ve got to say a massive word of thanks to my sponsors Murray Motorsport, Ginetta, and my team Beacon Racing for giving me a fantastic car this weekend. Roll on Silverstone!”

Breen takes control of WRC title charge in France

Fri Sep 30 16:36:00 +0100 2011

Craig Breen made a blistering start at the World Rally Championship in France today as he fights for the WRC Academy title with Estonian Egon Kaur. Going into this weekend’s event Kaur had a 26 point lead over Breen with two events left leaving the Waterford native needing a win in France to have a hope of a winner takes all shoot out at Rally Great Britain.

Breen started cautiously on Stage 1 today, finishing 9th but found his speed on Stage 2 with a fastest time to take the overall lead. The 21-year-old went on to win the next two stages to lead by 26.3 seconds from Spaniard Yerey Lemes with Breen’s title rival, Kaur, lagging 10 minutes and 26 seconds back.

The former Motorsport Ireland Young Driver of the Year started where he left off on the second loop of the stages winning the fifth stage increasing his lead to over 30 seconds. However on Stage 6 Breen suffered a puncture with 6 kilometres of the stage left, which nearly halved his lead to 18.2 seconds, coming in 9th.

Breen finished on a high however winning the last two stages to hold a lead of 24.6 seconds over Yerey Lemes going into day two with the Waterford driver’s rival, Egon Kaur, 30 minutes and 11 seconds behind. Breen’s time was the 6th fastest across the whole World Rally Championship event today.

McNulty chasing history at Cork 20 International Rally

Fri Sep 30 16:33:00 +0100 2011

Tim McNulty is hoping to secure an historic Irish rallying double this weekend as he looks to secure the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship at the Cork 20 International Rally. McNulty won the Dunlop National Rally title recently and will become the first driver to win the double if he wins in Cork.

McNulty leads the Championship by 7 points following three wins in the three rounds he has competed in this season in Galway, Donegal and Ulster rallies. A win for McNulty will see him win the title but anything else would leave the door open to title rivals Kevin Barrett and Cork native Daragh O’Riordan, who will also compete in powerful Subaru WRC cars like McNulty. The last round also sees 50% bonus points with the winner getting 24 points as opposed to the 16 on offer in the other rounds.

The Cork 20 International Rally begins tomorrow (Saturday) evening in Cork City with 6 night stages taking place finishing before midnight on Saturday. The cars take to the road early on Sunday morning for the final 8 stages with a finish scheduled for 4:00pm on Sunday afternoon as the event returns to its original 20 hour exciting endurance format.

Breen ready for WRC title challenge in France

Thu Sep 29 19:51:00 +0100 2011

Waterford driver Craig Breen heads to France this weekend within reach of the top of the World Rally Championship Academy standings with two rallies left this season. Breen halved leader Egon Kaur’s lead at the last event in Germany and the Estonian only leads the Championship by 26 points going into this weekend’s WRC round in France.

Breen, a former Motorsport Ireland Young Driver of the Year, has shown his potential throughout the WRC Academy events, but in the past two events in Germany and Finland, Breen realised his class with a first and second placed finish. This has reigned in Kaur who won the first three rounds, which were held on his favoured gravel surface.

21-year-old Breen showed his speed when the Championship switched to tarmac in the last round and he will again be on his favoured surface this weekend, the penultimate round of the WRC Academy.

Since his victory in Germany, Breen has kept up his form competing at the Barum Czech Rally Zlin, round 7 of the Intercontinental Rally Championship, where he finished in an impressive 7th position. This form has put Breen in confident form ahead of this weekend.

"The title fight is wide open" stated Irish WRC Academy participant Craig Breen in a recent interview for wrc.com, “I was determined to win in Germany after the second place finish in Finland and the victory became even more important as we have halved Egon’s (Kaur) lead”.

In the past few weeks Breen has been focusing on his fitness to ensure he is in peak condition for Rally de France. “I have been working in the gym, in the pool and on the bike and I was in PRO Performance in the UK last week to put the finishing touches to my physical conditioning for this weekend,” Breen said.

The 23 stage Rally de France begins tomorrow morning (Friday) and finishes on Sunday afternoon. For more information see www.wrc.com/wrc-academy or www.craigbreen.com

Weekend of highs and lows for Thompson at Sugo

Mon Sep 26 13:00:00 +0100 2011

Gary Thompson brought the curtain down on his Japanese Formula 3 season with another National Class podium finish at Sportsland Sugo last weekend before experiencing a day of frustration and bad luck on Sunday.

The up-and-coming Irish racer had high hopes for one of his best events of the year before travelling to the fast and flowing Sugo circuit. Qualifying suggested just as much, even if a small mistake on his final run left him fifth in a top six covered by a meagre 0.2 seconds.

Fortunately Thompson’s lightning fast starts have become something of a speciality this season and he was once again quick to react when the lights went out for race one on Saturday, vaulting from fifth to challenging for second by the first corner. Although unable to make the move stick, he slotted cleanly into third from where he kept the leaders honest throughout at a circuit short on overtaking opportunities.

But, in a weekend that perhaps characterised his season as a whole, the 19-year-old endured a day to forget less than 24 hours later.

Sunday morning’s race once again witnessed another of Thompson’s stellar getaways, this time the Aviation Display and Cebu Pacific Air-backed Dubliner making second his own before being blocked by an accident ahead. Having lost a position in the confusion, and keen to quickly make amends, a slight mistake was all it took to pitch the car into retirement.

At least the final race of the weekend would offer Gary an opportunity to end his season on a high note, especially after qualifying third courtesy of his best lap in race one. Frustratingly though his race would ultimately start from the pit-lane after the car’s starter motor failed en route to the grid, leaving Thompson to finish sixth.

Gary Thompson: “I’m happy to have added another podium to my tally for the year but overall it wasn’t the weekend I’d hoped for. Once again our strong pace has gone unrewarded and I’m obviously gutted about what happened in race two. I don’t make many mistakes like that – it was a result of just pushing too hard to make up for losing the place gained at the start. Now it’s a case of going away over the winter, working hard and coming back recharged. Finally, I’d like to thank the SGC by KCMG team and my sponsors for all their efforts throughout 2011.”

Eoin Murray takes a Podium Finish in the SEAT Leon Supercopa

Mon Sep 26 13:00:00 +0100 2011

Eoin Murray, one of Ireland's most well known motoring personalities and SEAT brand ambassador, took to the track on Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th September in the first of a two-part race programme in the Italian Seat Supercopa series driving for Drive Technology Italia at Vallelunga "Piero Taruffi". The Autodromo Vallelunga is located a few kilometres from Rome, and is 4.08.kilometers in length.

Competing in free practice on Friday, Eoin and his team struggled initially with pace as they were forced to run with used tyres, which were not ideal for the conditions. However on Saturday in the qualifying races, Eoin immediately set the benchmark for the other drivers and held pole position until the final moments of Qualifying One. Later in the afternoon Eoin set pole position for Qualifying Two, which placed him to start in 2nd position overall for the first race.

Race One started well with Eoin placed in 2nd position for most of the 50 minute race. In the last 15 minutes problems began to occur when Eoin's tyres started to overheat leading to reduced grip on the track. As Eoin struggled for pace, he drifted back to 4th place with approximately seven minutes to go, where he ultimately finished.

With the top eight finishers of Race One reversed for Race Two, Eoin started in 5th place and held this position for the opening laps of the race. While following the leading group for the first 20 minutes the SEAT driver began to struggle with an overheating engine resulting in a loss of power. Eoin took an early pit stop to find some clear track and allowed his engine to cool. Eoin's pace quickly increased, which saw him move to third position where he would ultimately finish, always gaining on the leaders and finishing just two seconds behind the second place driver. This was a fantastic achievement for his first race in the Italian series considering the challenge of the gruelling 50 minute long race, compared to the shorter races Eoin is accustomed to. This successful weekend is something he hopes to build on for the final race at Monza, outside Milan on the 15th and 16th October. Monza is one of the oldest and most famous GP circuits in Formula 1.

Commenting on the weekend, Eoin said, "I'm really happy with how the weekend went and delighted with the podium finish. Race One was difficult as we did not find a good setup for the car over a long distance race and Race Two was particularly tough due to the engine overheating problems but I was happy with my pace and the success for the team. All in all it was a very positive weekend, the first time with the team and we seemed to gel well together. I'm looking forward to Monza for the final race of the season and hope for a good result there also."

Eoin Murray also drives a SEAT Leon CUPRA R when he is off the track. The SEAT Leon Cupra R takes an already progressively designed car, the SEAT Leon and merges it with the truly unique racing spirit that SEAT is known for so is the perfect car for Eoin to drive when he is not racing. Built by the same hands that prepare the SEAT Leon race cars for world league competitions like the WTCC, the SEAT Leon CUPRA is fitted with a 2.0 TSI 265 bhp engine, which fulfils the EU5 emission standard, and is ready to soar at a heart-stopping 247 km/h.

O'Brien claims Ginetta Junior Ireland title!

Mon Sep 26 12:59:00 +0100 2011

Seventeen-year-old Andy O'Brien from Templeogue, Co.Dublin, has become the second winner of the Ginetta Junior Ireland Championship for 14 - 17 year old competitors. This championship which was supported by Michelin Tyres, provided a new opportunity for young budding racing drivers in Ireland to showcase their talent on various circuits.

Andy started his motor racing career just one year ago in the Ginetta Junior Ireland Championship without previous racing experience, unlike his main championship rivals. Andy made little allowances for his lack of motorsport experience taking a fantastic second place overall in the championship last year in his debut season.

Building on his fantastic introduction to motorsport, Andy was always going to be a hot favourite to take the 2011 Ginetta Junior Ireland Championship honours. Straight off the mark Andy took the first pole position and race win of the year and went on to take seven pole positions during the season along with ten podiums on his run to becoming the Ginetta Junior Ireland Champion for 2011.

Commenting on his victory Andy said "It feels surreal having started motorsport as a novice against people with plenty of experience and going on to win the championship title in my second season and having the opportunity to cross the water now to prove myself on a higher level. I have to say a massive thanks to my Dad for all his hard work and efforts to give me the best possible car and to all my sponsors who I simply wouldn't have had the opportunity to do it without them". Andy was supported by Atlas Autoservice, Captain America's, Borza Takeaway, Top Oil, D'Arcy McGees and Raw Ltd.

As a result of winning the 2011 Ginetta Junior Ireland Championship, Andy will be racing in the UK in 2012 with support from Ginetta. This is a fantastic opportunity for this young up and coming star who was also nominated as Dunlop Motorsport Ireland Young Racing Driver of the Month in July earlier this year.

YOUNG RACING DRIVER OF THE MONTH – AUGUST 2011

Sat Sep 24 00:08:00 +0100 2011

Gary Thompson from Donabate, Co Dublin has been selected as the Dunlop Young Racing Driver of the Month for August, the third year in a row that he has joined the shortlist for the Young Driver of the Year Award.

The 19 year-old dominated the second of the Japanese Formula 3 National Championship races at Motegi on August 7th, also setting the fastest lap, after tyre changing problems in race one, when torrential rain drenched the circuit, left him down the field. Three weeks later, at Okayama, he finished third and fourth, leaving him in fourth position in the championship points table.

He will complete his championship season this weekend (September 24/25) at Sugo, where the final three rounds of the series will be held. Gary hopes to drive in the world famous Macau Grand Prix in November and to continue in the Japanese Formula 3 series next year, as the Far East offers tremendous opportunities for young drivers.

Gary, who is sponsored by SG Changi, Aviation Display, BAM Motorsports and Cebu Pacific Air, began racing karts at the age of 9, in 2002, and finished third in the British Super 1 JICA Championship in 2007. In 2009, he was runner up in the Formula BMW Pacific Championship and won the Rookie Cup in that series.

Having been selected as the fifth Dunlop Driver of the Month for the 2011 season, Gary is now a contender for the prestigious €50,000 Dunlop Motorsport Ireland Young Racing Driver of the Year Award. This award is presented annually and is sponsored by Dunlop, the Irish Sports Council and Motorsport Ireland.

Rockingham Proved A Happy Hunting Ground For Niall Murray

Tue Sep 20 18:32:00 +0100 2011

Niall Murray was the star of the weekend during Rounds Fifteen and Sixteen of the 2011 Ginetta Junior Championship at Rockingham, the Irishman taking two hard fought second place finishes to take the biggest points haul of any driver out the weekend.

Reigning Ginetta Junior Ireland champion Murray headed into the weekend with two podium finishes under his belt from Donington Park and Oulton Park and was confident of adding to his tally, despite not seeing the circuit before practice on Friday morning.

After encouraging runs in Friday practice, Murray knew a strong performance was possible in qualifying and the Dubliner went on to qualify fourth for race one, while his second best time gave him a front row start for race two, just 0.045s off pole.

Murray said: “The last three rounds didn’t really go according to plan, I thought they’d be a lot better. The first time I’d ever seen the track was Friday morning and most other people were testing through the week here, so to be on the pace straight away, I was absolutely delighted. Then to qualifying fourth and second, I was thrilled.”

Both races saw Murray make blinding starts and the Dubliner led the opening laps in both in his Beacon Racing-prepared G40J. In race one, he dropped to third on lap two, but fought back to reclaim second to laps from the end, while in race two, Murray slipped to second on lap two, but kept on the leader’s tail throughout and took a comfortable second place.

Murray concluded: “Naturally, I am disappointed not to have won them both, but I’m still absolutely delighted to have come second in both the races. Anytime before when I got a good result, there was a bad second race and A couple of times during the year I’d be up there in the races and be knocked off, go off myself or have problems with the car, so to be right up there in both races and to be fighting for the wins, I’m really pleased.

“I’m not sure why I clicked with the circuit, but I’ve been more relaxed this weekend and been thinking more about the driving and not everything else. I’ve had huge help from Aron Smith in the Clio’s, giving me some driver coaching this weekend and the results paid off, so thanks to him. Hopefully at Brands and Silverstone I can go one better. A win is coming, I know it is.”

Atricle: http://www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk

Thompson aiming to sign off in style at Sugo

Tue Sep 20 16:53:00 +0100 2011

Gary Thompson is hoping to bring down the curtain on his Japanese Formula 3 season in style at Sportsland Sugo this weekend (September 24/25) as the championship plays host to its final three races of 2011.

The up-and-coming single-seater star, who confirmed his position as one of Ireland’s hottest prospects by being named Dunlop Motorsport Ireland Young Driver of the Month for August following his victory at Motegi, is looking forward to his return to Sugo, one of the most demanding circuits on the Japanese F3 calendar.

After a typhoon ended his chances of reeling in the National Class points lead at Suzuka at the beginning of September, Thompson’s focus has now switched to ending his season on a high note. And with the 2.323-miles of high speed sweeps that make up Sugo amongst his favourites of the year, there are few better places for the 19-year-old to do just that.

His performance there in 2010, when he secured an excellent podium finish after being fastest throughout race two, certainly suggests the Aviation Display and Cebu Pacific Air-backed Dubliner will be amongst the frontrunners for victory this weekend.

Gary Thompson: “Sugo is definitely one of my favourite and strongest circuits of the year. The end of the lap is just so fast with very little run-off, so quite old school in its construction really. In terms of out-and-out pace it was where I probably produced my best performance of 2010. I certainly had the speed to win the second race but as overtaking can be difficult due to the circuit’s fast nature I had to settle for the podium. It’s since been resurfaced following the earthquake earlier this year which I’ve heard has made the track bumpier.”

It’s unsurprising then that Thompson has identified qualifying as the significant session this weekend.

“Overall, throughout the year, our race pace has been excellent. As there are three races this weekend it would be nice to start on the offensive by really nailing a timed lap in qualifying so that we’re at least starting on the front row. With so little time between Sunday’s two races it will also be important to keep our noses clean, which is obviously helped by starting further up the grid. The championship isn’t going to re-schedule the washed out Suzuka round so I won’t be part of the title race this weekend. Even so, it would be great to end the year on a high and remind a few people of what I am capable of.”

McNulty claims National Rally Championship

Mon Sep 19 10:24:00 +0100 2011

Meath's Tim McNulty (Subaru WRC) and his Sligo co-driver, Paul Kiely clinched the Dunlop National Rally Championship with a fine victory in the Auburn Lodge Clare Rally.

It was their sixth victory in as many Dunlop outings and on this occasion they finished 53 seconds in front of Niall Maguire/Barry Goodman (Subaru WRC) with Kevin Barrett/Sean Mullally (Subaru WRC) a distant third.

McNulty said afterwards: "I couldn't have asked for better. We have worked hard at this championship, people also worked hard in the background, we have a great team.

"Aside from your rivals, you have to cope with the weather, indeed, there are so many things that can go against you, nobody knows that better than myself. I'm delighted."

Meanwhile, Sam Moffett/James O'Reilly (Mitsubishi) won the Group N category and the top Modified crew was that of Wesley Patterson/Martin McGarrity (Ford Escort).

The Dunlop "Drive of the Day" award was won by Mike Quinn/Grainne McEnery (Ford Escort).

In the Dunlop Junior Rally Championship, Monaghan's, Johnno and Padraig Doogan (Ford Escort) took an important victory to move into the lead of the series with just one round remaining, remarkably, all three of their championship rivals failed to finish.

Ray Moore claims prestigious Leinster Trophy

Mon Sep 19 10:20:00 +0100 2011

Ray Moore used all of his many years of experience to hold off a pack of relative youngsters to claim the most famous trophy in Irish motor racing, the Leinster Trophy, at Mondello Park on Sunday. At the green light, he made the best start to beat polesitter Kevin O’Hara into Ford corner, and despite enormous pressure all through the twenty minute race, he stayed in front all the way.

O’Hara, who headed the pursuit until he had to retire at three quarter distance when he lost his car’s nosecone, was just fending off the challenge of Lee Newsome, David O’Brien and Robbie Allen. In the closing laps, it came down to a two horse race with Newsome pulling clear of the pack and right on Moore’s tail, taking the chequered flag less than a quarter of a second behind, with O’Brien and Allen strung out behind.

Dubliner Moore adds his name to the long list on the historic Trophy which includes three drivers who went on to be World Champions, Mike Hawthorn, Ayrton Senna and Mika Hakkinen.

Eoin Murray Set to Race the SEAT Leon Supercopa at this weekend’s Vallelunga Racing Circuit

Thu Sep 15 00:12:00 +0100 2011

Eoin Murray, one of Ireland’s most well known motoring personalities and SEAT brand ambassador, has announced that he will compete in a two-part race programme in the Italian Seat Supercopa series driving for Drive Technology Italian – starting with the Vallelunga “Piero Taruffi” racing circuit taking place this weekend. The Autodromo Vallelunga is located a few kilometres from Rome, and is an impressive 4.08 kilometres in length.

Eoin Murray will take to the track in the SEAT Leon Supercopa to support the team in their quest to win the 2011 series. As Murray’s first time to race in Vallelunga, the race will bring a new set of challenges as each race will be a gruelling 48 minutes long, compared to the shorter races Eoin regularly drives. Eoin will travel to the event this Thursday with the qualifying sessions taking place on Saturday ahead of the final two endurance style races on Sunday.

Speaking ahead of the race Eoin said: “I’m really looking forward to the race this weekend. It’s the first time I’m taking part in this series, 48 minutes will be very intense as I am used to racing for a much shorter time. It will be physically much more demanding and will require greater concentration but I’m ready for the challenge and confident the team will do a good job”.

Eoin will have no time to rest once this weekend’s competition comes to an end as the second leg of the race programme takes part in Monza on the 15th and 16th of October. Monza is one of the oldest GP circuits in Formula 1.

Eoin Murray also drives a SEAT Leon CUPRA R when he is off the track. The SEAT Leon Cupra R takes an already progressively designed car, the SEAT Leon and merges it with the truly unique racing spirit that SEAT is known for so is the perfect car for Eoin to drive when he is not racing. Built by the same hands that prepare the SEAT Leon race cars for world league

competitions like the WTCC, the SEAT Leon CUPRA is fitted with a 2.0 TSI 265 bhp engine, which fulfils the EU5 emission standard, and is ready to soar at a heart-stopping 247 km/h.

For more information on SEAT visit; www.seat.ie

McElhinney takes Citroen Racing Trophy Ireland Victory with Wexford Win!

Mon Sep 12 20:22:00 +0100 2011

Scott McElhinney has lifted the big prize this weekend as he is now uncatchable in the Citroen Racing Trophy Ireland points table. The Donegal driver scooped 4000€ for the Citroen win in Wexford, and will receive an additional 6000€ Citroen parts voucher for his series win! The title race was expected to go down to the final round in Cork, but a non finish for title challenger Kieran Daly put paid to that. As normal for the Citroen Trophy rounds that wasn’t the whole story. “We knew coming into this event that we really needed to finish in front of Kieran. He was on a wild pace for sure, and it’s hard to keep that pace up too. We had no problems with the car all weekend, and we were probably on the safe side as regards tyre choice and fuel load, and this time it worked out for us.”

Conditions were wet for the opening Wexford stages, and on special stage 1-Forties 1, Kieran Daly and Darragh Mullen posted a flying time of 9 minutes and 5 seconds. It was a time fast enough for second overall in the event, 12 seconds behind Damien Cole’s WRC Focus. It was a superb start for the championship challenger, but on stage 2 the progress went backwards. “It was on a fast junction. There was a puddle on the exit and when we clipped it, we got dragged into the verge. There was a rock in there which broke the wheel and we had to change it.” The time loss was over 3 minutes, and with the wheel fixed they posted fastest C2 times on stages 3 and 4, but coming into service a damaged steering rack needed to be changed. Thanks to Donal Healy and the crew the offending part was replaced with one sourced from local car breakers with seconds to spare as Kieran set out to try and regain positions. “We knew that we had to finish second to Scott to really ensure a championship race in Cork, and we set our sights on second. We had to drive to the maximum and we knew that it would have more elements of risk.” Indeed two splendid 3rd fastest overall times on the dry day two morning tests brought them to within 26 seconds of that goal, but on stage 9, the championship hopes faltered. “We were waiting a little while to start that stage, and the tyres had gone cold. I just got caught out on cold tyres on the first real braking zone. She stepped out before the corner, we corrected that, but when we turned into the corner she stepped out again, and this time we hit the back arm, bending it too badly to continue.” It was all over for Kieran, who had a race against time to make the rally, with an engine just re-fitted to the car after its eventful trip to Oreca in France in the early hours of Friday morning.

Joe Shrimpton and Ciaran Geaney slotted into second behind Scott McElhinney, a position they held to the end of the first day’s six stages, just 36 seconds behind McElhinney. It was so far the best showing for the young driver. Also showing well was Peter Barrable who 23 seconds behind Joe in third, having had a slow start, but getting up to speed. David Carney with Ray Fitzpatrick on the notes too was having his best showing of the season just 10 seconds down on Barrable in fourth place.
An early retirement on stage 2 was Limerick’s Kevin O’Connor with an engine that seemed to be mixing its oil and water. Welsh visitors Steve Wood and Aled Richards were having a ball, and they would finish the event in fourth place after the day two retirements. “We loved every minute of it” commented Steve. “The pace is serious, the welcome was great and now we have finished this one, we are seriously looking at contesting the Cork 20.”

The second day was a formality for Scott McElhinney and co-driver Karl Reid, but they had a scare on the opening stage of the day slipping into a ditch briefing. “It was a bit of a wake-up call!” explained Scott, “It was a second gear left hander that tightened and as we turned around it there was a lot of water across the road. It was like a bottle and two cars running ahead of us had been off the road on it. We slid into the bank and stalled. When we selected reverse, we realised we were between two banks, so we lost about 10-15 seconds.”

There was a great battle for second which Joe Shrimpton held until stage 9, despite a moment on McElhinney’s corner on stage 7. A charging Peter Barrable edged in front having taken time all morning. Joe dropped another place on stage 10 as David Carney edged ahead and into third, and Shrimpton’s fortunes took a tumble. Firstly an engine misfire was costing time. Leader Scott McElhinney kindly lent him his spare throttle body to fit, but on the final stage Joe’s fourth place evaporated when the C2 lost all drive.

In the end Peter Barrable claimed second, just twenty seconds back from Scott McElhinney, with David Carney in third. Peter, David and Joe Shrimpton all showed an improved turn of speed this weekend, and could now be a threat to the front runners in Cork. However with the series sown up the pressure is off for Scott McElhinney. “It’s brilliant to take the series. We weren’t expecting this coming into this round, and it’s been a superb championship. The cars are so evenly matched and that is proven by the closeness of the battle this weekend, with sometimes three cars separated by just a few seconds. Now I’m looking forward to more battles in Cork.”

Citroen Racing Trophy Ireland- Round 5-Results
1 Scott McElhinney/ Karl Reid +2hr08.41s
2 Peter Barrable/Paddy Robinson +20s
3 David Carney/Ray Fitzpatrick +57s
4 Steve Wood/ Aled Richards +7m00s

Points after Round Five- Wexford Stages Rally
1 Scott McElhinney 40pts
2 Kieran Daly 28
3 Joe Shrimpton 14
= David Carney 14
5 Joe McGonigle 12
= Peter Barrable 12

Promising BTCC debut for Smith!

Wed Sep 07 00:44:00 +0100 2011

Aron Smith had a very successful debut in the highly prestigious British Touring Car Championship at Knockhill last weekend. Aron was approached by 888 team's manager Ian Harrison with the oppurtunity to step up into the BTCC for the weekend which he couldn't refuse.
Aron had limited testing with just a one day test session in Donnington Park the week previous to the race to get a feel for the race winning Vectra he would be driving.
Aron showed great pace from the start and quallified just eight tenths of a second off pole position in fifteenth, and went on to better that in race one finishing in the top ten scoring points in his debut!
Aron started race two in tenth position and was holding his position in the top ten until contact between himself and Tom Onslow-Cole dropped him to thirteenth spot, where he finished.
Race three wasn't a high point to Aron's weekend though, as under a safety car restart Tom Boardman backed the field up heavily into the final corner of the tight Knockhill Circuit and Aron unfortunately made contact with team-mate James Nash ending Aron's weekend prematurely.
Overall it is a very satisfying debut for the youngster from Dublin who is currently studying to be an Architectural Engineer in Dublin Institute of Technology who will finish out the season in the Renault Clio Cup, currently just nine points separating him from the championship lead.

Murray takes strong points haul from Knockhill

Mon Sep 05 23:40:00 +0100 2011

Niall Murray made the trip up north to Knockhill Racing Circuit in Scotland for Rounds thirteen and fourteen of the British Ginetta Junior Championship. On the back of a difficult weekend at Snetterton, Niall was keen to pick up a good haul of points to keep him in sight of his seasons goal, top 5 in the Championship.

Qualifying was ultra close with only one second splitting the top thirteen drivers! Niall was showing impressive pace during the session and happier in the car after a difficult morning free practice session. Towards the end positions were changing as each car past and Niall set a very good lap time to put him seventh on the grid for the opening race one.

Murray got a very good start off the line and was keen to make his way up the order before the leaders broke away. A series of superbly executed moves on Sennan Fielding and Tom Howard put him up to fifth after just three laps. With George Gamble running wide, this now put Niall in fourth position with the lead pack clearly in sight. Jake Giddings was yet another driver from the lead pack to run wide which now put Niall in third and still closing on Struan Moore. On Lap ten the safety car was deployed to allow the marshals recover a stricken Jake Giddings. With the field now bunched up as safety car pulled off and racing resumed, it was now going to be a two lap shoot out to the flag. The safety car period had allowed a recovering and very hard charging George Gamble to find a way past Murray which also let Sennan Fielding follow through and squeeze Niall wide onto the gravel to allow another couple of drivers through. Now back in seventh, Niall put in a very valiant effort on the final lap to re-pass William Foster and finish a very eventful race in sixth.

After a very impressive showing in Race one, Niall was keen to take his place on the podium in the final race of the weekend. Starting from eighth position, Murray was keen to make his way up the order quickly once again. An excellent start off the line and a great opening lap put him in fifth as they completed lap one. With Seb Morris running wide and slipping down the order, Niall was able to capitalise on this and move into fourth. Tom Howard was handed a drive through penalty which then promoted Niall into a podium position A very slick move on Sennan Fielding then put the young Dubliner into second place! However a mistake in the very tricky Chicane let Niall slip down to sixth as they safety car was deployed. Having managed to work his way back up to third in the closing stages of the race, Niall was struggling for grip as the race went on and he was now under pressure from a hard charging Charlie Robertson who managed to slip past with two laps to go. As the chequered flag dropped Niall crossed the line in fourth which was a good result for the weekend.

Reflecting on the weekend, Niall commented on his disappointment at missing out on two potential podiums. “Naturally, I’m gutted to have not gotten at least one podium finish this weekend, the fact that I was in a podium position during both races. However, I was happy with my pace and was mixing it with the leaders in both races, despite starting down the grid.”

Niall will be competing in Rockingham in two weeks time in Rounds fifteen and sixteen of the Ginetta Junior Championship.

Picture by Jakob Ebrey.

Dempsey seeks another Indy podium finish in Baltimore

Fri Sep 02 15:14:00 +0100 2011

Meath driver Peter Dempsey returns to the Indy Lights track this weekend to try and secure another podium position on the Streets of Baltimore. The 25-year-old returns to action after mising the last event in New Hampshire.

Dempsey, who recently joined the Andretti Autosport team in the Indy Lights series, already has four podium finishes in eight events. The Ashbourne native only missed a podium spot in his last race in Trois Rivieres after a spin on the last corner of the race saw him finish fifth having been in second position.

The former Motorsport Ireland Young Racing Driver of the Year is looking forward to getting back on the track this weekend. “I am really excited to head to Baltimore this weekend. It is a city I have never been to and one that I have heard great things about. We made some really good progress with the car at the last race in Trois-Rivieres so I just can't wait to get back on track. I really enjoy driving on street courses and this weekend being a new venue could lead to many new challenges. The team and I are ready to give everything we have this weekend," Dempsey said.

The race begins on Sunday at 7:45pm Irish time and for more information see www.peterdempsey.com or www.indycar.com/roadtoindy

Aron Smith to make BTCC debut!

Wed Aug 31 00:20:00 +0100 2011

With Knockhill just over one week away Aron Smith has signed a deal with British Touring Car Championship winning team 888, a team that has seen the crowning of such champions as Fabrizio Giovanardi and current WTCC champion Ivan Muller. Aron was presented with this opportunity when news broke that their current driver Tony Gilham was unable to compete in the final four rounds.
"Once a seat became available I was approached by Ian Harrison(888's team manager) and was offered this great opportunity which I couldn't refuse."
This will be Aron's debut BTCC race weekend, something of which he has always aspired to do since he started Karting in Ireland. In preparation for this Aron will be testing next week at Donnington Park to get a feel for the race winning Vauxhall Vectra that he will be racing. With the Clio Cup championship still on the line, just 9 points separate Aron from the championship lead, his plan is to give his full commitment to finishing the championship and complete all the remaining rounds.
"At the moment this is just a one off round with the view to build towards a full BTCC campaign in 2012. From being with Pyro Racing Team in the Clio Cup Championship for the last two seasons I believe that I have learnt the necessary skills to compete at this high level, don't get me wrong though I know this will be a steep learning curve but something which I'm really looking forward to."
The Knockhill circuit is one of the few tracks on the BTCC calendar which offers such close racing. Aron compared the track to Thruxton in way that it challenges every aspect of adrivers skill, from slow corners to brave corners.
"Knockhill is an amazing track and to get to go there with 888 makes it even better! I know that the car will be competitive and that the track will suite my driving style so hopefully we can be on for some good results. I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank all my sponsors for their support and of course Motorsport Ireland for their continued help and support. At this moment in time we've secured 50% of the budget for next season so hopefully this weekend will be able to persuade some more potential sponsors."
Knockhill race weekend takes place over the 3rd and 4th of September with qualifying show live on www.itv.com and the three races shown live on itv4.

McNulty comfortable winner of Galway Rally

Wed Aug 31 00:19:00 +0100 2011

The Subaru WRC team of Tim McNulty and Paul Kiely emerged as comfortable winners of the seventh round of the Dunlop National Rally Championship in Galway on Sunday.

Based at the Lough Rea Hotel & Spa, McNulty dominated the Mór Oil Galway Summer Rally event and finished two minutes and 52 seconds ahead of the Subaru WRC of Kevin Barrett and Sean Mullally. Sam Moffett and James O'Reilly (Mitsubishi) were third.

With an impressive start, McNulty gleaned a 14-second lead from the stage near Tynagh where Barrett was his closest rival - with Niall Maguire a further six behind in third.

Group N contender Moffett also made a bright opening to hold fourth in general classification and an eleven-second lead over showroom rival Shane Maguire (Subaru).

McNulty punched in the best times for the remaining stages of the loop and arrived at the Loughrea service halt with a lead of 27 seconds.

The rally leader remarked that the stages were quite slippery and demanded good concentration.

Meanwhile, Maguire slotted into second place and was particularly pleased with his performance through Special Stage Three (SS3) where he was within five seconds of McNulty.

Third placed Barrett lost significant time on the third test due to the state of the soft compound tyres on his Subaru WRC.

O'Brien and Doyle take it down to the wire!

Tue Aug 30 13:08:00 +0100 2011

Rounds ten and eleven of Ginetta Junior Ireland returned to Kirkistown Racing Circuit in Northern Ireland. At the front of the Championship only a handful of points split the leading trio of Andy O’Brien, Sean Doyle and Jake Byrne heading into the weekend, so it was very much all to play for as each driver was hoping they could go into the final weekend with a comfortable advantage.

Qualifying was a very close affair with positions changing on every lap. In the end Andy O’Brien grabbed pole from Andrew Watson who changed teams ahead of the weekend and is now racing for Douglas Motorsport. Sean Doyle put himself third on the grid with ABR team mate Jake Byrne fourth and James Fleming in fifth.

Race one was highly entertaining right from the beginning. Andy O’Brien got the best start to lead into the first corner followed by Sean Doyle and James Fleming. Andrew Watson struggled off the line leaving him with a lot of work to get back with the leaders. As the race progressed there were some fantastic battles emerging right through the field. Sean Doyle was right on Andy O’Brien’s back bumper waiting for any mistake from the recent nominee as Young Racing Driver of the Month for July. James Fleming was having his best race so far this season and racing very well to stay ahead of Jake Byrne and a recovering Andrew Watson. ASK Racing’s Megan Kessie and ABR’s Sophie Byrne were racing very well with barely a coat of paint separating the pair. Despite being in battle they were closing in on Andrew Clarke in his Murray Motorsport car. Back at the head of the field it was Andy O’Brien who had now managed to open a small margin to take a superb victory ahead of championship rival Sean Doyle. Andrew Watson came home in third with a great recovery drive and a superb race long battle with Jake Byrne and James Fleming who took the chequered flag in fourth and fifth respectively. Andrew Clarke crossed the line in sixth followed by Megan Kessie who got the upper hand on Sophie Byrne. Eorann O’Neill was a new comer to the championship and she rounded out the top nine with a solid drive.

Race two grid positions were decided by the driver’s fastest lap from race one and it was Sean Doyle who was on pole with his record breaking lap in the opening race. Andy O’Brien lined up in second followed by James Fleming with his career best grid position in third. Andrew Watson started from fourth with Jake Byrne and Andrew Clarke rounding out the top six respectively. Once again it was O’Brien who set the track a light to lead into the first corner followed by Sean Doyle. Behind them Andrew Watson spun off on the run down to the first corner but was able to rejoin, albeit at the back of the field. As in race one, the battle at the head of the field was immensely close as Doyle was breathing down O’Brien’s neck, waiting at any moment to seize an opportunity to take the lead. James Fleming and Jake Byrne were having a fine race with Fleming having one of the best weekends of his career to date. Megan Kessie and Sophie Byrne were once again driving a superb race until a slight mistake from the latter allowed Kessie to open a small gap and begin chasing down Andrew Clarke. Back at the front of the field Sean Doyle managed to find a way past O’Brien as the pair ran side by side to Colonial. Jake Byrne was now closing in on the pair and also managed to find a way past O’Brien to move into second. However O’Brien couldn’t afford to stay in third to keep his hold on the championship and managed to pass Byrne to reclaim second. Out in front though it was a superb victory for Sean Doyle who had been driving exceptionally well over the weekend. Andy O’Brien crossed the line second with Jake Byrne in third. James Fleming came home in fourth after a very impressive performance all weekend. Andrew Watson recovered from his opening lap excursion to finish fifth with Andrew Clarke rounding out the top six.

In the championship it’s still very much all to play for with a single point separating points leader Andy O’Brien ahead of Sean Doyle. Jake Byrne in third is another driver who is still very much in contention for overall honours. The final rounds of the championship will be on Saturday 17th & Sunday 18th September in Mondello Park.

Barrable Battles through Barum Rally

Mon Aug 29 19:39:00 +0100 2011

Robert Barrable winner of the Motorsport Ireland Billy Coleman award supported by the Irish Sports Council, in his Skoda Fabia S2000 with co-driver Damien Connolly finished 13th overall on the Barum Czech Rally Zlin. The rally a counting round of the 2011 Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) was Robert’s second time competing on a round of this year’s IRC in his Skoda Fabia S2000 with the Co. Dublin driver taking to the difficult Czech stages. Robert lined up alongside a top class entry of over 120 competing crews including 22 latest specification S2000 machines. The rally kicked off on Friday night with the drivers blasting through the Zlin special stage around the industrial town and was watched by thousands of enthusiastic spectators; Robert posted a very respectable 13th fastest time through the stage and returned to the overnight halt ready for the rally start proper on Saturday morning.

Day 1 of the rally consisted of four stage locations to which the crews would visit twice with a service halt between each loop, a total of 124km including the 28km ‘Trojak’ stage lay ahead. Robert and Damien set a string of top twenty stage times through the opening loop of stages and while it was a solid start to the rally Robert felt that the car setup was not right and the crew returned to the midpoint service in 18th place overall and feeling there was still more to come from the Skoda. The Evolution Motorsport mechanics set to work on the car and the Irish crew returned to the second loop happier with the cars setup. It was clear that the setup changes had made a difference with them setting two top ten stage times on stages six and nine respectively and moving them up the leader board as a result, they finished the opening day in 16th place overall just 2.9 seconds behind Odlozilik also in a Skoda Fabia. “Today has been a tough day, we were not happy with the cars setup on the opening loop of stages so we made some changes at the service halt and they made a big difference in the afternoon although I struggled to find a rhythm through the day and I also think we may be using to hard a compound tyre. We are going to push for the top ten tomorrow and see how it goes we have nothing to lose” commented Robert at the end of day one.

Heavy overnight rain had cleared by the time the crew’s left parc ferme for the start of day two of the rally although the roads on the opening stages were damp in places despite the early morning sun and rising temperature. Day two’s stages were faster more flowing than day one, with Robert and Damien tackling six stages totalling 115km, Robert opened his day two account with 8th fastest time on the ‘Majak’ stage and moved to 13th overall in the process. Stage 11, Robert’s move up the leader board was temporarily halted when he went off the road and into a ditch losing valuable seconds and slipping back to 15th place. The Skoda with some front corner damage seemed to have survived the incident and the crew posted 12th fastest time on the final stage of the loop and returned to service to have the car checked and repaired. For the final loop Roberts sights were firmly focused on finishing the rally and he posted a string of top fifteen stages times through the final loop of stages to bring the Skoda Fabia S2000 home in 13th place overall. But there was to be a final sting in the tale of a tough weekend’s rallying for the Skoda crew when their time card for the last stage went missing in the midst of a huge crowd of very excited spectators at the last control and the crew were later excluded from the final results. “It has been a tough weekend, the stages on both days have all had their own unique challenges and it took me a while to get used to them. I think for an event like this a local test prior is very important as it is difficult to get a feel for the stages on the shakedown, I have learnt a lot this weekend”, said Robert when he reached the finish of the rally in Zlin.

Thompson leaves challenging Okayama weekend with another podium finish

Sun Aug 28 21:11:00 +0100 2011

Rising Irish motorsport star Gary Thompson scored his fifth Japanese F3 National Class podium of the season on a tough weekend at the Okayama circuit.

The Aviation Display and Cebu Pacific Air-backed driver enjoyed stellar qualifying pace, setting the second fastest lap of the first session to put himself amongst the favourites for pole.

However he was left wondering what might have been after suffering a crash on his second fast lap of qualifying two that would rule him out of the remainder of the session. The accident would also cost him a set of brand new tyres, which were damaged in the crash, a loss that would prove costly come Sunday.

Despite this setback Thompson rallied to pick up his fifth podium finish of the season in Saturday's race one after a tremendous effort from his SGC by KCMG team saw the Dubliner's car ready in time for the opening contest.

Starting second on a drying track, Thompson elected to begin the race on slick tyres. Though this would cost him places in the damp early stages it eventually paid dividends as he worked his way back up to third spot. He would narrowly miss out on snatching P2 at the final corner, setting the second fastest lap of the race along the way.

Sunday morning's race two was to prove more challenging as Thompson was forced to start on the same tyres he had used throughout qualifying and the opening race. This put him at an immediate disadvantage, but a superb start saw the Irishman leap from fifth on the grid to fight for the lead into turn one.

A clash between two of his rivals forced Thompson to take avoiding action, leaving him fourth at the conclusion of the lap. He would remain there to the flag but continued to show impressive pace throughout the second run.

Thompson has little time to collect his thoughts before returning to action as the series travels to Japanese Grand Prix venue Suzuka for the penultimate double-header round of the campaign. The 19-year-old will be looking to add to his podium tally and, having impressed on his previous visit to the track, is very confident he will be in hunt for race victories.

Gary Thompson: “Overall I can't be disappointed with the weekend as we've come away with a podium finish and shown some extremely competitive pace. That said it would have been great to make the most qualifying, as I believe we had a very good shot at pole.

“The team did a great job to get the car ready in time for the first race and to score another podium and only just miss out on the fastest lap was a satisfying result. Ultimately the second race was always going to be a challenge as our tyres were significantly more worn than our rivals', so to come home fourth was an achievement.

“We're back in action next weekend at Suzuka and I can't wait. It's probably the best circuit I've raced on and we had a very strong weekend when we raced there earlier in the season so I'm looking forward to it tremendously.”

Barrable Returns to IRC

Fri Aug 26 00:27:00 +0100 2011

Robert Barrable winner of the Motorsport Ireland Billy Coleman award supported by the Irish Sports Council, in his Skoda Fabia S2000 with co-driver Damien Connolly alongside head to this weekend’s Barum Rally Zlin hoping to build on their success on the Ypres Rally earlier this year. Robert and Damien have not competed in the Skoda Fabia S2000 since a broken spark plug forced their early retirement from Robert’s home event the ALMC Stages rally back in July. Although Robert in an effort to maintain his tarmac practice competed on the recent Stonethrowers rally in his championship winning Citreon C2R2, finishing a credible third overall. The Barum Rally is round seven of the 2011 IRC, based in the industrial city of Zlin in south-east Czech Republic, the event will see Robert and Damien take on a top class field of IRC competitors including no less than 122 crews which includes 29 Super 2000 machines. The rally which has been a counting round of the IRC since 2007 is famous for its tricky stages which are characterised by bumpy and sometimes broken tarmac through narrow woodland areas, the event is not only a test of skill but requires drivers full commitment. “I am looking forward to getting back in the Skoda S2000 after the summer break, the engine and gearbox have been fully rebuilt over the past month and we are sporting a new colour scheme for Skoda’s home event. Barum is a difficult rally and very different from Ypres, a good recce is very important and I am hoping we can adapt to the stages quickly and set some competitive stage times.” commented Robert prior to starting reece for the rally.

Robert Barrable Geko Ypres Rally
The event kicks off on Friday evening with a super special stage through the host city, the tricky stage runs partly on cobble stones providing a real test for competitors particularly if it rains. The rally proper starts on Saturday with a loop of four stages repeated twice, including the longest of the rally covering a competitive distance of 28km, with the crews making three visits to the service park in Otrokovice. The final day’s stages on Sunday will take Robert and his Skoda through a total of six stages, three stages looped twice divided by a service halt with the rally ending early afternoon in the centre of the city. “Tyre choice on the rally will be critical particularly if it rains, we will be trying to make our choice as late as possible to ensure we are on the right tyres for the stage conditions, it would be good to drive well on this Skoda’s home rally” Commented Robert.

Following his outing on Barum Czech Rally Zlin, Robert is hoping to take part in the San Remo IRC in September along with the closing rounds of the 2011 Irish national rally championship. For up to date information and to track Roberts progress on this weekend’s Barum rally log on to www.robertbarrable.com or follow on twitter @RBarrableRally.

Thompson aiming to maintain winning ways at Okayama

Thu Aug 25 17:20:00 +0100 2011

Gary Thompson will be looking to up the pace in his push for the Japanese Formula 3 Championship National Class title at Okayama next weekend (27/28 August) by building on the momentum of his recent breakthrough series win.

One of the brightest young prospects in Irish motorsport, Thompson took his maiden Japanese F3 triumph with a commanding display at Twin Ring Motegi earlier this month. The victory came off the back of three previous podium finishes in 2011 and gave fresh impetus to the 19-year-old’s pursuit of the National Class title.

The Aviation Display and Cebu Pacific Air-backed Dubliner and his SGC by KCMG team will look to draw closer to the top of the standings as they travel to the Okayama International Circuit for rounds ten and eleven of the 2011 campaign. Thompson’s Motegi victory brought him within 23 points of the championship lead and with 24 on offer across the Okayama weekend he knows a strong showing at the former grand prix venue is a must.

Having scored that all-important breakthrough win Thompson’s season is hitting its stride at the ideal moment. With the momentum and renewed confidence that a maiden triumph brings he is now well placed to launch a serious bid for the title and will seek to confirm this in next weekend’s races.

Gary Thompson: “Okayama is an interesting circuit with a mix of high and low-speed corners, which makes set-up very tricky. Last year's event was a mixed bag for me, with one race proving very difficult and the other ending positively. That said we've made a great deal of improvements over the past 12 months so I'm confident we can enjoy much-improved results.

“We’ll pay special attention to qualifying as it's been our weak point this year. Our race pace has been fantastic so if we can squeeze a bit more from one-lap runs we'll be in a strong position.

“As far as the rest of the season goes, from now on we need to be perfect. The championship is still very much up for grabs but I don't want to think about it at the moment. I'm focused on getting as much from the car as possible and winning races. If we can do that then we'll have plenty to be proud of and perhaps find ourselves in with a shot at the title.”

Fisher Fast But Deflated in Germany

Mon Aug 22 00:47:00 +0100 2011

Alastair Fisher gained more valuable experience in the World Rally Championship by claiming a top 10 finish in the FIA WRC Academy Cup in Germany on Saturday, the first asphalt round of the prestigious young driver-training category.

The Northern Irishman was in contention for victory until a disastrous sixth stage on Friday evening dropped him out of a point-scoring position. Although he was able to fight back to ninth at the finish in the historic city of Trier on Saturday evening, the result was poor reward for another impressive performance by the 23-year-old Fisher, who set a total of eight top-three stage times in his Ford Fiesta R2.

“It was looking good for at least a podium but these things happen,” said Fisher, from Trillick, County Tyrone. “On stage six I very slightly overshot a hairpin right so decided to drive over a kerb at walking speed and the tyre just seemed to pop off the rim. We drove on for 300 metres before we could stop to change it. We carried on but then we got caught out on a patch of gravel at a corner about two kilometres from the end of the stage. We managed to save the first slide but we couldn’t avoid hitting the front of the car. We’ll just need to have some luck.”

Rally Germany is ranked as the toughest Tarmac round of the season with stages run through vineyards, woodland areas and the punishing concrete roads of the Baumholder military training ranges.“You can’t really compare it to any Tarmac rally I’ve done before because no stages are the same and it’s a real test,” said Fisher, who is co-driven by Daniel Barritt from Burnley, Lancashire. “We were enjoying the stages and setting a good pace against drivers who’d been here before. But it’s all about experience and hopefully it’s made me stronger for when I come back next year and for the next Tarmac round in France at the end of September.”

All WRC Academy drivers will use identical Ford Fiesta R2s, prepared by the British M-Sport operation, which run on Pirelli control tyres..

Alastair Fisher’s Rally Germany stage highlights

Stage 1: Third fastest

Stage 2: Second fastest

Stage 3: Third fastest

Stage 4: Third fastest

Stage 5: Third fastest

Stage 8: Second fastest

Stage 11: Third fastest

Stage 12: Third fastest

Craig Breen claims maiden victory in WRC Academy

Sun Aug 21 17:08:00 +0100 2011

ADAC Rallye Deutschland Event Report

Ireland’s Craig Breen claimed the biggest win of his career by taking his maiden win in the FIA WRC Academy Championship on Saturday evening, after a final stage showdown on ADAC Rallye Deutschland. Twenty-one year old, Breen was embroiled in a rally long battle with Spaniard Yeray Lemes and triumphed by 15.1 seconds following a tense fight that went all the way to the final stage. “That was absolutely incredible,” said Breen at the end of the final Arena Panzerplatte stage, “I was absolutely on the limit and I have to thank Yeray for pushing me that hard. There was no way I was going to be beaten again so I went on maximum attack.”

Breen had the taste of victory within his grasp on the previous event in the championship on WRC Finland but was thwarted on the final stage by Estonian Egon Kaur. The Waterford man was not to be denied this time out however and this win underlines his talent by being the only driver in the WRC Academy Cup to have been an event leader on each of the four rounds to date. Breen’s points haul narrows the gap in the WRC Academy Championship overall standings, Egon Kaur still leads with a total of 92 points but Breen has now moved on to 66, with two rounds remaining. The next event takes place in France at the end of September and is again on tarmac. Then the final rally of the season is based in Wales in November on World Rally GB.

The Championship moved to asphalt for round four in Germany and the battle for supremacy on tarmac got underway on Friday with six stages. Tarmac specialist Yeray Lemes (ESP) set the pace on the opening day. The Canary Islandertook four stage wins and held a 36.2s lead as the cars return for the overnight halt. Breen, who started the event joint second in the title standings with fellow Pirelli Star Driver Brendan Reeves, was a strong second, recording fastest time on stage four and being second fastest on three of the days tests. “It’s gone well so far,” said Breen, but the over night gap could have been closer; we hit the side of the car on the last stage and bent two wheels. Tomorrow is another tough day, including the famous Panzerplatte stage.”

Day two totaled 8 stages involving a double loop of four tests. Lemes started proceedings by extending his lead to 39s on stage seven. Then on the follow stage (Special Stage 8) the rally swung in Breen's favor as Lemes had a minor off costing him 55s. “I missed a left-hand junction and we couldn’t reverse onto the road because we were down from the road and the grass was wet,” said Lemes.

This elevated Craig into the lead by a margin of 16.2sec. Breen then extended his advantage to 17.9 on SS 9, only for Lemes to cut the deficit back to 12.1 as the crews entered midday service.

The afternoon was made up of a rerun of the morning’s stages and on SS11 the nail biting started as Lemes set another fastest stage time and gap between the two front-runners was down to 6.2sec. At the end of that stage Craig did state that his brakes were sticking but he hoped to be able to continue the fight over the remaining three stages.

On stage 12 Breen set the pace and pulled out the lead to 10.9. So to the penultimate test and Lemes setup a final stage showdown by going fastest. He was 1.3 ahead of the Irish driver and the gap was now 9.6s

SS14 and the 34km's of the famous Arena Panzerplatte lay before Craig and his first win in the WRC Academy. Over the initial splits the two were neck and neck, then Yeray pulled out a one second lead, but over the final sectors of the stage Breen edged out 5.5sec to record an amazing win, his final margin being 15.1sec.

Craig will travel to the Czech Republic directly from Germany for the Barum Czech Rally Zlin, where Craig will drive his Keltech Engineering Ford Fiesta S2000. The three-day event starts on Friday next and the Irish driver is seeded 20th but for now Craig can bask in the glory of his first win in the WRC Academy.

YOUNG RACING DRIVER OF THE MONTH – JULY 2011

Wed Aug 10 00:43:00 +0100 2011

Andy O’Brien from Dublin has been selected as the Dunlop Young Racing Driver of the Month for July, the second time in his short, twelve month motor racing career that he has received this accolade.

The 17 year-old from Templeogue scored a win and a second place at Mondello Park on July 24, also setting the fastest lap in both races, breaking the class lap record each time. Earlier this year, he had victories at Mondello and at Anglesey, in Wales, as well as two second places at Kirkistown and a fourth at Anglesey. He is currently the fastest driver in the Ginetta Junior class, having set the fastest lap in each of the last three races.

Andy O' Brien in action at Mondello Park
This leaves him third in the Ginetta Junior Ireland Championship at the moment, but when dropped scores are taken into account, he is in the strongest position to take the title, as each driver must drop their two worst scores from the thirteen races. Andy intends to complete the season in this class, and would like to race in Britain next year.

He is sponsored by Atlas Auto Services, Borza Takeaway Group, D'Arcy McGees Pub & Restaurant, Auto Tranz Gearbox Specialists, Top Oil and Captain America’s.

Andy attended St MacDara’s Community College, where he sat his Leaving Certificate examinations in June, finishing his last exam on a Friday afternoon and travelling directly to the Holyhead ferry on his way to Anglesey to race, the next morning ! He hopes to begin an apprenticeship as a car mechanic when he receives his Leaving Cert results.

Having been selected as the fourth Dunlop Driver of the Month for the 2011 season, Andy is now a contender for the prestigious €50,000 Dunlop Motorsport Ireland Young Racing Driver of the Year Award. This award is presented annually and is sponsored by Dunlop, the Irish Sports Council and Motorsport Ireland.

DUNLOP MOTORSPORT IRELAND YOUNG RACING DRIVER OF THE MONTH – JUNE 2011

Fri Jul 15 00:41:00 +0100 2011

Niall Murray from Dublin has been selected as the Dunlop Young Racing Driver of the Month for June, for his performances during the month in the Ginetta Junior UK Championship.

The 16 year-old from Firhouse, the winner of last year’s inaugural Ginetta Junior Ireland series, finished in an excellent second place in the British Championship race at Oulton Park on June 5, also setting the race’s fastest lap. He followed this, two weeks later, with a fourth place finish at Croft in North Yorkshire, despite not having tested at either circuit previously. He is racing against opposition, many of whom already have knowledge of these tracks, and of the 1.8 litre Ginetta G40, from last year.

Niall plans to complete the season in this class, and hopes to contest it again in 2012, with a full year’s experience to his credit, when he hopes to mount a strong challenge for the UK title. The Ginetta Junior UK class runs as a supporting race to the high profile, televised British Touring Car Championship.

Niall Murray in action
Niall is sponsored by Staffordshire University, which has a partnership with the Beacon Racing team, providing technical knowledge and engineering skills, and by Murray Motorsport and splashIT.net.

He attends Colaiste Eanna Secondary School, where he is a fifth year student. Niall began kart racing in 2003 and won the O Plate meeting in the KF3 class in 2009.

Having been selected as the third Dunlop Driver of the Month for the 2011 season, Niall is now a contender for the prestigious €50,000 Dunlop Motorsport Ireland Young Racing Driver of the Year Award. This award is presented annually and is sponsored by Dunlop, the Irish Sports Council and Motorsport Ireland.

YOUNG RACING DRIVER OF THE MONTH – MAY 2011

Wed Jun 22 00:39:00 +0100 2011

Kevin O'Hara from Donadea, Co Kildare, has been selected as the Dunlop Young Racing Driver of the Month for May, for his achievements during the month. At Kirkistown, the 21 year old won the first Formula Vee race and finished a close second in the Final in his Leastone, setting a new class lap record for the Co Down circuit in the process.

With backing from sponsors Castrol Ireland and Donovan’s Nisa/Today in Maynooth, Kevin will shortly travel to the Far East, where he will take part in the first race of the Formula Pilota (Formula Abarth) series in China, at Guangdong, on July 2/3, driving for the team run by his brother John.

Kevin has already tasted success at some of the circuits to be used in this new Championship, as he scored three victories in three weeks in the Radical Cup of China in 2009, which
Kevin O'Hara in action at Mondello Park included the Shanghai and Zhuhai circuits.

The young Kildareman began racing in 2006, spending two years in Formula Ford 1600. He is studying law and business studies at Griffith College in Dublin. Kevin’s ambition is to graduate to a regular drive in a Sports Car series.

Having been selected as the second Dunlop Driver of the Month for the 2011 season, Kevin is now a contender for the prestigious €50,000 Dunlop Motorsport Ireland Young Racing Driver of the Year Award. This award is presented annually and is sponsored by Dunlop, the Irish Sports Council and Motorsport Ireland.

DUNLOP MOTORSPORT IRELAND YOUNG RACING DRIVER OF THE MONTH – APRIL 2011

Thu May 26 00:36:00 +0100 2011

21 year old Aron Smith from Rathfarnham has been selected as the Dunlop Young Racing Driver of the Month for April. The young Dubliner’s performances during the month, which included two wins at Thruxton, combined with an earlier third place, leave him in third position in the highly competitive Renault Clio Cup UK series.

Aron began his Motorsport career in Kart Racing at the age of 14. Since then, he has progressed through the ranks, winning both the Winter Cup and the Irish Open Kart Championship in 2006. Two years ago, he finished fourth in the Clio UK series and last year, he tackled the Italian Clio Championship, winning races on two famous Formula 1 circuits, Monza and Imola, as well as taking a second place at Monza.
Aron Smith in action at Thruxton.

Aron’s ambition is to graduate to a major Touring Car Championship next year, either the British series or farther afield. He is currently a Structural Engineering student in Dublin Institute of Technology.

With backing from sponsors Smiths’ Hire Centre, Smiths’ Building Supplies, Brandtactics and Ashleaf Motor Centre, Aron will contest the remaining ten rounds of the Clio Cup UK during the year, running as part of the support package to the British Touring Car Championship.

Having been selected as the first Dunlop Driver of the Month for the 2011 season, Aron is now a contender for the prestigious €50,000 Dunlop Motorsport Ireland Young Racing Driver of the Year Award. This award is presented annually and is sponsored by Dunlop, the Irish Sports Council and Motorsport Ireland.

Alastair’s Amazing Circuit of Ireland Drive!

Tue Apr 06 11:47:00 +0100 2010

For Alastair Fisher and co-driver Marshall Clarke the 2010 Circuit of Ireland Rally was a fantastic weekend of rallying. Their third place overall finish only tells part of the story, as they led the rally outright for seven stages and Alastair now lies second overall in the Irish Tarmac Championship.

The two day event kicked off with a ceremonial start in Dundalk, before tackling nine tough stages in the Newry and Banbridge area, including an 18 mile night time stage.
“We started off with two good runs on the opening two stages. It just took a mile for Marshall and I to gel, and then we were flying. When the rain came for the second loop of stages we were on the pace.”

Indeed by stage 4, Alastair had moved into second place overall behind the World Rally Car of Tim McNulty, but by stage 5 he was leading the rally now 8 seconds up on Derek McGarrity’s Subaru WRC car. On stage 5 Alastair set his first overall fastest time of the rally, followed by two more on stages 6 and 8. It was a truly impressive performance in the lesser powered Group N machine. Added to this, three second fastest times throughout the weekend and three third fastest times, it proved the pace of the young Co. Tyrone charger and his Gerry McGarrity prepared Mitsubishi Evo 9.

Alastair ended the first day of the Circuit of Ireland Rally 13 seconds in the lead from Derek McGarrity, with the WRC Focus of Gareth MacHale third, and Tim McNulty fourth following a puncture. “We had clean runs through the first two evening tests, and then on the final 18 miler we maintained a steady pace. It was so hard to pick your braking points and see the mud in the dark, but we got through it with a good enough time.”

Day two, Sunday and six stages in the Castleblayney area, and blue skies dawned meaning dry roads for the rally leader. “I suppose I was praying for rain! On the first stage out we dropped a couple of seconds when we run wide and got some mud stuck in the wheel, causing a vibration. On stage 11 we held onto the lead, but the conditions weren’t as good for us, and on the next test we dropped to second after collecting a puncture. We simply under-steered wide and clipped a rock and drove about four miles on the flat.” At this point Gareth MacHale closed in to snatch second, leaving Alastair a superb third overall at the rally finish.

“It was a tough rally, with challenging stages, and I enjoyed it very much. The rally ran well, and there was a good atmosphere. It was encouraging to see good crowds of spectators on the stages.”

The result was fantastic for the team, and a great follow up from the opening round Galway fourth place. ”Gerry, Keith and Badger as always put in a fantastic effort throughout the week to get the car sorted and this result is for them also. As for Marshall on the notes, he was just brilliant it was like we had been rallying together for years”.

This result also moves Alastair into the lead of class 5 in the Irish Tarmac Championship, with the next round in Killarney on May Bank Holiday weekend.
The next big event for the team is the Pirelli International, round two of the British Rally Championship.

Second Citroen Racing Trophy Victory for Mark Donnelly On the Circuit of Ireland

Tue Apr 06 11:45:00 +0100 2010

For 18 year old Omagh rally driver Mark Donnelly it’s been a fabulous two weeks, as he contests both the Citroen Racing Trophy UK and Irish Championships this year with his Citroen C2. A victory on last weekend’s Circuit of Ireland, round two of the Irish series, came just one week after victory on the Bulldog International forest event in Wales, and with €5000 prize money from Citroen Racing for each round win, young Mark is understandably delighted. “It’s been a great couple of weeks for sure, and Robbie McGurk and the boys have done a great job in getting the car turned around from gravel to tarmac specification in one week. We were lucky at the weekend on the Circuit of Ireland, the result kind of fell for us towards the end, but that’s the way rallying goes.”

The Circuit of Ireland event this year was over two tough days, with the first night featuring a really challenging 18 mile night time stage, a stage which considerably changed the rally results sheets. For Mark and co-driver Paddy Robinson the event began steadily but rapidly, lying fourth of the C2’s after stage 2, before moving up to third after stage 4. Rain belted down for the late afternoon loop, but after six stages Mark was 36 seconds off the lead in third, and just seven seconds behind second placed Robert Barrable. The C2 was running well, but in rallying improvements can always be made. “We had tested the car on the Mayo event, and I felt I had a good set up, but the muddier, bumpier roads on the Circuit were slightly different, and I need to make some more improvements to the handling. It’s a good car in fact that we are learning more and more about how to fine tune the suspension, which will hopefully help me in the future to understand how to make rally cars work better.”

The final loop of three stages on day plunged the crews into darkness and the dramas really began, even for Mark! “The 18 mile night stage wasn’t easy! There was a lot of mud on the road and we got caught out on a tight left hand bend. I thought I had backed off plenty for it, but the back end of the car came around and we spun, and clipped a bank. It bent the rear suspension in the car, and we crawled out of the stage, and lost quite a bit of time. Robbie and the Motor Sport Service Team did a great job however and replaced the whole rear suspension in the next morning’s service.” The long night time test had claimed second placed Robert Barrable, which let Mark into second and pressure from behind was eased as Shane Buckley also had an excursion.

Mark started day two’s six stages, 2 minutes 51 seconds behind C2 leader Martin McCormack. “Really in this position all we could do was to hold onto second place, and we had a comfortable buffer to third. Then on the third last stage we passed Marty who was on three wheels! I thought he was out of the rally and we cruised through the final two stages. We were struggling ourselves at this stage too. The oil pressure warning light was flickering on and off under heavy braking and acceleration, so we had to back off to preserve the engine. It was very close in the end, just 5 seconds, and if I had known Marty had got the car repaired again I would have revved the engine a bit harder! “

So at the Newry town hall finish Mark celebrated his second Citroen Racing Trophy win in two weeks. It’s a result that moves him into joint second place in the series with the next round in Killarney in May, but the next event for the team is the forthcoming British C2 round, the Pirelli Rally in Carlisle.

Photo by: Roy Dempster

Short Circuit for Breen

Tue Apr 06 11:43:00 +0100 2010

As the rally cars reached the finish in Newry this evening of the UTV Drive Circuit of Irelands, Craig was already at home after a very short excursion in his Kick Energy, Fiesta S2000. Lying in fourth place on special stage three his car aquaplaned out of control and crashed out of the event. Craig and Gareth did not sustain any injuries but there was some frontal damage to the S2000. Craig was devastated to be caught out by the conditions and for the second time in a week not to finish a rally. “We were pushing hard. The first two stages were dry but a little muddy in places and I was pleased with my times on both, but this stage (Kinghill1) was covered with water running across the road where we had the accident. As we left service I got reports there could be a shower out on the stage but we didn’t expect anything like this. There was a downpour just as the first cars entered the stage and the pace was very high, I was about 4 Km in, when on a fast section the car aquaplaned under breaking and from that point we were passengers.”

Saturday 3rd April, The famous rally got under way at midday with a ceremonial start at the Dundalk Courthouse with singer Jim Corr and other dignitaries waving away the leading cars. The action began in earnest at approximately 1.45pm, with the Triton Showers sponsored Doughary stage located north of Newry. The opening day was made up of two loops of four stages and the day was completed with a marathon 29 Km night-time stage.

Gareth MacHale seeded number one and championship leader was the first to take on the challenge of the Doughary 1, and his Ford Focus WRC suffered mechanical problems from the start, “The car cut out on a number of occasions”, MacHale reported as he entered first service in Newry. Tim McNulty partnered by Paul Kiely in the Subaru Impreza S12 B opened their event with fastest time (7:30.9). The pair were full of confidence after their West Cork Rally victory two weeks ago and looked to have carried this to Co. Down for the Circuit. Derek McGarrity who is a three times winner of the rally slotted in at second, nine seconds away from McNulty. Third over the opener was Co. Cork driver Daragh O’Riordan who was only on his second outing in his WRC Impreza. Craig held the Group N lead setting 7.46.9 and was in fourth, sixteen down on McNulty. The top five was completed by Alastair Fisher in the Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 9. On to stage two (McGaffins Corner 1) McNulty again topped the time sheets with McGarrity making it an Impreza one-two. Gareth MacHale was third but did lose another ten seconds to leader McNulty. Craig set 7:52.0 and was now in sixth as the cars made their way to the first service halt. In service Craig reported “The car feels to be sliding about but both stages were very muddy in places as there is a lot of cuts and mud has been dragged out after the recce.”

As stage three got underway there was a torrential downpour with hail stones and heavy rain making the stage treacherous. Craig only got 4 Kms into the stage when he crashed out. Both he and Gareth exited the car right away but there was too much damage sustained for them to continue, surprisingly it was Garry Jennings in the Lancer EVO 9 that was fastest with Alastair Fisher in second place on the stage. Rally leader McNulty was in third with Richard Cathcart in a Group N Subaru in fourth. Fisher’s time on the stage elevated him to second overall and he then climbed to the top of the leader board at the end of stage five as McNulty’s Subaru sustained a front puncture. For rally fans to see the Fisher name at the top of the leader board it rolled back the years as Alastair’s uncle Birtie is a three time winner of the event. Alastair went on to maintain his lead over the remainder of the Saturday stages and even held a thirty one second lead going into the final night stage. On the centre piece of the event the grunt of the World Rally Cars came to the fore as Derek McGarrity cut Fishers lead to 13.1 seconds.

Six stages faced the crews on day two and Fisher fought bravely but was hampered by a puncture on stage twelve. As the crews reached the finish ramp in Newry it was Derek McGarrity who took his fourth win on the event with championship leader Gareth MacHale fighting back from those early mechanical problems to secure second overall and a gallant Fisher taking the third place on the podium.

Craig’s next championship outing will be the second round of the British Rally Championship on the Pirelli International Rally on the 23rd and 24th of April. Before that however Craig will take the Wheel of a Ford Fiesta ST for WRC Rally Turkey (16th – 18th April). There will be more news on this event over the coming weeks.

Breen heads to Circuit of Ireland

Tue Mar 30 13:22:00 +0100 2010

There’s no better medicine than to get back out there when something goes wrong in any sport and that’s especially true in rallying. After the disappointment at the Bulldog, Craig and Gareth have the perfect opportunity to put that episode behind them as the Easter Holiday weekend beckons the traditional trip to the Circuit of Ireland, as the Citroën Irish Tarmac Rally Championship roars back into action with round two. Over the year's Rallying in Ireland has been defined by one weekend, that's the Easter Weekend and the Circuit of Ireland Rally. On Saturday next another chapter will be written in the events famous history and playing a major part will be Craig Breen in the "Kick Energy" Ford Fiesta S2000.

Craig débuted the Fiesta S2000 at the opening round in Galway where he sensationally finished second overall, scoring twelve points and also picket up three bonus points for being the first non World Rally Car finisher in the overall classification.

Craig’s view on the weekend and the Circuit next weekend
“It’s been a long time since I didn’t complete a rally and the retirement on Saturday was very hard to take. The first round of a new championship season is very important as it’s give you a base on which to work from. This was how I was so successful last year. The non finish at the Bulldog gives my rivals the advantage but I’ve grown a lot over the last twelve months and I take this as not a set back but on the other hand a challenge. The next round of the BRC is the Pirelli International and last season it proved to be one of the high lights of the year for me, my team and I will be working on repeating that kind of performance this year”.

“Looking ahead to the Circuit, I want to keep my run going from Galway, The rally will be as tough as usual and the centrepiece will be the night stage which will be interesting. Last year I went well on the night stages at the Jim Clark, so a good recce will be required. The characteristics of the stages will be different from that of Galway as they are usually fast and flowing, that is why I took in the National Championship round in Mayo where we tested gear ratios. Gareth and I will recce on Thursday and Friday and we can’t wait for that first stage on Saturday”.

This year’s circuit is based in the Park Inn Hotel, Dundalk with the fifteen stage event covering stages in Counties Down, Armagh, Louth and Monaghan. A marathon 29km night-time stage will be the centrepiece of this year’s rally with thousands of fans expected to descend on Dundalk for the ceremonial start on Easter Saturday. Craig is seeded at number six. All the usual suspects are attending, championship leader after Galway Gareth MacHale (06 Ford Focus WRC) is the top seed, Derek McGarrity driving a Subaru Impreza S12B is in second place and the top three is completed by Tim McNulty in another Impreza S12 B. Craig is classified as the top Group N competitor at sixth with Alastair Fisher following in seventh and the top ten is completed with Garry Jennings, Richard Carthcart, and Alan Ring. Nine stages are scheduled for Easter Saturday, then on Easter Sunday six stages will be run in the Castleblayney/Crossmaglen area.

Fuel Pressure Problems puts pay to Breen's BRC Opener

Sun Mar 28 10:07:00 +0100 2010

Craig and Co Driver Gareth Roberts in their new “Kick Energy” Ford Fiesta S2000 suffered hard luck as a fuel line ruptured after only two stages bringing a premature end to their Bulldog International Rally the opening round of the MSA British Rally Championship. As Craig returned to the Welshpool livestock Market Rally Service Area the disappointment was clearly visible. “This was the first time the car has given us any type of mechanical problem and to have to retire because of something as simple as a fuel line makes it very hard, but that’s rallying. We must now pick ourselves up and focus on the Circuit of Ireland next weekend. In some ways it’s good to have our next event as close as we will be back on the stages within a week. As far as the BRC is concerned we must now look ahead to the Pirelli International in a few weeks time”.

The opening round of the new season got under way in the border town of Welshpool, Powys as the MSA British Rally Championship welcomed new championship sponsors “Dulux Trade” to the Bulldog International Rally. Eight stages laid ahead of the thirty eight strong international field as they set out on a new season in the United Kingdoms premier rallying series. Special stage names like Myherin (25.6 Kms) and Sweet Lamb (27.2 Kms) bring shivers to the spine of any rally driver and these set the scene for the opening loop as the competitors began a new year. After returning to the Welshpool livestock Market for a thirty minute service the crews would repeat these monster stages completing the morning’s tests.
In the afternoon the competitors moved to stage five “Big Ray” (8kms) then to “Dyfi Main” (14.4 Kms) for stage six. The penultimate stage would see the cars enter the 11.2 Kms of Pantperthog. The final test, the 20.8 Kms of Gartheiniog would bring the curtain down on the 2010 Bulldog.

Craig and Gareth were seeded at number five and completed a successful shakedown on Thursday, with Craig stating the stage was a little rougher than the actual event stages but was very happy with his setup. Friday was designated to recce and documentation. This left the action to start on Saturday morning with the first car entering Myherin 1 just after 8 am. Reigning BRC championship Keith Cronin set the benchmark stopping the clocks with a time of 15:15.8 in the Subaru Impreza N15. Craig followed Keith in second place with a time of 15:48.00; Gwyndaf Evans completed the top three with 15:54.4 but complained of gearbox problems even at this early stage. On to stage two with the first run over Sweet Lamb and again Cronin was quickest setting 17:48.7 for the 27.2 Kms. Craig picked up his pace and was just twelve seconds down. Alastair Fisher partnered by Rory Kennedy moved into third place by virtue of Gwyndaf’s gearbox problems leaving him with only 2nd and 4th gears by the end of the stage. This also elevated Dave Weston Jnr to fourth overall with Evans now in fifth. The Kick Energy service crew were getting prepared for the first service of the day when a phone call came through from Craig stating he had a fuel problem with the car. He was pulled in to a lay-by and could get a strong smell of fuel but the car had cut out. He spent the following 20 minutes trying everything he could to restart the Fiesta with on result. Evans also suffered an early exit as his ailing gearbox cried enough as he left the time control at the end of the second stage. Back in Welshpool at service Cronin reported a great run on the opening stages. “I kept it clean and tidy and tried not to let the car run wide on to the loose. On the 2nd stage I lost a few seconds as I feel I’m braking a little early, but I’m very happy with my start”. On the rerun over Myherin Alastair Fisher claimed his first fastest time of the championship by setting 15:36.3, he was followed by Dave Weston with Cronin in third. At this point Cronin had a comfortable lead of 41 seconds on Fisher. Fisher was again fastest on Sweet Lamb 2 and Cronin’s lead was cut to 29.6 seconds. In second service Cronin said he backed off over stages three and four. Fisher on the other hand said “I was very committed; we made a few amendments to the notes on the first run through as the roads had dried out quite well and this paid off”.

Cronin in the TEG Sport Impreza raised the bar again on stages five and six to pull away from the field. The Cork man was 5.7 seconds faster than Dave Weston on five and stage six (Dyfi Main) Cronin was nine ahead of Jonny Greer with Adam Gould in second. It was on this stage that Alastair Fisher’s day came to an end with a damaged transmission. With only two remaining stages Cronin now had a lead of 1minute and 19 seconds over Dave Weston Jnr with Adam Gould a further 26.4 back in third. Cronin consolidated the rally win by setting two fastest times over the final stages to land his first victory of the new season by more than two minutes.

The event that promised so much for Craig and the team ended with retirement but mechanical problems can hit at any time. The team now looks forward to the next event in the championship, the Pirelli International Rally on the 23rd and 24th of April. Before that however there’s the small matter of the Circuit of Ireland next weekend as the Citroën Irish Tarmac Rally Championship roars back into action.

Quality Hotels West Cork Rally 2010

Sun Mar 28 09:54:00 +0100 2010

The 32nd Quality Hotels West Cork Rally took place this past weekend the 20th & 21st March. A full entry of 151 crews were led away by last years winners Liam McCarthy & Kieran Murphy in their Toyota Corolla WRC. Behind them a number of drivers lined up to take their crown, with the most potent threat coming from Tim McNulty & Paul Kiely in their Subaru Impreza WRC. McNulty was using this as a testing exercise before the Circuit of Ireland at Easter and was the pre event favourite. Also in the hunt were previous winners Michael Barrable & Denis Cronin, while J.J.Fleming, Hugh Hunter and Daragh O’Riordan also in WRCs were also capable of showing well. John Dalton from Wales was back in his 2.5 litre Darrian T90 GTR looking to continue his amazing record of being top modified car on the event every year since 2005.

Day 1
After the overnight rain had cleared, Saturday dawned bright and sunny, with the roads being mainly dry. There were some slippery patches on the first stage at Ballinascarthy, but it was no problem to Tim McNulty who took an early two second lead from Cronin, with last years winner McCarthy just four seconds off the lead in third. First to hit trouble were the number 6 seeds Hugh Hunter & Andy Marchbank who had a puncture and lost almost two minutes. They failed to start stage two due to mechanical problems caused by the flat tyre. Also destined for a short event were Conor Curley who broke a steering arm and Gwyn Thomas who had ECU problems in his Puma. Niall Guinevan also retired his Impreza at the end of the first stage with engine maladies.

Denis Cronin set a blistering time on stage 2, which gave him a 10 second lead from McNulty. McCarthy, Dalton and Kevin Kelleher made up the top five. Kelleher had lost a few seconds on the opening stage as he caught the ailing Focus of Hunter. Daragh O’Riordan was still settling in as he had never driven his new car until the night before but was still setting very good times. Michael Barrable was on his first outing since Wexford 2009 and was a little off the pace and then suffered a puncture losing almost a minute. Scottish visitor Billy McLelland was impressing in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 3, despite never having done an Irish tarmac rally before and was in the top 10. Neil Williams who had been one of the favourites for class 13 retired in service after stage 2 when a persistent misfire couldn’t be cured. Brian Lawlor was another retirement when his back axle failed.

McNulty took fastest on stage 3 but it wasn’t enough to wrest the lead from Cronin while McCarthy dropped back a little but held onto third place. Behind them Dalton held fourth and O’Riordan was fifth. Kevin Kelleher and Brian O’Mahony were both stopped on stage 3 and lost three and four minutes respectively. Kelleher had front differential problems and O’Mahony had problems with a tyre coming off the rim after hitting a rock. A repeat of Clogagh was stage 4 and brought the crews into service at the halfway point of the day. Two front runners who would be going no further though were Liam McCarthy and Michael Barrable. McCarthy was off the road and a timber post got jammed between the arch and the wheel causing a long delay. They made it back to service but too much time was lost and they decided to retire. Barrable was also in bother as a wheel rim split down the middle which lost him a mountain of time and he also decided to withdraw.

The battle at the top resumed on stage 5, the classic Ring test, but by the end of the stage, the fight appeared over. Denis Cronin had driveshaft problems which meant he only had three wheel drive over stages 5 & 6, and a minute was lost to McNulty. Cronin was now under threat from Dalton behind. Dalton set a stunning time to be fastest on Ring, but Cronin managed to get a reasonable time on stage 6 Dunworley which according to Dalton didn’t suit his car. Local crew Jason McSweeney and Ruth Guest had a big accident in their Civic towards the end of Dunworley, fortunately without injury to either crew. J.J. Fleming damaged the front of his Impreza when he hit a bank dropping 90 second and costing him a place in the top 5. Billy McLelland lost 7th place overall when he hit a solid West Cork bank at the end of Ring and his rally was over due to a lot of frontal damage.

As the cars tackled the last pair of stages for the day, things had settled down a little at the top end. It was a day of extraordinarily high attrition with only 85 cars making it to parc ferme at the end of day 1. McNulty still led the way by a comfortable margin of just over a minute from Cronin with Dalton just under 50 seconds behind him. Daragh O’Riordan and Sean Flanagan made up the top 5. Washington James was holding a solid sixth place in his Darrian while Bob Fowden and Ed O’Callaghan were also showing well. Drive of the day came from Damien McCarthy seeded at 36 in his 1600cc Honda Civic who had climbed to 9th overall. Ed Murphy led the Historic Rally in his Mk 1 Escort. The Honda Cup saw all six registered drivers that started fail to finish day 1, with the result that nobody has any points going into the second round!

Top 5 at the end of Day 1
1 - Tim McNulty/Paul Kiely (Impreza WRC) 1:14:26.6
2 - Denis Cronin/Helen O’Sullivan (Impreza WRC) 1:15:28.5
3 - John Dalton/Gwynfor Jones (Darrian T90 GTR) 1:16:16.6
4 - Daragh O’Riordan/Tony McDaid (Impreza WRC) 1:18:29.3
5 - Sean Flanagan/Liam Brennan (Impreza Gp N) 1:19:59.4

Day 2
The second day dawned bright and sunny as the previous day although there had been some heavy rain in the early hours of the morning. This meant that the first pair of stages at Rossmore and Sams Cross were extremely slippery and tricky. McNulty had a slight spin early in the stage but it didn’t prevent him from setting another fastest time. Cronin was trying hard but was hindered by a water leak due to engine problems. John Dalton was safe in third place and wasn’t attempting to throw it all away by trying to get in a race with the op 2. Washington James had a spin which cost him some time and allowed Bob Fowden to strengthen his hold on his top six placing. Kevin Kelleher had been 14th overnight but was forced to retire when an oil leak developed when the car left parc ferme. J.J. Fleming also retired due to damage caused by his stage 6 excursion on day 1.

Brian O’Mahony was setting decent times to move his way back into the top ten, while Adrian Hetherington was also in the top ten as he recovered from what was a slow first day by his standards. The repeat of the Rossmore / Sams Cross loop saw Cronin and McNulty take one fastest time each. Ed O’Callaghan leading class 13 in 7th place but Thomas Davies was now in the top ten and challenging the Limerick driver hard as his speed increased. Hetherington was off the road on stage 12 and as a result lost 4 minutes between getting back on the road and dealing with the resultant puncture. Despite the rally heading to its final quarter on the Ardfield peninsula, there was no sign of a let up in the pace. Denis Cronin was still having difficulties with his water leak and also had a damaged rear on the car as he spun to scrub off speed at a junction. This gave McNulty a cushion of two minutes and he was looking very comfortable. Differential problems cost Sean Flanagan fifth place as he began to drop down the order, while Bob Fowden only inherited fifth for a short time as a blown turbo put him out on stage 13. Another top ten runner to disappear was Thomas Davies as he hit a chicane bale on Ardfield and the damage was too heavy for him to continue.

The last pair of stages saw no changes to the top five as drivers settled for their positions. Dalton and O’Riordan were safe in their respective 3rd and 4th positions. Dalton won the Bones O’Connor modified trophy for the 4th consecutive time. Differential problems continued to plague Sean Flanagan and saw him finish 13th and 2nd in Gp N which was a disappointment having held a top ten place all through the event until near the end.

Kevin O’Donoghue was a also a late retirement with gearbox problems. Washington James took advantage of the problems around him and finished fifth overall. Ed O’Callaghan took sixth and class 13, while Damien McCarthy took 7th overall and won class 11. Brian O’Mahony recovered well from his early problems to take 8th and win class 6, while Leonard Downey was 9th. John Buttimer took 10th in his Impreza and also won class 15. The Historic Rally was won by Denis and Dan Moynihan after a great battle with Ed Murphy / Johnny Hickey. Jason & James Frahill won the Juniors in their Honda Civic, while the Civic of Jason Ryan & Tadhg O’Sullivan won the Sunday Run. It was a very successful event which was expertly controlled by Clerk of the Course Darren McCarthy. Tim McNultys name goes on the event roll of honour for the first time and he’s promised to come back to try and win it again next year!

Top 5 Overall
1 - Tim McNulty/Paul Kiely (Impreza WRC) 2:12:38.4
2 - Denis Cronin/Helen O’Sullivan (Impreza WRC) 2:14:39.5
3 - John Dalton/Gwynfor Jones (Darrian T90 GTR) 2:15:57.4
4 - Daragh O’Riordan/Tony McDaid (Impreza WRC) 2:18:04.3
5 - Washington James/Llinos Davies (Darrian T90 GTR) 2:22:18.1

The Killarney International Rally of the Lakes 2010

Sun Mar 28 09:52:00 +0100 2010

With only 2 weeks left before entries for the 2010 Killarney International Rally of the Lakes opens, the Killarney Motor club have kept the stages for the rally very local in an effort to keep the cost to the competitors down to a mininum, and will be based in and around the town of Killarney for the convenience of spectators and service crews. This years event is round three of the Citroen Irish Tarmac Rally Championship and with a full entry expected a great weekend of rallying is guaranteed. Headquarters is once again in the Gleneagle Hotel with 14 Stages at 8 Locations. The Saturday Stages will be 3 special stages ran twice and 1 evening special stage ran once with centralized service in Millstreet. Day 2 Sunday, the stages are 3 special stages ran twice service on Sunday is in Milltown and the rally will finish with one final stage, before the winners are announced at the finish ramp at the Gleneagle Hotel.

FST Ireland heads for the Circuit

Sun Mar 28 09:47:00 +0100 2010

The 2010 Fiesta SportTrophy Ireland championship heads to the town of Dundalk for Round 2 of the championship next weekend, the UTV Drive Circuit of Ireland Rally. The event takes place over Easter weekend, 2-4 April and is credited as being the second oldest rally in the world.

The event was first run almost 80 years ago and has seen its fair share of epic battles and even more famous names over the years. The likes of Colin McRae, Roger Clark and Paddy Hopkirk have all competed and won the Circuit in the past. The competitors on this year's FST event will be hoping to emulate some of their heroes on the legendary Irish stages. The FST event takes place on Day 1 of the full International rally and competitors will battle it out over 158 stage kilometres including one night stage.

Round 1 winner Stephen Wright and co-driver Paul McGee will be looking for a repeat of their dominant performance in Galway. The 20-year-old student from County Monaghan won five of the nine stages in Galway on his way to a comfortable 56-second victory. With a long seven week lay off between Rounds 1 and 2 Wright has kept himself "match fit" by competing on the first two rounds of the Northern Ireland Rally Championship taking a win and a third place finish to also lead that championship.

18-year-old Dara Leonard and from Omagh and co-driver Vinnie Boyd put in an impressive display to take second place at Round 1 in Galway. The youngster scored one stage victory on the event and would have finished closer to winner Wright had it not been for a broken driveshaft on Stage 5.

Desi Henry had hoped to challenge Wright in Galway but struggled with an underpowered engine. 20-year-old Henry and co-driver John Rowan will be hoping to put that experience behind them on the Circuit. They have also taken in the first two rounds of the Northern Ireland Rally Championship in preparation for the Circuit. With two second place finishes, Henry is currently third in the standings just a single point behind joint leaders Stephen Wright and Jonny Leonard.

Fiesta R2 driver Stephen Baxter (27) from Enniskillen made a fantastic FST Ireland debut in Galway until an accident on Stage 6 meant that he was unable to continue. Baxter scored three stage wins in the first five stages and held the lead going into Stage 6. Baxter and co-driver Karl Atkinson will be out to prove that it wasn't just beginners luck in Galway and put in a strong performance on the Circuit.

The 2010 Fiesta SportTrophy Ireland Championship supports the TROA Irish Tarmac Championship, competing over one day of the full International rallies. Kick Energy drinks support the championship that has a €2,500 prize fund guaranteed to the top eight FST finishers.