Kiernan gets Young Rally Driver of the Year nomination

Gary is pictured with his Ford Escort

Gary Kiernan has been nominated for this year’s Motorsport Ireland Billy Coleman Young Rally Driver Award for his performances in July and August, writes Richard Burke.

The 26 year-old from Bailieborough, Co Cavan, drove his Ford Escort to outright victory in the Imokilly Stages Rally in East Cork, and also won his class and finished fifth overall, behind a quartet of four-wheel-drive Supercars, in the Galway Summer Rally, a round of the Triton Showers National Championship.

Earlier in the year, Gary was the overall winner of the National section of the Galway International Rally and also took fifth place, with another class win, in the Cavan Stages Rally.

Gary began rallying in 2011, driving in his first events while still a student, and became a regular competitor two years later, winning the Border Championship outright, and taking his class in the National Rally Championship. In 2015, he took a class victory in the Border series and was class runner-up in the National points table.

He would like to tackle some Forestry Rallies next year, having enjoyed his recent outings in the final two rounds of the Valvoline National Forestry series, with a class win in the Lakeland Stages.

Gary has a degree in Agricultural Science from Dundalk Institute of Technology and works in the family farming business. His principal sponsors are Kiernan Milling, Failte Bar (Bailieborough), Fire Protection Ireland, Buddy Kiernan’s Pub (Granard), SMH Rallybitz (Keady), Gordon Automotive, IDS (Port Laoise), Westenra Arms Hotel/Spy Nightclub, CMC Motorsport, Hoosier Racing Tyres, Paul and Vincent Feeds (Edgeworthstown), Sean Brady Construction & Engineering (Cavan), X Trax Shocks and O’Brien Motors (Cootehill).

The winner of the Motorsport Ireland Billy Coleman Young Rally Driver of the Year Award receives €50,000 worth of support to contest stage rallies nationally & internationally in 2018 along with the support of Billy Coleman co-ordinator, Ger Healy, while the two runners-up will receive free entries into a number of MI permitted events in 2018, along with co-ordinator support.

Five bi-monthly winners are selected from January-February, through to September-October, along with the highest placed eligible drivers from both the Junior Championship in the Triton Showers National series and the Junior category in the Valvoline National Forestry Championship, and a wildcard selection, as the award finalists.

Citroen developing 'mini WRC' C3

Citroen is developing a customer racing version of its C3, the R5, writes Brian Byrne.

Available for racing in WRC 2, the ERC and in most national championships, such cars are reduced cost over a full-blown WRC.

Generally they have 1.6 engines with outputs of around 280hp, AWD, sequential gearboxes and other racing technology.

The specification of the new C3 R5 hasn't yet been revealed but the car is being tested for both gravel and tarmac racing, and homologation for the FIA will be done next year.

Keith Cronin conquers Ulster

West Cork rally ace Keith Cronin and his Kerry co-driver Mikie Galvin dominated the John Mulholland Motors Ulster Rally at the weekend, writes Richard Burke, leading after all but one of the fourteen stages in the Sperrin Mountains to beat Swede Fredrik Ahlin by 55 seconds despite easing off on the final stage.

Cronin, already three times the British Rally Champion, still has an outside chance of overhauling Ahlin for a fourth UK title in the final two rounds on the Isle of Man next month, but the Swede holds a clear lead, with the Ballylickey driver losing out badly in the early part of the season with a succession of problems.

A trio of Northern Ireland drivers took the next three positions, headed by Jonny Greer in third place, but sixth for Monaghan's Sam Moffett virtually clinches the Clonakilty Blackpudding Tarmac series for him, to add to the Triton Showers National title that he has already won this year.

Moffett's main rival for the Tarmac Championship, Alastair Fisher, was one of the first retirements with an overheated engine on the second stage, leaving the Monaghanman in the uncomfortable position of driving cautiously for the rest of the weekend to ensure that he safely reached the finish in Derry city.

Twice Irish Hillclimb champion Joe Courtney scored another weekend double at Mondello, winning both days of the MEC Sprints, to increase his lead in the Naylor Engineering National Hillclimb and Sprint Championship. Former champions Sylvie Mullins and Michael Roche were the two runners-up.

Killarney Autocross Preview

Killarney & District Motor Club will host the 2017Jimmy Devane Memorial Killarney Autocross on Sunday next August 20th, writes Austin Shinnors.

The event will once again be based on grass surface, with  a new venue  at Ballaugh, Killarney on the N72.

The Jimmy Devane Memorial Autocross event was first held in 2011 in honour of Jimmy Devane who was a prominent member of the Killarney Club. Jimmy was also a highly respected  autocross and rally driver who sadly  passed away in 2009. The Jimmy Devane Cup is awarded to the fastest time of the day at the event each year.

Sunday's autocross is round five and the half way point in the nine round  Munster Autocross Championship. It is also the first race on grass which will add excitement to a very competitive championship.

Corkman Paul O'Driscoll tops the leader-board with 72 points, 4 points ahead of Clare driver Brian Hassett. Fachtna Mc Carthy is third with 50 points, ten ahead of Sean Cahill - the 2016 Munster champion. Brian O'Mahoney makes it into the top 5 with 38 points while Johnny Kenneally leads the saloon category.

The 2017 Munster Autocross is supported by O'Shea Bus Hire, Barrett International Transport, Daly Motor Services  and Pablo Photography.

Weekend motorsport

Dubliner Colm Blackburn dominated the Formula Vee race at yesterday's Carlow Car Club Mondello Park meeting, writes Richard Burke, despite only qualifying fourth on the starting grid. He made a storming getaway, jumping to second place behind pole starter Dan Polley into the first corner, and got past his class title rival on lap two to take the lead.

Half a lap later, a slip dropped Polley to fifth place, leaving Blackburn to cruise home to victory, more than three seconds clear, while a great recovery drive from Polley saw him claim runner up position by the chequered flag. Anthony Cross finished third after holding second place for much of the race, ahead of Jack Byrne and Justin Costello.

Shane McFadden won the first of the Fiesta ST races (pic above), but there was a
surprise victor in race two when Galway's Tom Fahy started from pole on the reverse grid, and led all the way despite huge pressure from the much more experienced John Denning and Michael Cullen. Owen Purcell scored a double in the Fiesta Zetec races.

Motorsport Ireland last weekend Roundup

Already confirmed as the Triton Showers National Rally champion, Monaghan's Sam Moffett added another win to his collection when he and Darragh Kelly (pictured above) were well clear of the opposition in the Cork Jim Walsh Forest Rally at Mallow, with their Fiesta WRC 52 seconds ahead of the Lancer Evo of Jonny Leonard and Arthur Kierans after six stages, writes Richard Burke.

Multiple Formula Ford 1600 champion Niall Murray scored his fifth and sixth wins this year at Kirkistown over the weekend, increasing his lead in the Dawson WAM FF1600 Championship. In the opening race, the Dubliner finished a fraction of a second in front of Kildare's Kevin O'Hara, and went on to take a three second victory over David McCullough in race two.

Another Kildare man, 18 year-old James Roe, fresh from being nominated as Young Driver of the Month, finished third in the second race. Alan Auerbach took a double in the Stryker races, with Cameron Fenton and Patrick Dempsey taking turns at beating each other to the chequered flag in the Ginetta Junior events.

James Roe is Young Racing Driver, June 2017

Congratulations to 18 year-old James Roe Junior from Sallins, who has been selected as the Young Racing Driver of the Month for June, writes Richard Burke. The Kildare driver had a busy month, fitting in eight races spread over two meetings at Kirkistown in Co Down and Knockhill in Scotland, in between sitting for his Leaving Certificate examinations at Newbridge College!

It was well worth all the effort, as James scored his first Formula Ford 1600 victory at Kirkistown immediately after finishing his exams. He also took two seconds and a third place during the month, and set the fastest lap in three of the eight races to prove that he is right on the pace in his Bernard Dolan prepared Van Diemen.

James Roe

At the season’s mid-point, James holds second place in the Northern Ireland FF1600 Championship and fifth in the Avon Tyres British title chase. His plans are to complete the rest of the busy season in both series and also the three high profile end-of-year Trophy races, Kirkistown’s Martin Donnelly event, the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch and the Walter Hayes Trophy at Silverstone.

James’ sponsors are Dennison Trailers and Robertson Low Insurance Brokers, and he is also one of the youngsters included in the Team Ireland driver development programme.

Roe began his motorsport career in Junior Rallycross at the age of 14, later switching to the Ginetta Junior class where he was a regular winner. His Ginetta class lap record at Mondello Park has remained unbeaten for more than two years.

Having been selected as the third Driver of the Month for the 2017 season, James is now a contender for the prestigious Motorsport Ireland Young Racing Driver of the Year Award and the historic Sexton Trophy. This award is presented annually and is supported by Sport Ireland (formerly the Irish Sports Council) and Motorsport Ireland.

James is pictured above in action in his Van Diemen. 

British Rallycross back to Mondello

Top Line Rallycross is back at Mondello Park on the weekend of 22/23 July with the return of the British Rallycross Championship following a year's absence, writes Fergus Brennan. The Toyo Tyres British Championship will combine with the Parts for Cars Irish Championship for a festival of Rallycross in a unique double header that will see competitors from the two series compete side by side.

Rallycross is on the up worldwide and the return of the burgeoning British Championship will create the biggest Supercar line-up seen at Mondello Park since the circuit's European Rallycross heyday in the 1980s. Seventeen four wheel drive Rallycross monsters will line-up to do battle in two separate championship rounds over two days.

Over the course of the weekend drivers and their fans will be treated to racing on two very different circuits. Day one will see the drivers tackle an anti-clockwise track lay-out which features a start line right under the main straight Grandstand and a very long fast run to turn one, Southside Motor Factors corner. Other features are the fast left hander onto the main straight, again in full view of the Grandstand, and a Joker Lap which runs from the exit of Southside corner to Irish Ferries on the tarmac race circuit.

Sunday's event will revert to the more familiar clockwise Rallycross Track which has provided so much fantastic action over the years. Spectators in the Grandstand will this time have the best seats in the house for the Turn 1 sort out as well as being able to see the run up to the 'Hole in the Hedge' and across to the loose surface at Rallycross 2.

The Supercar entry list is headed by Irish European Rallycross Championship front runners Ollie O'Donovan and Derek Tohill in a pair of Ford Fiestas. Joining them on their home turf will be a strong line-up of British Championship drivers, many of who have extensive European and World Rallycross experience, including an old Irish favourite, Tony Bardy, who will race at Mondello Park for the first time since 2005.

The two wheel drive Modified Division will push the Supercars hard to be the top entertainers over the weekend with twenty five drivers entered. Competition between the Irish and British Championship will be hot, and with many of the visitors having previous track experience, the locals will not have it all their own way. Lotus Exige driver Paige Bellerby has won all three races in the British Championship so far and will come to Kildare looking to continue that run. To do so she will have to get by the top three from the Irish Championship, Willie Coyne and Padraig Leeson with their Opel Corsas and Lloyd Spendlove with his Lotus.

A fantastic entry of more than 100 racers will compete at Mondello Park across a number of divisions, including the one make BMW Mini, Suzuki Swift, and Fiesta classes, alongside Production Cars, Super 1600, RX 150 Buggies, Rallycars and separate divisions for British and Irish Junior drivers.

Tickets for the two-day Festival of Rallycross can be purchased from the Mondello Park web site and are available at reduced on-line prices. Camping packages are also available and details of these can be found on the event page on the Mondello Park web site, along with information on all of the weekends entertainment, which includes music and a Barbecue on the Saturday evening.

Rosemary passes another high-speed milestone

Rosemary Smith has been an icon of competition motoring ever since she won the Tulip Rally in 1965 while driving a works Hillman Imp for the Rootes Group, writes Brian Byrne.

She also won the 1969 Cork 20 Rally and she won the ladies' prize several times on the Scottish Rally and on the Circuit of Ireland Rally, twice each on the Alpine Rally and on the Canadian Shell 4000 and once on the Acropolis Rally.

But she had never raced in a Formula 1 car. That changed recently when, as an ambassador for Renault Ireland, Rosemary took to a circuit in the Renault Sport Formula One™ Team R.S.17.

It's all about following your passion. And Rosemary still carries on her day job of operating her driving school, with a particular emphasis on giving Transition Year students across Ireland the chance to get behind the wheel of her Renault Clio. Nothing like starting them early and starting them right.

Motorsport Ireland Weekend Roundup

Monaghan's Sam Moffett kept his unbeaten record in this year's Triton Showers National Rally Championship to clinch his first National title in Sligo yesterday, writes Richard Burke. He is pictured above. (James Burke Photography).

His sixth win in a row leaves him in an unbeatable position with two rounds still to come, with his Fiesta finishing a convincing minute and a half ahead of the Fabia of runner up Desi Henry, and former triple National title holder Niall Maguire in third place.

At Mondello Park, local Kildare driver Kevin O'Hara scored a clean sweep of the Formula Vee Festival, winning both qualifying heats and taking the lead in the final after a thrilling five-way battle with Anthony Cross, Dan Polley, Colm Blackburn and Stephen Morrin.

Starting alongside O'Hara on the grid, Cross seized the lead at the start and despite enormous pressure from the much more experienced Donadea man, stayed in front for the first five laps. However, he then spun off and dropped down the field, leaving O'Hara well clear of Polley and Blackburn.

In the second half of the race, Polley piled on the pressure and closed right up on the leader, but wasn't quite close enough to pounce, although he did finish less than half a second behind to make it a great 1-2 for the Lule O'Hara team.

Naas driver James Roe Junior scored a double at Donington Park, when he dominated the opening two races of three qualifying rounds in the Avon British Formula Ford 1600 Championship. However, his hopes of making it a triple victory were dashed when he was penalised for a starting grid infringement in the final race, despite beating all his rivals on the track, demoting him to tenth place in the results.

Cronin cracks Belgium - Ypres International Rally

Irish crews had a great result at the Ypres International Rally at the weekend, with West Cork's Keith Cronin, already the winner of three British Rally titles, taking maximum points towards this year's Prestone MSA British Championship on its first visit to the Belgian event, writes Richard Burke.

Cronin and his co-driver Mikie Galvin finished in sixth place among the strong continental field, with their top points score bringing the Corkman back into contention for a fourth title after a difficult start to his season. Callum Devine from Derry in his Opel Adam won the Junior section.

Monaghan rally ace Sam Moffett's seemingly unstoppable march to the Triton Showers National Rally Championship continued yesterday when he and co-driver Karl Atkinson scored an 18 second victory in the fifth round of the series, the Carrick-on-Suir club's Raven's Rock Rally at Waterford.

This maintained Moffett's unbeaten run in this year's title chase, with last year's champions, Roy White and James O'Brien, their nearest challengers in another Fiesta WRC. Ireland's World Rally Championship star, local man Craig Breen, had a rare home outing at the wheel of a Ford Escort, and showed his class by taking third place overall despite lacking the four wheel drive advantage of the two high-tech cars in front of him.

Maguire and Purcell take Fiesta honours

David Maguire and Owen Purcell were the stars of the latest rounds of the Mondello Park promoted Fiesta championships last weekend, writes Fergus Brennan. Both drivers took double victories, with Maguire coming out on top in both Patch Tyre Equipment Fiesta ST Championship races, with Purcell taking two wins in the Mondello Park Fiesta Zetec Championship.

Maguire began the weekend with second on the grid, just six hundredths of a second of the pole sitter, his main championship rival, Shane McFadden. Maguire got a strong start in race one but the race was stopped before a lap was completed due to a multi-car accident.

Off the restart Maguire once again got the better of the pole man to lead into the first corner. The top two immediately established a gap to the third, fourth and fifth place battle, where Brendan Fitzgerald, John Denning and Hugh Grennan ran nose to tail. As the race progressed McFadden tried everything he knew to get past Maguire while the gap to their pursuers grew steadily. At the flag, fastest lap of the race was not enough to help McFadden as Maguire came home half a second clear to take his second victory of the season. Fitzgerald held on for third while Michael Cullen drove a strong race to move from ninth on the grid through to sixth to earn himself pole position for race two.

The second race start saw Cullen convert his pole position into a lead, but by the end of lap one he was already under pressure from Maguire who was up to second having started sixth. Maguire piled the pressure on to Cullen as once again the lead battle became a two horse race. The race on winner's pressure eventually worked as he moved into the lead in the closing stages and then set fastest lap of the race as he pulled away from Cullen. McFadden could only manage fifth place, allowing Maguire to open up a twelve point gap at the head of the championship. Cullen's second place moved him into third in the standings just ahead of Hugh Grennan who took the final podium place.

The Mondello Park Fiesta Zetec Championship had been all about Mark O'Donoghue prior to Sundays double header. O'Donoghue had taken three wins in a row to open up a substantial championship lead, leaving second placed Owen Purcell needing to finish ahead of the championship leader in both races to keep his challenge alive. Qualifying gave Purcell's chances a boost as he lined up on the front row ahead of O'Donoghue.

Making the most of his advantage, Purcell opened up an early lead in race one and held that gap till well into the second half of the race. The series leader was under pressure in second place from Adam Johnston and when he eventually broke free he closed the gap to Purcell. Going into the final couple of laps O'Donoghue was right with the leader but Purcell held him back and when Johnston once again caught up with O'Donoghue, Purcell was able to open up enough of a gap to hold on for his first win of the season.

Race two started with the same grid as the first encounter and once again it was Purcell who got away best. This time around it was pole sitter Tommy Mulready who was his nearest challenger as O'Donoghue found himself bundled down to seventh place. Purcell, Mulready and Philip Lawless were left battling over the top three places until Lawless's engine overheated dropping him out of contention and leaving Purcell clear to take his second victory of the day by a single second from Mulready. Roy Tobin came home third with O'Donoghue gradually recovering to fourth. Purcell's win helped him to halve the gap to the championship leader to twelve points throwing the series wide open once again.

The Patch Tyre Equipment Fiesta ST Championship and the Mondello Park  Fiesta Zetec Championship will resume with two more rounds at Mondello Park on July 8th and 9th.

Motorsport Ireland weekend roundup

Monaghan's Sam Moffett again showed that he is the master of Irish rallying this year by keeping his unbeaten record in the Triton Showers National Championship, writes Richard Burke, making it four wins in a row as his Fiesta WRC came out on top in the Rathkeale House Hotel Circuit of Munster in Co Limerick.

However, his margin of victory this time was only twelve seconds, and he was pushed hard by former title holder Donagh Kelly, who led after three of the nine stages.

Moffett and co-driver Keith Moriarty led the opening two stages near Newcastle West, but changing conditions meant that it was vital to be on the most suitable tyres, and the Focus of Donegalman Kelly and co-driver Conor Foley went ahead on stage three, although Moffett regained top spot three stages later and stayed there to the finish.

Alastair Fisher and Gordon Noble brought their R5 Fiesta home third, almost two minutes behind Kelly, with Manus Kelly's Impreza fourth ahead of three times British champion Keith Cronin from Bantry.

Motorsport Ireland Young Racing Driver of the Year Cian Carey had his best weekend yet in his assault on the British Formula 3 Cup, finishing second, third and fourth in his three races at Silverstone.

Boyles dominate Cavan Rally

Niall Murray.

Double National Rally champions Declan and Brian Boyle dominated the Cavan Kilmore Hotel Stages Rally yesterday, writes Richard Burke, with their Fiesta WRC finishing the eight stages more than half a minute clear of the Impreza of Garry Jennings and Rory Kennedy. 

The Donegal cousins held second place for the two opening stages, behind the Fabia of Marty McCormack and David Moynihan, but went ahead on the third stage and pulled away from there to the end. McCormack dropped to third after a duel with Jennings for the rest of the day, with just two seconds eventually covering the two rivals. 

Local man Gary Kiernan, from Bailieborough, came out best of the two wheel drive cars in his Escort, taking a strong fifth place overall, ahead of thesimilar cars of Adrian Hetherington, Ryan Loughran and Mickey Conlon.  

At Kirkistown, in Co Down, Kildare's Kevin O'Hara and Dubliner Niall Murray (pictured above), both former Young Racing Drivers of the Year, took a victory each in the two Formula Ford 1600 races.

Munster Autocross Round 3 preview

The Clare Motor Club are running their second loose autocross of the year in Ballycumber, CoOffaly on Sunday next May 21st, writes Austin Shinnors. 

The Clare Autocross is the third round of the Munster Autocross Championship and the opening round of the National Autocross Championship (Loose).

Entries for Sunday's autocross are available from  Triona McGrath, 1A Moyglas, Crusheen, Clare. 0879822092 trimcgrath@hotmail.com by  Thursday 18 May 17. No entries will be accepted accepted on the day. Neither will Telephone entries  be accepted. The entry fee is  €100, while the Junior entry fee is €50.

In the Munster Championship there is a dead heat at the top of the leaderboard. Clareman Brian Hassett has 36 points and shares top spot with Corkman Paul O' Driscoll. Two other drivers from the rebel county are third and fourth: Fachtna O' Driscoll third has 26 points while Brian O' Mahoney has a total of 21. Tipperary driver and winner of the last round James Lahart trails O' Mahoney by a single point. In the saloon category Johnny Kenneally leads the way in his Subaru Impreza ahead of William Meade (Nova) and Ger O Connell (Celica).

Brian Hassett, pictured above, claimed victory on Round One. He will be looking forward to extending his championship on his home race next Sunday. Photo: Pablo Photography.

The 2017 Munster Autocross is supported by O’Shea Bus Hire, Barrett International Transport, Daly Motor Services and Pablo Photography.

Motorsport Roundup

The Derry-Cork pairing of Marty McCormack and David Moynihan were the runaway winners of the Donegal Abbey Hotel Forest Rally, the third round of the Valvoline National Forestry Championship, writes Richard Burke. 

Driving their Skoda Fabia, they led from start to finish, setting best times on seven of the eight stages to beat nearest rivals Patrick and Stephen O'Brien by more than a minute.

The Escort of David Crossen from Comber was best of the two wheel drive cars, taking third place overall, with Mickey Conlon fifth in another Escort.

Gary Turkington won the Senior and Masters Final at Athboy Karting Centre in Co Meath, half a second ahead of Ross Hayes, while Ian O'Connell took top place in the Naas Driving Academy Autocross run by GSMC at Naul in north Co Dublin.

Motorsport Ireland Young Racing Driver of the Year Cian Carey (pictured) scored a fourth and two sixth places in the British Formula 3 Cup series at Snetterton, in Norfolk, despite problems when he made a wrong tyre choice in very changeable weather conditions. He was up to second place in the opening race until the track dried out and other drivers who had selected slick tyres were able to forge through the field in the closing laps.

Moffett unbeaten in National Championships

On home ground, Sam Moffett yesterday kept his unbeaten record in this year's Triton Showers National Rally Championship with his Fiesta WRC leading the Co Monaghan MC's Four Seasons Hotel event from start to finish, leaving him 27 seconds clear of former champion Donagh Kelly at the end, writes Richard Burke.

Moffett and his co-driver Karl Atkinson took an early lead of eight seconds over ex-title holders Declan and Brian Boyle on the opening stage, and increased this to 21 seconds over the first loop, with Kelly and Conor Foley having passed the Donegal cousins into runner up position.

After the second run through the three stages, the gap was three seconds larger, and while Kelly and Boyle disputed second position, Moffett and Atkinson cruised serenely on to another victory. Josh Moffett, the younger brother of the winner, was trying for three wins in a row in this rally, but he rolled his Fiesta on the second stage near Scotshouse, ending his day on the spot.

Veteran Niall Maguire, winner of a record seven Monaghan rallies, finished fourth with his Impreza getting in among the Fords which dominated the top ten positions, while another local driver, Stephen Wright, was fifth ahead of defending champion Roy White from Tipperary.

Rob Dwane from Tulla, Co Clare, took a surprise win on the opening day of the Galway MC's Hillclimb weekend at the Corkscrew, with the 20 year-old having a dream debut on his first outing in a single seater car, seven tenths of a second quicker than double champion Joe Courtney. The Galwayman reversed the positions at Ballinalacken yesterday, 1.1 seconds ahead of his young rival, with Dubliner Rory Stephens taking third place each time.

Young Racing Driver of the Year Cian Carey (pictured above) showed that he has the speed to challenge for the UK Formula 3 Cup by setting fastest laps in two of the three races at yesterday's opening meeting at Donington Park. He qualified second for the opening race, but slipped to fourth at the finish. In race two, the Meath driver retired, but battled through the field from the back of the grid in the final outing to take an impressive fifth position.

Marshalls Club for Galway Hillclimb event

The 2017 Motorsport Ireland Hillclimb and Sprint Championship kicks off this weekend with the Galway heat at the famous ‘Corkscrew’ Hill in Ballyvaughan, Co Clare on Saturday 22 April, followed by Ballinalacken Hill, Fanore on Sunday 23rd April. The 2016 champion Joe Courtney from Dunmore flying the flag for Galway is a hot favourite again this year.

A new Hillclimb Marshalls Club is being established for 2017 with sponsorship from Frank Byrnes Autobody Repairs, Oranmore. Led by Jaimie O’Rourke from Limerick, winner of Marshall of the Year 2016, training will be provided to the voluntary team of marshalls.

“The role of the hillclimb marshall is key to running a successful event,” says Rory Stephens, Chairman of the Hillclimb & Sprint Committee. “Competitors who are driving at high speed uphill depend on the dedicated flag marshalls to communicate instantly if there’s an obstruction or collision on the hill or a car ahead that has broken down, it is crucial that they are well-trained and alert at all times. This new club will add to the safety and smooth running of the championship throughout the country.”

Fiesta STs in busy day at Mondello

The Patch Tyre Equipment Fiesta ST Championship provided the pick of the action at an incident packed Mondello Park yesterday (Sunday 9 April), writes Fergus Brennan. The series, for identical Ford Fiestas, produced some incredibly close racing, including Shane McFadden beating Kevin Doran in race two, with a winning margin of less than five hundredths of a second.

The first race start had to be aborted following an incident at Mobil corner and on the restart it was David Maguire who led away from Michael Cullen and Championship leader Shane McFadden. McFadden came under pressure from Michael Fitzgerald who worked his way past on lap three but was then denied a podium position due to an infringement and ended up classified eight.

While Maguire, the reigning champion, cruised to his first win of the year, ahead of Cullen and McFadden, a fierce battle was going on between Tom Fahy and Stephen Kirwan for the all important sixth place. Sixth would convert into pole position for race two and in the end it was Fahy who held on by less than two tenths of a second.

Race two began with Fahy leading, but it was former race winner Kevin Doran who was first to break his resistance, getting by at Southside corner at the end of lap one. McFadden followed Doran through, in order to stop him from building a lead, and was soon joined by Maguire and Fitzgerald. The lead quartet were closing up when the safety car was deployed due to the inevitable coming together of the extremely tight midfield bunch.

Fitzgerald had moved by Maguire just before the safety car appeared and on the restart he was right on McFadden. The two drivers ran side by side for most of laps seven and eight, allowing Maguire to get back into contention and briefly pass Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald was not about to give up his first Patch Tyre Equipment Fiesta ST podium however and set about wresting third place back, but his dicing with Maguire allowed the leaders to escape.

Fitzgerald and Maguire continued to swap places right up to the final lap, with third eventually going the way of Fitzgerald, but up front Doran steadfastly held on to his lead, that is until the run to the flag. With the race leader going ultra defensive at the final corner McFadden was able to get a strong run onto the straight to take the lead for the first time just as they crossed the line. A winning margin of just 0.046 of a second was easily the closest of the day and enough for McFadden to retain his championship lead.

The Mondello Park Fiesta Zetec Championship also provided some great racing, despite championship leader Mark O'Donoghue taking both wins. In race one O'Donoghue took a relatively easy win but behind him there was a frantic four car dice for third which raged for the entire race distance. At the flag it was O'Donoghue from Owen Purcell and Alan Watkins.

Race two saw O'Donoghue again take the lead but Purcell fought back to get in front for three laps at half distance. The leaders ran side by side for a couple of tours but at the end of lap seven the dice was decided in the championship leaders favour, as Purcell ran wide at Southside Corner leaving O'Donoghue to cruise to his third win of the year. Darren Lawler worked his way up from seventh to challenge Purcell but failed to take second place by one hundredth of a second.

The Patch Tyre Equipment Fiesta ST and Mondello Park Fiesta Zetec championships will both be back on track at Mondello Park on 9 June.

Fiesta ST racing at Mondello next Sunday

Rounds three and four of the 2017 Patch Tyre Equipment Fiesta ST Championship take place at Mondello Park on Sunday 9 April, writes Fergus Brennan. The relatively new championship, for identical Fiesta STs, will be the main attraction at Mondello Park's second car race event of the season which will run on the County Kildare circuit’s National Track layout. The Mondello Park Fiesta Zetec Championship will also contest its second double header of the year at the same event.

The Fiesta ST championship, which is in its second season, is already the best supported saloon racing series in Ireland with race action to match its impressive grids. Almost 30 drivers have already registered for the 2017 championship which will be a tough one to win. The entry list features some of Ireland's most experienced Saloon racers, including Michael Cullen, Mark Turley, Rod McGovern and inaugural Patch Fiesta ST champion David Maguire.

The Patch Tyre Equipment Fiesta ST Championship and Mondello Park Fiesta Zetec Championship will both qualify and race twice on Sunday 9 April, and to add some spice to the already close racing the top six from from race one will have their positions reversed to form the starting grid for race two.

Admission to Sunday's race day is €12.50 booked in advance on-line from mondellopark.ie, or €15.00 at the gate. Under sixteen's are admitted free and all admission includes a complimentary event programme. For more information and a timetable see www.mondellopark.ie or follow Mondello Park on facebook and twitter.