Carsport: 2016

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YEARBOOK 2017 IRISH MOTORSPORT YEARBOOK 2017

MEEKE AND BREEN GET SET FOR 2017 IN NEW C3WRC

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COLIN MCRAE’S FIRST FOCUS WRC

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• JUHA KANKKUNEN • MICHAEL O’CARROLL • FRED GALLAGHER • COLIN TURKINGTON • MCLAREN 650S ROAD TEST • SAM AND JOSH MOFFETT INTERVIEW • RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP REVIEWS • RACING • ROY WHITE • MCGEEHAN MOTORSPORT • FORMULA ONE • KEITH MCIVOR’S HISTORIC ESCORT AND 911 CarSport 01/12/2016 13:24

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FOREWORD

FOREWORD

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KRIS MEEKE This is it. This is what I’ve been waiting for: a full works drive in a new factory car in the World Rally Championship.

Paul and myself have been busy testing the new C3 WRC over the past year in between doing the occasional round of the 2016 World Rally Championship. Sure it was great to win in Portugal and Finland, but 2017 is what it’s all about.

Volkswagen’s withdrawal came as a bit of a shock to us all, but I am quite sure I will be facing up to Sebastien Ogier, Jari-Matti Latvala and Andreas Mikkelsen in 2017. VW might have gone but Toyota have come back and Tommi Makinen and his team have been testing a lot recently and are not to be underestimated.

It’s going to be a cracking year and it is always reassuring for Paul and myself to know the strength and depth of support we have from home, especially as we’ve now been joined in the Abu Dhabi Citroen World Rally Team by Craig Breen. Motorsport in Ireland is so strong we are renowned the world over and it’s great to have a quality publication like the CarSport Yearbook to cover it all.

I hope you enjoy the Yearbook as much as I always do!

Here’s to a thrilling 2017…

CarSport

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CONTENTS JANUARY 2017

CarSport Yearbook

EDITOR’s comment

I

t was no big surprise that Sebastien Ogier won his fourth World Rally Championship in 2016. The shock news was Volkswagen’s withdrawal from the WRC, leaving Ogier, along with team mates Jari-Matti Latvala and Andreas Mikkelsen out in the cold.

Volkswagen Motorsport may have spent the past year developing the new 2017 Polo WRC but that car may not make an appearance. The news has sent shockwaves through the rally world but it could all be to Kris Meeke’s benefit.

It was generally accepted that the Polo was always slightly quicker the other cars in the championship but with VW’s demise that must make Kris Meeke one of the favourites for the 2017 World Championship. In 2016, Kris was the only driver able to trouble Ogier’s dominance.

Add in Craig Breen as his teammate and 2017 is going to be a year to remember!

Pat Burns

CarSport

ogier again as era ends

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meeke: world rally champion 2017?

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determination pays off for breen

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cronin cleans up

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brothers in r’s

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THE TEAM

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Editor

Patrick Burns

patburns@greerpublications.com

MANAGER

Gladys Greer

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Contributors: Sammy Hamill; Maurice Hamilton; Rob Wilkins; Angus Frazer; Richard Young; Michael O’Carroll; Andy Gray; Aaron McElroy; Jim McCauley; Ian Beasant; David Finlay; Kevin O’Driscoll; Leo Nulty; Andrew Bushe; Raymond Donaldson; Derek Smyth; James McCann; Photographers: Roy Dempster; Trevor Foster; Esler Crawford; Seamus Counihan; Fergal Kelly; John O’Neill; Guy Foster; Michael Chester; Andy Crayford; Patrick Regan; Max Ponti; Simone Tadiello; Martin Walsh; Conor Edwardes;

Roy of the rovers

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The father and son team of Gwyndaf and Elfyn Evans – both Ulster Rally winners.

“When the big hand is at 12, that means it’s something o’clock.” Gordon Noble gets sets for theUlster Rally…

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YEAR IN PICS 2016 Photos:

Fergal Kelly

Dublin’s Aaron MacHale takes a tight line through the bridge…

Kris Meeke picked up the ANICC Motor sport award from the ANICC’s Robert Harkness and Henry Campbell

The high jump award at Hamilton’s Folly on the Circuit of Ireland went to Joe Connolly in his R5 Fiesta

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Garry Jennings gives Declan Boyle a bit of a lift!

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James Wilson and Roisin Boyd on their way to victory on Mini Legends

Tennis star Caroline Wozniacki got a run in a Polo WRC before the start of the Monte Carlo Rally

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Pictured at the launch of the Bertie Fisher book: author Fergus McAnallen, Roy Fisher, Kieran McAnallen, Gladys Fisher, Colm Quinn (Armagh Tigers), Kenny Fisher, Emma Gribben (Tigers), Sinead Slane (Organising Committee), Ernie Fisher, Kevin Toner (Tigers), Ivan Fisher.

The Murphy Prototypes Team enjoy the sun at Le Mans

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These drag racing ladies added some glamour to the SEMA show in Las Vegas

Marty McCormack shows how to take a big cut on the Tour of the Sperrins!

Legends Rauno Aaltonen and Terry Harryman and the Mini Legends Rally

Legend Ari Vatanen signs an autograph for CarSport photographer Trevor Foster of a photo Trevor took back on the 1982 Circuit of Ireland rally.

CarSport

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Road racing star Lee Johnston goes testing with Craig Breen With first HANS and soon to launched HALO safety devices coming into F1, Esler Crawford reminded us of what safety requirements were needed back in the fifties!

Garry Jennings gets the Dougie Hughes treatment.

John Mulholland Motors sponsored the Ulster Rally which moved to the north west in 2016.

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by Rob Wilkins

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OGIER AGAIN AS ERA ENDS Photos: Trevor Foster / Roy Dempster / Conor Edwardes / Fergal Kelly

Sébastien Ogier matches Juha Kankkunen and Tommi Mäkinen with a fourth title as Volkswagen checks out with 43 wins from 52 and the current generation of WRC cars concludes

I

t was an end of an era in 2016. Everyone knew it would be the last year for the current generation of World Rally cars, but no one knew it would also be the last for Volkswagen. Indeed the shock announcement days after Wales Rally GB sent shock waves through the sport and came at the end of a season in which VW had again dominated, retaining both the Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ crowns for the fourth year in succession.

“Looking back, we have all been on an incredible journey over the past four years. To have such a run of success is definitely something very special - particularly in motorsport, where so many different factors come into play. I am very happy that I opted for Volkswagen before anyone knew where this WRC adventure would take us,” said Ogier after his sixth win of the year in GB and interestingly, three days prior to VW’s exit confirmation.

Ogier kicked off 2016 as he had the last three seasons by winning the opener in Monte Carlo, although only after a good battle with Kris Meeke, which unfortunately ended on

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Sebastien Ogier clinched a fourth WRC title and VW withdrew from the World Rally Championship day three after a ‘freak’ incident forced the Citroën DS 3 WRC pilot out. That left Volkswagen II driver Andreas Mikkelsen through to finish second, albeit almost two minutes back, with Thierry Neuville third for Hyundai.

On to Sweden, and Ogier took another maximum haul, leading from start-to-finish, but having to take “probably the greatest risk of our career” on the Saturday,

when fresh snow left him at a disadvantage being first on the road.

Hayden Paddon was second, 29.8secs adrift, limping to the finish after hitting a wooden post metres from the end of the final test and damaging the radiator on his Hyundai. M-Sport’s Mads Østberg completed the podium.

Volkswagen then won again in Mexico, but this time it was

Jari-Matti Latvala on the top step, the Finn putting in a great drive and winning all ten of the loose surface tests on Friday and Saturday – a major boost after he failed to score in either Monte Carlo or Sweden.

Ogier had to be content with second, unable to challenge due to his road position, a situation that would occur frequently

Ogier on his way to winning in Germany

“Kris [Meeke] was doing a great job. Every time I took it a little bit more careful on one tricky section in a stage, he immediately took some time back. It was a shame the fight did not carry on, it was purely bad luck for him. On the other hand, I could then control the race and take things a little bit more easily. This is the best way to start the season.”

(Monte Carlo, January 24 2016 – 1st) “I had to fight maybe harder than ever to try to keep the lead on Saturday. Obviously it was difficult to be first one on the road with the fresh snow, especially in Vargåsen. I took some risk and I admit that I had some luck, but I think you need a bit of luck anyway to win.”

(Sweden, February 14 2016 – 1st) “Second was the best-possible result. Naturally, I would have hoped to stage a more exciting duel with Jari-Matti [Latvala]. But there was no way that was possible; our road conditions on the first two days were far too different...”

(Mexico, March 6 2016 – 2nd) “Hayden [Paddon] did an amazing time in the Power Stage. He definitely went for it and I didn’t do enough.

I have to say that I am a competitor and I don’t like to be second, but today it is much easier to accept to be beaten this way. The difference happened behind the steering wheel.”

(Argentina, April 24 2016 – 2nd) “It has been a tough weekend. I would obviously have liked to have stayed ahead of Andreas [Mikkelsen].

However, after the slow puncture on Sunday’s first stage, we had to take a slightly more cautious approach.”

(Portugal, May 22 2016 – 3rd) “Going into the rally, I knew that third place would be the best possible result. As such, I am very happy to be on the podium. I would like to say a special thank you to my

wife Andrea for waiting to give birth to our first child! I cannot wait to get home…”

(Sardinia, June 12 2016 – 3rd) “The last two stages were just about survival. We took what we could - eight points [plus three from winning the Power Stage] is better than nothing.”

(Poland, July 3 – 6th) “I got stuck in a hairpin [in SS10] – it was totally my mistake, a stupid one.

Unfortunately, there weren’t as many spectators there as I would have hoped for. But without their help, we would never have got back on the track, so Kiitos!”

(Finland, July 31 – 24th) “A fantastic feeling to be back at the top of the podium after this long dry spell. This is a really good place to do it [too], because it is the home rally for our team and the last rally for Jost [Capito].”

(Germany, August 21 – 1st) “What I really wanted was to win this rally. It’s my first win in Corsica, on such a historic event. We had a strong start and were able to manage the lead on Saturday and Sunday.

It went perfectly.”

(Corsica, October 2 – 1st) “We had to fight hard this year, this was one of the hardest [titles] to get. It’s difficult to say if it’s the hardest. But once again we do it in style with the victory. I am very proud, very happy. It is an honour to be mentioned in the same breath as such big names as [Juha] Kankkunen and [Tommi] Mäkinen. I would like to say a huge thank you to our team at Volkswagen.”

(Catalunya, October 16 – 1st)

Dani Sordo was initially third, but was later demoted to fourth for using one more tyre than permitted. His loss was Østberg’s – and M-Sport’s - gain.

In Argentina, Paddon broke his duck and became the first New Zealander to ever win a round of the WRC. It was also the first win for the new generation i20 WRC. Paddon inherited the lead on the Saturday when Latvala crashed heavily in the penultimate test. It set up a thrilling final leg, with Ogier closing on the Kiwi and slashing the gap from around 30 seconds to just 3 prior to the last test. Paddon, however, hung on and a superb time in the Power Stage – 11secs up on anyone else – assured him of a well-deserved victory from Ogier and Mikkelsen.

Back to Europe, and on to Portugal, this time it was Kris Meeke’s turn to triumph, making the most of his superior road position - especially on the Saturday morning - to build a good lead, before putting in a controlled drive to the finish, 29.7secs up on Mikkelsen.

Ogier was third, losing a place on the final day, after picking up two punctures and having to ease off somewhat to ensure he got to the end. Again though, in terms of the Championship, he remained on course with his lead up to 47 points, a situation he further improved in Sardinia, although again third was the optimum with the Frenchman having to endure the worst of the conditions as the road opener.

At the front, Neuville took an important win, taking the lead on the Friday morning, and although

he briefly lost it in the first test in the afternoon, he then led from SS7 onwards. Latvala was second, conceding defeat after the first two tests on the final day.

Poland then witnessed the sixth different winner from the first seven events, with Mikkelsen putting VW back on top for the first time since Mexico. It could well have been different, however, with DMACK’s Ott Tänak leading by 18.3secs until he picked up a front-right puncture in the penultimate test. The heartbroken Estonian slipped to second, with Paddon third.

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by Rob Wilkins

SÉBASTIEN OGIER: THE ROAD TO TITLE #4 - IN HIS WORDS

throughout 2016, much to his frustration. Still he was able to extend his Championship lead, up from 23 points to 35.

Where was Ogier? He could do no better than sixth, but did also win the Power Stage to limit the damage as the season hit the mid-way point.

If Ogier was disappointed with Poland though, worse was to come and in Finland he failed to score at all, finishing a distant 24th after an off on the opening day, when he got stuck in a ditch in SS10 and lost over 15 minutes.

It meant his Championship lead was eroded for the second event in a row, although he still had a 45 point buffer.

At the sharp end, Meeke won again, leading throughout excluding Thursday’s super special - to become the first Briton, and only the sixth non-Nordic driver, to win the ‘Rally of 1000 Lakes’.

Latvala was second, denied a third consecutive home win, with Craig Breen a sensational third on only his fifth event in a WRC car. Breen also won his first WRC stage in the penultimate test.

With the switch to asphalt in Germany, Ogier bounced back to give Volkswagen its second home win on the trot – and on Jost Capito’s final event as VW’s motorsport director. The result also allowed Ogier to reverse the trend of the last two events and

Haydan Paddon Scored his first Victory in Argentina

CarSport

Elfyn Evans produced some impresive drives in WRC 2

Ott Tanak

by Rob Wilkins

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Andrew Mikkelsen

extend his championship lead to 59 points.

0.1secs in the Power Stage, while Mikkelsen dropped to fourth.

Ogier was battling with Mikkelsen and Neuville on the first day, finishing it 4.3secs down on the former, before storming times in the long Panzerplatte Lang test on Saturday saw him pull clear. Sordo eventually took P2, edging Neuville by just

After China was cancelled due to storm damage, there was a long gap to Corsica, but an-all too familiar name won there, with Ogier on top throughout, finishing 46.4secs up on Neuville with Mikkelsen third. It was Ogier’s first ever win in Corsica.

CarSport

Kris Meeke on Monte

by Rob Wilkins

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VOLKSWAGEN POLO R WRC RECORD: KEY STATS – 20132016 Titles: 12 (4 Manufacturers’, 4 Drivers’ and 4 Co-Drivers’ title) Wins: 43 (from 52 events) Podiums: 87 Stage wins: 640 (from 958 special stages)

The 2017 Polo WRC will not be seen in action also had a transmission scare, but fortunately for him in the final test of the day. Tänak took second, winning all six tests on the Sunday to keep Ogier honest, while Neuville was third.

Australia served as a ‘goodbye event’ for Volkswagen, and while Ogier was in contention,

he had to settle for second with Mikkelsen first and giving the team its 43rd and final victory.

Neuville took third.

“This is a very emotional moment for me,” Ogier said after finishing Rally Australia and driving the Polo R WRC for the final time.

“I have so much to thank the team for. Volkswagen Motorsport has been like a family to Julien [Ingrassia] and me. I have made a lot of friends and will never forget the wonderful moments we have had together over the past few years. A fantastic journey is coming to an end, and I am proud to have been a part of it.”

Victory at home, left Ogier on the verge of his fourth title, and another strong performance in Spain saw him wrap it up with his third win in succession. Ogier led initially on the Friday, despite very wet and tricky conditions.

However, in the afternoon, he slipped back, before reeling in Sordo on Saturday and taking back the lead with his fifth stage win in a row. Sordo eventually finished 15.6secs adrift with Neuville third.

The penultimate round saw Ogier again lead from start-tofinish claiming his only loose surface win of the season and his fourth Rally GB win in a row, the perfect way for Volkswagen to sew-up the Manufacturers’.

Not that it was all plain sailing for VW with transmission problems dropping both sister cars of Latvala and Mikkelsen out of contention on day one. Ogier

Craig Breen on Rally GB

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Meeke: World Rally Champion 2017?

BY SAMMY HAMILL

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Photos: Trevor Foster / Roy Dempster /Conor Edwardes

I

s it OK to dream the impossible dream; to imagine the unreachable can be reached? Could Kris Meeke really be World rally champion come this time next year?

It looked a long shot just a matter of months ago but all that changed when Volkswagen rocked the rally world by suddenly announcing they were bowing out after four years of almost total dominance.

Meeke was one of just four drivers who had denied VW a clean sweep of the 53 rallies they contested, beating them in Argentina, Portugal and most memorably in Finland where he became the first British driver to win the ‘Finnish Grand Prix’.

Over the past year he had become the one driver who had the speed to challenge Sebastien Ogier - but to beat the Ogier and the Volkswagens consistently over a whole season was an order too tall to be seriously considered.

But now …?

We are entering a whole new world, full of anticipation and uncertainty. The mighty Polos have gone and even though there is a new 2017 version ready to roll it seems we will never see it in action. Ogier and his team-mates Jari-Matti Latvala and Andreas Mikkelsen have left the all-encompassing cocoon of the expensively assembled Volkswagen camp after a run of 43 victories, four drivers’ and four manufacturers’ championships.

No one, it appears, saw it coming until the decision was announced in the wake of Ogier’s Wales Rally GB victory, a legacy of the Volkswagen’s ‘dieselgate’ scandal in the United States. It was preceded by Audi’s withdrawal from the World Endurance Championship and was followed soon afterwards by the revelation that as many as 23,000 workers could be laid off in Germany, unprecedented in the history of

the VAG Group.

Even though they had the biggest budget in the WRC, reputed to be around £100 million a year, it was just a drop in the ocean of the $18 billion or so Volkswagen will have to shell out in America but it was the perception of lavishing money on motorsport when employees were being made redundant which hammered the nail into the WRC and WEC coffins.

The door to a new champion in 2017 has been opened and the question is: can Meeke and Citroen walk through it?

The truth is no one really knows.

The cars will be all-new, built to the expanded regulations which will make them faster, louder and more spectacular to watch.

Indeed, they are said to be so much faster than the current WRC cars that no one outside the official teams, which have been increased to three points-scoring drivers, will be allowed to drive

them.

With all the teams testing individually there have been no comparison figures. We won’t know until Monte Carlo in January who has nailed the new specifications and who is going to be playing catch-up.

In many ways this has heaped huge pressure on Meeke. When he signed his new contract last November it saw Citroen gamble their future on the 37-year-old Ulsterman. His specific role was to develop the new C3, competing on just a handful of rallies in the old DS3 to stay “match sharp” but concentrating primarily on working with the test and development engineers.

The C3 is the first Citroen in more than a decade not to have been built around Sebastien Loeb.

The Xsara, the C4 and the DS3 were all his cars. In fact, Meeke has said that when they began preparations for most rallies they dialled in the original Loeb

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BY SAMMY HAMILL

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Kris Meeke is congratulated on his Rally Finland victory by Ari Vatanen. settings.

Now all that changes. This is effectively Meeke’s car. He has done the bulk of the development work with input at times from Craig Breen and Stephane Lefebvre.

Does that heap extra pressure on him? He says no. “I’ve been testing Citroen cars nearly all my career and think I have the experience and the knowledge to provide the necessary feedback to the engineers. It is all about trusting my instincts and trying to make the car the best it can be.”

And he is excited and impressed with the work the Citroen designers and engineers have done to create the new C3.

Built to next year’s FIA technical regulations, the car is 55mm wider, 25kg lighter and has more aerodynamic devices than the current DS3 model. Performance is also boosted by the return of an active centre-differential and a less restricted turbo that Citroën say raises engine power to 380bhp.

“The first time I set off in the car I felt that I was driving a genuine

rallying machine,” he has said.

“I have been involved in the development of several cars in my time; generally speaking, you spend more time waiting around than driving in the first few test sessions. But with this, I was able to rack up the miles and start to explore the set-up options right away. It was like a dream!

“With the power and the aerodynamic efficiency, these cars are fascinating. After my first run, one of the mechanics filmed the expression on my face. I didn’t realise it at the time, but the big

smile on my face spoke volumes about how much I had enjoyed driving the car!” Meeke said.

And with the jump in performance over the current cars, Meeke acknowledged that there were comparisons with the iconic Group B era.

“Obviously, it’s a period in the history of rallying that everyone remembers with affection. The cars were spectacular, with their bold design and big spoilers.

We’re returning to that spirit, with more aggressively-designed cars but adding in the

CarSport

Kris tests a new celebrity co-driver, Diana Pereira

BY SAMMY HAMILL

18

technological advances that we now have,” he said.

Now Meeke goes into 2017 on the back of his best-ever year in the WRC even though he only contested seven events. In all but Rally Spain and Rally GB he was mixing it with the Volkswagens and challenging Ogier.

He puts the step-up in his performances down to the security of his three-year contract, revealing he has often been working in the past on an eventby-event basis.

“I finally had a long-term contract, the first-ever in my career,” he explained. “This provides a degree of a security and stability, psychologically.

It makes a big difference. In previous years, I had a contract for a set number of events, not the whole year. Then it was renewed after each event!

“The longest contract I had before this was for one year. This time I have three years and I’m more relaxed, more concentrated on the job and also I can enjoy it more.”

Having been able to fight for the win in four out of the seven rallies he entered this year, Meeke hopes he can carry this form into 2017.

“In Finland it was really nice to win. But I could have done it also in Monte Carlo! Seriously.

We have had this potential everywhere.

“I still need experience, but in Monte Carlo I fought for the win and in Sweden we had big potential, we were able to do very well. In the rest of the

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events I have always had the chance to fight for the win, except Catalunya, where I still need experience. In Wales the conditions really didn’t suit the DS3 and it was a question of doing the best job I could. There was no possibility of winning.

“But overall this year I have shown I am on form, the DS3 was very strong even if we hadn’t been developing it substantially for the last two years. We hope it’s a good sign for next year.”

But Meeke admits talk of a World title is premature. “I’m confident we can compete at the highest level but the truth is we don’t really know where any of us stand with the new cars. There are no figures from testing to compare one against the other.

All you can do is look at the YouTube videos and see what everyone else is doing.

“It is not very scientific but it is interesting to see how the aerodynamics of the cars have been altered as the test sessions progressed through the year. It

is going to be fascinating to see where we all stand although I don’t think we will really know a great deal until Portugal.

“Monte Carlo is a unique rally and a bit of a lottery; Sweden is the same depending on how much snow we get and Mexico can be a matter of survival.

Portugal is where we should see it all coming together. Until then I don’t think we will really know who is going to be fighting for the World title.”

He says he may now be the oldest driver in the WRC but adds: “I am still young in terms of experience. This year I have been part-time, but it is only my third year in the world championship.

“We have seen a driver of Ogier’s calibre win his first title in his sixth year of WRC. I still have a lot to learn, gather experience of every round and get confident with the increased speed of these new cars.

“It’s always exciting to drive a new car but this is different.

This is the start of a major new programme for Citroën Racing and new era for the WRC. That’s what makes this moment so special. I know that everyone has put in a lot of work building and developing the C3 so it’s special for them too. Now, we’re moving into a new stage of the process and it’s up to me to step up to the plate.”

Kris with Co-Driver Paul Nagle

Focus and Determination pays off for Craig Breen

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By Sammy Hamill Photos: Trevor Foster / Roy Dempster /Conor Edwardes

T

he thing that has always struck me about Craig is his focus, his determination to succeed. He has had a dream since he was a kid and has pursued it relentlessly.

There have been those, especially in Ireland, who have had their doubts down the years about his ability to reach the higher echelons of world rallying but every time he throws those doubts back in their faces. WRC Academy champion, WRC Super 2000 champion, multi winner in the European championship and now a contract driver with the Abu Dhabi Citroen team for the 2017 and ’18 World championships.

It is, he says, his dream come true.

But he admits there were times when he thought the dream would never become reality.

“As long as I can remember, rallying’s all I’ve ever wanted to do,” says the 27-year-old from Waterford, the first Irish Republic driver to be signed by a factory WRC team.

“My father Ray competed in

rallies at a national level with a fair amount of success in Ireland, so I grew up around the sport and that only served to strengthen my desire to compete.

“As well as Dad, there was another driver who I really followed through my youth and somebody who I really wanted to feel I could measure myself

against: Frank Meagher. Frank did everything his own way.

He would never have been the most fashionable driver, he never had the kind of budget his competitors would have enjoyed, but he always had a way of getting in there and winning rallies he had no right to be so competitive at.

“I loved that. Winning the Circuit of Ireland last year and this year meant so much to me because Frank had done it before. The feeling from seeing my name alongside ‘Frank Meagher’ on a trophy is amazing, such a buzz for me.

“It’s that kind of thing that makes me so incredibly proud

Craig in action on Rally Spain

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by Rob Wilkins

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to become the first Irishman to land a full-time manufacturer drive in the World Rally Championship.”

But, despite his determination and his seemingly always positive attitude, Craig did have his doubts.

“I’ll be honest, after the couple of years I’d had in the European championship with Peugeot and just missing out on the title, I’d started to think maybe the dream wasn’t going to happen. Maybe the world championship wasn’t for me.”

He wasn’t down for long, however, and, as Citroen re-assessed their options for 2016 and beyond, binning their World Touring Car Championship campaign to concentrate on developing their new C3 WRC car for the 2017 regulations, he landed the chance to join Kris Meeke and Stephane Lefebrve in the team.

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“Sheikh Khalid [Al-Qassimi, chairman of Abu Dhabi Racing] and Yves Matton at Citroën told me I would have the opportunity to do a selected programme of WRC rounds in 2016 along with some testing in Citroën’s all-new

C3 WRC. That was my moment.

“From the second I stepped aboard the DS3 for the pre-event test in Sweden at the start of the season, the car felt perfect.

It suited me, I felt completely comfortable and, for the first time

in ages, I could just get in the car and focus on the driving without having to worry about anything else. The reliability was there and that gave me the platform for some consistency and some pace.

“All of that helped me relax so

by Rob Wilkins

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In the big time with Jari-Matti Latvala and Sabastien Ogier

much more and being in that frame of mind, everything felt natural; the results have really come along with that. We were eighth in Sweden, seventh in Poland, third in Finland, fifth in Corsica and 10th in Catalunya.

“Rally GB was a big disappointment but it was the podium in Finland that really helped move things along for me in terms of the deal for the next two years. With Kris winning and me third, that was an amazing feeling.

“In many ways, having our future assured with Citroën until the end of 2018 lifts a big weight off my shoulders. But, as you would expect at this level, there is the Celebrating success on the Circuit of Ireland expectation to deliver – but that expectation comes from a team where I am so, so comfortable.

“I’ve never felt more at home. I know Kris well and his co-driver Paul [Nagle] has co-driven for me.

Then there’s Chris Patterson – Sheikh Khalid’s co-driver – who’s somebody I know really well from back home; it’s a bit of an Irish takeover of a French team! And then there’s my other teammate: Stéphane Lefebvre, who is somebody I’ve been close friends with for a long time.”

Craig Breen is living the dream.

Craig’s Co-Driver Scott Martin

CarSport

By Pat Burns

22

Shining Light in the Eurolamp World Rally Team Photos: Conor Edwardes / Roy Dempster

C

ookstown race and rally engineer Eddie Corr spent 2016 looking after Mini WRC cars for the Eurolamp World Rally Team…

As a former Prodrive engineer, responsible for the development of the customer Impreza WRC S12B, Eddie Corr was the ideal choice to be Prodrive’s engineer for the Eurolamp World Rally Team, a Ukrainian team headed

by Valeriy Gorban competing in selected rounds of the World Rally Championship.

The Eurolamp World Rally Team might not be a known name in Ireland, but it’s a different matter in Ukraine. The professional team, based in Kiev, were established years ago and have been Ukrainian Rally Champions numerous times and driver and team leader Valeriy Gorban is a very successful businessman and something of a celebrity in the country.

In 2015, the team competed on a few rounds of the World Rally Championship and for 2016 upgraded to WRC spec Minis.

Prodrive asked Eddie to be the team engineer and the dates of

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Valeriy Gorban in action in Spain the rallies allowed him to both run the Eurolamp team and be an official Porsche engineer in the Carrera Cup. The championship started for the team in Sweden before which they had a week long test for three WRC Minis and a test car in Rovaniemi, Finland. These being the two event cars for Valeriy and for Mait Maarend, and additionally a test car. (the team actually own four complete cars). The Minis are 01C WRC spec, last year the team used Regional Rally Car (RRC) spec cars but the upgrade included revised mapping for the 33mm restrictor and the championship control fuel by Panta. The test successfully completed, the team headed out on the rally where luck was on their side in that Gorban’s Mini rolled but landed on all four wheels! Final result was 24th for Valeriy and 34th after super rally for Mait. To put it in context, bear in mind that to enter the RC1 class in a WRC event, you are competing against four manufacturers teams with two cars each, and some enter a second team hence a third car, and also the RC2 category which includes some of the young hot shoes in R5 cars. There are easily 1012 works cars however you count it.

From the snows of Sweden came the heat and dust of Mexico. This proved to be

the highlight of the year for the team. “Mexico is a great rally to be involved in,” says Eddie, “You are able to walk from the downtown hotels to the service park and the event is well run and really popular with the media and spectators. I was concerned about the heat and the dust in Mexico as it was really hot there and the dust blocks all the radiators and cooling ducts. We run a strategy in the software that cuts the power slightly by changing the ignition when the car starts running too hot but like all decent calibrations this is very subtle and the drivers rarely notice. He drove a great rally and finished 10th overall which was the first point he has scored in the World Rally Championship and meant that we would be seeded and get television coverage for the rest of the year.” Mexico was not only a fantastic result, but provided some real challenges for the car and the crew, with a 80km stage, “juanojuato”, and the entire event taking place at altitudes of between 2000 and 2800m putting some strain on

Eddie Corr the turbos!

Argentina was next and unfortunately a DNF after an accident holed the sump and damaged an engine mount, the normally well equipped team simply didn’t have these parts in the fly away container, hence end of the road.

The next outing was in Portugal where Eddie felt that Valeriy drove much better than in Mexico but the result didn’t reflect it and there weren’t any points picked up. This was due to a simple mistake over the famous jump of the Fafe stage was left the car damaged and stranded, hence retired after SS17 at which point the crew were 14th overall.

Sardinia was next on the calendar. Another great venue to be working on a WRC rally, with a pleasant walk along the Alghero seafront to waken you as you head to service at 4am!

The Eurolamp team had entered two cars but both crashed. Valeriy eventually rejoined well down the field in SuperRally and came 27th

By Pat Burns

23

overall, with Mait recording a DNF after going off in SS5.

The very fast gravel stages of Poland proved to be a very difficult rally. “Poland is a really tricky rally, there is a lot of soil

in the gravel on the roads and when torrential rain arrived on Sunday it turned really slippery.

Everyone struggled there and the conditions changed constantly.

We use Pirelli tyres and under the new regs we only have two types

of gravel tyres to use so at least tyre choice isn’t the big problem it used to be…”

Valeriy finished 28th overall.

The team stayed on gravel for their next round in Finland where the big jumps caused two driveshaft breakages. Luckily as this generation of rally car does not have a centre diff they are particularly robust against driveshaft or propshaft breakage and can usually be driven back to service…. Overall result was 21st.

The team took a break for a month before bringing one car out to Spain. This year’s Rally Espana used both gravel and tarmac stages which kept the teams busy changing suspension, brakes, gearbox and rear diff during the event. “The team are well drilled,” says Eddie, “ and very professionally run. They operate at a high level and aim to match the speed, talent and knowledge of the world rally factory teams.

“Valeriy is much happier on gravel than on tarmac and the rain at night made it quite a difficult rally. With

rain in some degree in the first three days the crew performed well to finish 15th.”

The final round for the Eurolamp rally team was a wet and foggy Rally GB where Valeriy put in some good times including matching Dani Sordo’s time of eighth fastest on the Shakedown stage and almost matching Luca Bertelli’s pace on some of the stages. Unfortunately another Super Rally beckoned and we finished 37th.

“The car was overheating on the Saturday and Volodimyr (Valeriy’s co-driver and quite excellent on the road repair man!) was able to send us updates via his phone and we figured out it was the electric water pump.

Once that was replaced all was fine again …

“It was a hard week,” recalls Eddie. “We didn’t get the car repaired until 1am and then had to be back for the 4am restart.

The stages used on Rally GB were very difficult this year. A lot of them are on small embankments with ditches on both sides which will pull the car off the road if you get on to them. Correct car placement is essential, you really need to be inch perfect…”

With the change of car regulations for 2017 and the new ‘Gentlemans Class’ for private drivers, the Eurolamp team have yet to decide on their plans for 2017…

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by: Kevin O’Driscoll Photos: Trevor Foster / Roy Dempster / Fergal Kelly

irish tarmac rally championship

CRONIN CLEANS UP

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Keith Cronin won the 2016 Clonakilty Black Pudding Irish Tarmac Championship

T

he Clonakilty Blackpudding Irish Tarmac Championship saw some unprecedented changes to the rules for 2016 with World Rally Cars no longer being allowed to score points towards the series. The R5 / S2000 class was now to be the premier point scoring category in the championship with a lot of the younger competitors voicing their support for such a change naturally this caused some disquiet with some strong views on both sides of the fence.

The championship consisted of seven rounds with the best five to count, and the final rally of the series, the Cork 20 International Rally, was to award bonus points.

The opening round as always was the Corrib Oil Galway International Rally in February

and 15 class 5 cars lined up at the start line, along with a number of WRCs which were still allowed to win the event even if they couldn’t score points. A huge bonus for the TROA was the commitment to the series by the likes of Keith Cronin and Alastair Fisher who had done much of their rallying overseas in recent years while the Moffett brothers, Sam and Josh, had made the switch to R5 Fiestas from the WRC models campaigned the previous year. Desi Henry had acquired an R5 Skoda to add to the mix of new machinery while Aaron McHale and Brendan Cumiskey, the previous year’s Group N contenders had moved to a Skoda S2000 and Fiesta R5 respectively.

Conditions in Galway could hardly have been more challenging for the crews with damp roads and very cold conditions on the first day followed by heavy and persistent rain on the second day. As a result there were some high profile retirements while Garry Jennings took a very easy three minute victory. Behind Jennings the battle amongst the R5 cars was intense with Keith Cronin bringing his Citroen home in second after a strong challenge from Alastair Fisher. Sam Moffett took third place points after Desi Henry had gone off the road midway through Sunday. Josh Moffett and Stephen Wright were surprisingly off the pace while there were good performances from Jonny

Greer and Joe McGonigle. Tommy Doyle was an early retirement in his Skoda S2000 when he went off the road, while Aaron McHale, Brendan Cumiskey & Tomas Davies found the going tough adapting to their new machinery.

David Guest and Paddy Robinson won Group N in their Mitsubishi Lancer, while Callum Devine was top of the pile in the 2WD category in his Opel Adam.

The second round was the Quality Hotel Clonakilty West Cork Rally which ran under an International permit for only the second time in its history. Once again there was a strong line up with Owen Murphy and Anthony Nestor joining the ranks of the converts by purchasing a Skoda Fabia S2000. With Garry Jennings

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irish tarmac rally championship

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Alastair Fisher in the Modern Tyre Services Fiesta winning margin in Galway leaving some people still asking questions as to whether the new rules were a step in the right direction, the faster flowing roads of West Cork would provide a stern test to the new breed of car and driver trying

the second. Cronin and Fisher were on a tremendous pace from the start, even taking a fastest stage time each on the first day until Fisher unfortunately crashed out on the final stage of the day.

Both drivers had been putting

Donagh Kelly on his way to victory in West Cork to close the gap.

Donagh Kelly the outgoing champion took a historic third victory in a row on the event, but even he had to admit to driving as fast as he had ever done to fend off the strong challenge from behind. While the winning margin of over a minute looks comfortable on paper, it was anything but the case with dry overcast weather on the first day followed by glorious sunshine on

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severe pressure on Garry Jennings as there was no repeat of the domination from Galway by the WRC’s. Cronin backed off on the second day to take second and full points as Kelly suffered a water leak in his Focus late on and was glad to reach the finish. Once again Sam Moffett edged in front of his brother as the battle went to the last stage. They were fourth and fifth and moved to second and third

respectively in the series. Other retirements included Desi Henry who withdrew after differential problems on the second day while a faulty intercom and more terminal mechanical problems ruined Owen Murphy’s debut in the Skoda. Once again David Guest took Group N honours while Callum Devine eventually saw off a very strong challenge from William Creighton to win the 2WD category.

The third round of the series was the iconic Circuit of Ireland Rally where the ERC, ITC and BRC all came together. All eyes were on Craig Breen who was not involved in any of the championships, Elfyn Evans the BRC leader, and Keith Cronin who was expected to take the fight to both. As it transpired Breen took the win as both Evans and Cronin retired. It was particularly disappointing for Cronin who damaged the radiator on the opening stage after an excursion and also lost the championship lead in the process.

Alastair Fisher had an outstanding drive after his West Cork accident and eventually took top points by finishing third overall ahead of Josh Moffett who now moved into the championship lead. Sam Moffett had been going very well until he went off the road on the second day, but it was all

still very close in championship terms. This was the aim of the TROA at the beginning of the year as there was a strong desire for increased competition, and after three rounds the series was certainly living up to expectations.

Patrick Kearney took top points in Group N while William Creighton went one better than the previous round with maximum points in the 2WD category.

Points after 3 Rounds: 1 – Josh Moffett 36 2 – Keith Cronin 32 3 – Alastair Fisher 30 4 – Jonny Greer / Sam Moffett / Stephen Wright 26 The Cartell.ie International Rally of the Lakes was next up at the end of April and once again it threw up its share of drama.

Cronin encountered mechanical problems in his Citroen on his way to the opening stage and by the time he got the car into the stage he was extremely late. He was penalised 19 minutes and it meant that the weekend was an exercise in getting some points on the board as his championship hopes took another major hit.

Josh Moffett was another to hit trouble as the erstwhile championship leader rolled out

irish tarmac rally championship

27

Group N winner David Guest of the rally on the third stage.

A strong second place behind Donagh Kelly in wet foggy conditions was enough to give Alastair Fisher top points and the championship lead. Sam Moffett

had challenged Fisher for most of the weekend, but a puncture on the second day cost him thirty seconds and he had to settle for third place. Stephen Wright had his best result of the season with

fourth place while there were also top ten placing’s for Owen Murphy and Joe Connolly. Callum Devine again won the 2WD class and took eighth overall into the bargain after an excellent drive,

while David Guest in ninth place scored his third maximum points in Group N. Round five was Donegal in June and as always it attracted a formidable entry with a mix of

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WRC and R5 cars. It was a topsy turvy event which had six different leaders over the weekend and Manus Kelly / Donall Barrett taking the lead for the first time after the final stage, but that only told part of the story. Keith Cronin had punctured on the opening day and found himself back in ninth overall, but a rapid rise through the field saw him up to third overnight behind leader Sam Moffett. In appalling conditions he moved into the lead, but was coming under pressure from the WRC of Manus Kelly. At the finish line of the final stage it was Kelly who was ahead by just 0.5 seconds, the closest result ever in Irish International Rallying. Cronin was far from despondent though, as the maximum points brought him back into contention and it was a very mature drive in terrible conditions on the final day. Sam Moffett also had a terrific drive and did enough to finish third overall and move into the lead

jointly with Alastair Fisher. Fisher looked in a strong position to extend his lead on Saturday morning only for an excursion on Knockalla, followed later by a puncture and broken drive shaft leaving him behind Josh Moffett and Stephen Wright.

This result left Sam and Alastair in the lead with Cronin, Josh Moffett and Stephen Wright all in close attendance, with all but Wright having had scores dropped to date. Once again it was David Guest winning Group N and Callum Devine the 2WD category as both stretched their respective championship leads as well as finishing a tough event in the top ten. Others to finish in the top dozen were Aaron McHale, Paraic Duffy and Paul Rowley while Joe McGonigle and Jonny Greer were among the retirements, both going off the road on the final day.

Points after 5 Rounds: 1 – Sam Moffett & Alastair Fisher 3 – Keith Cronin 4 – Josh Moffett & Stephen Wright The penultimate round was the Ulster International Rally which once again saw a crossover of ITC and BRC crews. While Elfyn Evans took both the rally win and the BRC title, the Irish side of things was far less clear cut as the title was coming right down to the wire. Fisher had led early on only to drop back with a puncture, while Cronin moved into second place just behind Evans in difficult conditions. Cronin had little interest in engaging Evans in a fight for the lead, but once he could hold second place another set of maximum points would be very welcome. Jonny Greer was having a superb event and held third from a hard charging Fisher as the event went into its later stages.

With a couple of stages to go Cronin discovered a gearbox problem with the Citroen that necessitated a change of the unit, but road penalties were incurred while Fisher had moved ahead of Greer and Keith dropped to fourth behind the second Citroen. That was how it remained with another full set of points for Fisher who led the series going into the final round, but with dropped scores coming into play and bonus points in Cork it was all about to

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54 49.5 48

get very interesting. Sam Moffett retired on the second day when his Fiesta hit a kerb and broke a wheel while Stephen Wright’s championship hopes ended with throttle problems forcing him out.

David Guest and Paddy Robinson secured the Group N title with another maximum score while Callum Devine still led the 2WD series but Marty Gallagher or William Creighton were still in with a chance.

The final round in Cork saw a situation where whoever finished in front between Fisher and Cronin, took the title. However both Moffetts were in with a shout too, although in Josh’s case it was slimmer as the leading trio would all have to hit major problems for him to take the title.

As expected Fisher threw down the challenge with a fastest time on the opening stage but Cronin responded with two his own to leave Fisher ahead by just 0.3 seconds by the third stage. In keeping with the championship as a whole, there were of course more twists to be had. Fisher’s championship hopes ended on the fourth test as he crashed out of the event which left Cronin in a very strong position with over 20 seconds to spare over his rivals.

The Moffett brothers had other ideas though and for the rest of

Keith Cronin the opening day they were on a charge as Cronin struggled to get a suitable pace now that his main rival was out. By the end of the opening day the margin was down to 8.5 seconds between Keith and Sam while Josh was only another six seconds back in fourth (behind the Fiesta WRC of Roy white).

The expected Moffett attack materialised on the second day but it was Josh who did the pressing and by the completion of half of the day’s six stages he had taken the lead from Cronin who was still well in control of his

More drama occurred on the next stage as Cronin punctured and dropped to fourth. Another place dropped and a win for Sam would bring the tarmac championship to Monaghan instead of Cork!

Only 8 seconds separated the top three with one stage to go and Cronin in fourth pace needed to hold position. Sam put on a huge charge on the final stage but it wasn’t enough to dislodge his brother from the top, but he did have the consolation of finishing second in one of the closest battles ever between three drivers on an Irish International Rally.

Callum Devine- one of the stars of 2016 own destiny. The top four were only separated by 5.9 seconds and even Jonny Greer in fifth was only 40 seconds behind the leader as the pace intensified.

Stephen Wright

Josh Moffett and Jason McKenna became the first crew to win a southern international rally in an R5 car when they had

Alastair Fisher just 4.6 seconds to spare over Sam Moffett & Karl Atkinson.

Roy White and James O’Brien took third just 1.7 seconds further back while fourth was enough for Keith Cronin &

Callum Devine Mikie Galvin to win the Clonakilty Blackpudding Irish Tarmac Championship for 2016 in their DGM prepared Citroen DS3 R5. Jonny Greer & Kirsty Riddick bought their Citroen home in an excellent fifth place while Stephen Wright, Brendan

Modified Champion Ross Marshall Cumiskey & Joe Connolly were other championship regulars to feature in the top ten. Callum Devine secured the 2WD category in his Opel Adam despite a strong challenge from Marty Gallagher & Dean O’Sullivan. It had been an exciting and fascinating and most importantly a competitive championship which vindicated the TROAs decision to bring in the new rules for 2016.

Points after 7 Rounds (Final): 1 – Keith Cronin 78 2 – Sam Moffett 75 3 – Josh Moffett 72 4 – Alastair Fisher 70 5 – Jonny Greer 55 6 – Stephen Wright 54

Wesley Patterson and Johnny Baird took the honours on the opening round in Galway after a hard fought battle with Eugene Meegan & Sarah Whelan. The Escort crew were second overnight albeit by a slender margin and when their BMW rivals went off the road and damaged their steering they had a straightforward run to take maximum points with Jason McSweeney (Lancer) and Patrick McHugh (Escort) in the top three places after round one. The second round in West Cork wasn’t good for any of the trio as all were forced to retire for a variety of reasons while Meegan was also destined not to finish. Brian Brogan, John Bonner and Enda O’Brien made it an Escort 1-2-3 in the points on the second round, but it was Scotland’s Ross Marshall who led the way in yet another Escort with 20 points after two rounds.

The third event, the Circuit of Ireland was Patterson’s home event and he duly picked up another maximum points but he still trailed Marshall who was second registered driver with only four eventually making it home.

There were only five registered drivers scoring points in Killarney but this time it as Eugene Meegan coming out on top with Jack Newman (Escort) next up. Championship leader was now Davy Armstrong (Escort) on 36 points following Ross Marshalls accident and Wesley Pattersons non-appearance in Killarney. Donegal saw Frank Kelly become the latest driver to take maximum points while Meegan suffered another non finish. Brian Brogan led on the first day but mechanical problems dropped him well back and he later withdrew. Patrick McHugh & Jason McSweeney scored well in Donegal, but it was Davy Armstrong who led the championship after five rounds from Ross Marshall.

On the Ulster Rally John Bonner finally scored maximum points after a year that deserved more while Ross Marshall edged out Davy Armstrong. With Armstrong having to drop scores at this point it left Marshall with a narrow advantage going into the final round in Cork. Eugene Meegan was the quickest for most of the first day in Cork, but gearbox problems put him out after the days final stage. Brian Brogan then took the lead and had a convincing margin to spare over Tommy Doyles Clio by the end of the event. This was enough to give the Donegal driver fourth in the Modified Championship.

Last years Junior winner John O’Sullivan was another Cork retirement but had done enough to take third in the championship while Ross Marshall edged Davy Armstrong for overall honours by just a single point at the end of a long season.

Historic Championship Frank Cunningham & Ross Forde are the Historic Champions after a

consistent year where they finished almost every round they started.

However in the opening round Galway it was a different story as Frank was forced to retire his Sierra with mechanical problems. David Goose took top points in the West but it was Philip Wylie’s turn in West Cork with Cunningham appearing in a LHD Escort that suffered initially from fuel problems but took a good finish in the end.

James O’Mahony the former Historic champion had switched from a Volvo to an Escort, but an accident in the opening round and a damaged axle in Clonakilty left him without any points to show for his efforts after two rounds.

Two more maximum scores on the Circuit of Ireland and Killarney left Cunningham in a very strong position with 42 points ahead of David Goose on 30 points. By the time two more rounds had passed in Donegal and Ulster Frank had picked up a further 28 points and his lead was almost unassailable with Andy Johnson (Chevette) and Brendan McAree (Porsche) his closest rivals but a long way back. When neither of these drivers travelled to the penultimate round in the Isle of Man Frank was champion.

He was unable to take part in the final round in Cork, but his brother Ray took over the hot seat in the Escort and took a convincing win. Brendan McAree was runner up in the series and Andy Johnson finished in third place.

29

irish tarmac rally championship

Modified Championship

Junior Championship This series went right down to the final round with three drivers in with a chance of claiming the Frank Meagher trophy. Kevin Horgan & Justin Ryan were level on points with a winner takes all scenario while Noel Murphy could take the title if the other two failed to finish and he took top points.

Kevin & Stephen Horgan did enough to take the championship which for a long time looked to be heading the way of Justin Ryan.

Justin Ryan took top points in Galway with John O’Flaherty next up and Kevin Horgan in third, and Ryan made the long journey to West Cork to take another maximum in round two. Kieran O’Donoghue took top points in his home rally of Killarney with Horgan and Ryan making up the top three. Donegal saw Horgan keep his hopes alive with another top score but Ryan still led the series from Murphy. On the Ulster Horgan was the only registered driver to appear and needed to finish, which he subsequently did leaving him on a tie with Ryan on 58 points with Murphy on 44 points.

On the last round in Cork Ryan hit trouble early on and had too much to do to recover ground leaving Kevin Horgan to take the championship with Ryan having to settle for second. Noel Murphy took third place ahead of Diarmuid Hallahan in fourth.

CarSport

www.mOnTgOmerY-mOTOrspOrT.CO.uk 30

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Seat Time

Rallying

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Montgomery Motorsport

Malcom Montgomery has brought a Pilbean Sprint Car

T

he life span of seats and harnesses is a contentious issue in Northern Ireland at the moment. The MSA has decreed that all seats used in stage rallying only have a lifespan of five years from date of manufacture. Up until three years

ago, the date of manufacture on a seat was simply marked on a sticker on the side of the seat.

The MSA has now warned that their scrutineers will be inspecting the date stickers on all rally seats and if there is any sign of

it having been replaced, the car will fail scrutiny. The latest seats however now use a tamper proof hologram sticker and if at any stage there is a sign of the sticker being tampered with, the seats will be failed. These holograms have been in use for the past three years.

Seats can only be used for fiveryears after date of manufacture but what has upset many Northern Ireland competitors is that Motorsport Ireland has extended the use of seats for an extra five years – meaning that seats are valid for up to ten years from date of manufacture on all club and National events. Many Northern Ireland competitors are asking the MSA to extend their dates by another five years to match the Motorsport Ireland standards.

Harnesses too have a date limit on them and must comply with the FIA standard 8855/1999.

Malcolm Montgomery of Montgomery Motorsport in Augher, County Tyrone is one of Ireland’s biggest supplier and stockists of seats, harnesses, helmets and extinguishers and stocks safety equipment from companies such as Sparco, OMP, Recaro and Peltor and sells around 500-600 helmets per year alone. Malcolm has the ex-works wide body Escort GVX 489T in his showroom and admits himself that GVX had brand new seats and harnesses fitted when he restored the car four years ago and will be out of date in 2017 – despite never having actually been used!

Other safety developments

from Montgomery Motorsport include the new Simpson Hybrid HANS system which is much easier to fit and will fit any seat in date while the new fuel cell torpedo stopper is also in stock.

Lifeline’s new extinguisher system – the Zero 360 as used in Formula One is now available and the 3kg Zero 360 can be used to replace the 4kg system.

There is a new addition sitting in the showroom – a Pilbeam MP62! Malcolm plans to sprint the car next year. The Pilbeam is powered by a 2 litre Vauxhall touring car engine producing 295bhp which gives the car a very impressive power to weight ratio and Malcolm is looking forward to getting some seat time in the car…

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Brothers in R’s

By Aaron McElroy

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Photos: Trevor Foster / Roy Dempster / Esler Crawford

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am and Josh Moffett have a reputation as being two of the fastest rally drivers in Ireland at the moment. The Monaghan based brothers rounded off a busy year of motorsport with second and third overall respectively in the 2016 Clonakilty Blackpudding Irish Tarmac Rally Championship in their Combilift backed Ford Fiesta

R5’s.

Being born into a rallying family, it is no surprise that they have become some of the quickest men on the stages; but Sam admits that they learned their speed from constantly trying to better each other when they were growing up.

“Dad drove for years and was very quick but he always just let

us at it and still does. If anyone trained us it was one pushing the other. When I was 14 and Josh was 12 we started in a Vauxhall Nova going round the track. I’d beat him by a second, he’d beat me by a second and soon enough you are at the top of the field racing for the same second against each other. All you want to do is beat each other and that just makes you want to go harder. It doesn’t matter who the other people are around you, the two of us were in the same car with the same tyres and just wanted to beat each other” Josh thought similar to that, saying they had always used each other as a benchmark.

“The competition between us always drove us on. Even before we started competing we had quads and field cars. There’d be a track in some field and we were always timing each other to see who can go fastest. Competition has always been there and it’s definitely what’s pushed us on to get us to where we are. Quite often you look at someone in the WRC and you think how are they going so fast? But when it’s your brother taking a second out of

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By Aaron McElroy

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you or starting to beat you, that’s pushing you on and you’re saying to yourself that I can beat him.”

Sam agreed, saying he sees himself as being equal to Josh and uses that to gauge his performance. “I can nearly accept if Keith Cronin beats me by ten seconds on a stage, you just think he’s quick. But there’s no excuse for me when Josh is beating me because in my head I am every bit as quick as him.”

The feeling from the close racing they had when they were younger has stuck with them and is what drives them on even when they aren’t competing against each other. Josh gives this year’s Limerick Forestry Rally as an example of that. “I went down to the rally because of Desi [Henry], if he wasn’t going, I wouldn’t have gone either because we were the only two in R5 cars. I don’t thrive to win I thrive for

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the race. It’s whenever I win that battle I feel the real achievement.

There are probably ten rallies in the year I could pick and take the WRC to, and make life a lot easier for myself” Sam interrupts, “He did that in Monaghan you see, he wanted to make life easy for himself.

He took the WRC just to make sure he had the win. He didn’t want the race there.” Even in an interview situation they look to get one up on each other.

But Sam goes back to Josh’s point of entering for the challenge rather than an easy win. “I agree with Josh on that.

I wouldn’t go to Imokilly or a non-national rally if there was maybe only one WRC car there and I thought I could win with little competition. I’d rather lose by a second than win by a minute. It would be far more of an achievement than if you won a rally by three minutes but there

was no one in a similar car and and makes the rallying even.” you were expected to win.”

Both cars are prepared by Tom They both speak highly of Gahan and work is made much the time spent in the Nova and simpler by running two identical the need of a level comparison cars, it also allows them to work between each other is still evident off each other a lot more. today. Sam explained that tyre “There’s no point coming up decisions and strategies are with the excuse that Josh is a decided within the team to not Citroen and I’m in a Ford.” said give an advantage one way or the Sam. “There would be two sets other. of spare parts and rims needed.

“If you are racing another Everything would just be a mess competitor you don’t know if if we went with different cars. they are on new tyres, what Having the same car is easy with suspension setting there are doing. If I put a new bottle of water in the car Josh knows. If one of us goes on a soft tyre the other one knows you’re doing it. If I go softer with the car, Josh knows and vice versa.”

Sam continued, “If we have a set of second hand intermediate tyres, we both might put two on the back of each car, instead of me running four new ones and putting Josh on four olds.

Josh Signing autographs for young fan It splits the bill

By Aaron McElroy

35

spares, it is easier run and you can do easy comparisons if there’s a problem. On a National event this year my car said there was a problem with the engine and we just took the sensor out of Josh’s car to make sure that it was a sensor fault and not a problem with the engine. It just makes sense.”

Sam laughs and adds that having the same spare parts is be a big plus for Josh because of how hard he can be on a car.

By day, Sam and Josh work at Combilift, a specialist forklift and long-load handling manufacturer.

They both work long hours in their different roles at the plant.

Josh is in charge of their Straddle Carrier division, while Sam is at the front of the new 12 acre manufacturing facility. They are business focused and make it clear that without putting in the work during the week there would be no rallying.

Sam doesn’t have the luxury of being able to delegate his work and has to make sure that he is in the office Monday to Friday to answer any questions or emails about the project.

“Work will always be the

priority. As nice as it sounds, I don’t desire to be a works driver for Citroen or anyone. What Craig Breen has achieved is very good and he’s put a lot of time into it but realistically for myself I enjoy going to a two day rally or a once off World Round; but so much work has to go into a World Round. With work in your head as well, it’s either one or the other and if I have to choose its only one choice and it’s going to be work. That’s just the way of life.

“Rallying is a serious hobby. If you look at the Irish

Championship there’s no one taking it as a profession.”

Josh sees rallying in a similar way. He said he also looks forward to the rare weekends where there is no rallying, so that he can enjoy doing nothing after a week of work. “In fairness no one is going to become a Works driver from Irish rallying, some might think they will someday but it’s a good hobby.”

There are mixed feelings from Sam about his year in the ITRC having got so close to taking the Championship title, “It would have been nice to win but Keith Cronin and Alastair Fisher have both been in the WRC before so they have serious experience.

We knew it was going to be a challenge. I was going to Cork thinking something was going to happen and it was there for us, we finished only three points off winning.

It’s looking like it will be an interesting battle next year. But I think we have closed the gap to the fastest drivers in Ireland – Alastair and Keith. We both bridged that gap. I’m not saying we can beat them, we are still probably a wee bit behind them but I think we can give them a good race on the right day. I think next year either one of us will be fit to bring it to the guys if it comes about, because our pace has come on.”

Josh’s highlight was taking the final round of this year’s Tarmac

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By Aaron McElroy

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Championship the Cork “20”, a solid way to finish a year that he said had its ups and downs.

“We’d a good steady start to rally; we took some time trying to get comfortable in the car. Jason hadn’t sat with me on tarmac for a long time so there was a bit of getting used to each other again.

Starting day two we were sitting fourth, we weren’t too far away from Keith or Sam at the front and my focus was on trying to pass Sam obviously. We just had a real good morning and got ahead of everybody and thankfully we were fit to keep it through the last loop of stages and take it home.”

Josh also recognised Keith Cronin as the measure of pace during the year. “Keith has a serious reputation in Ireland and England. He’s won the British Rally Championship three times. He’s a good benchmark for anyone in Ireland and whenever you’re not too far off him you know you’re going fairly well. I feel this year we’ve got slightly closer to him.

Hopefully next year and in the

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coming years we’ll be fit to get closer and maybe in front of him at some stage.”

As well as the Irish Tarmac Series, Josh had a run of success in the British Rally Championship, but he thinks success across the water would come down to having a few attempts at it.

“In the BRC Elfyn Evans was the benchmark, he was doing lots of World Rallies and he’s a very successful driver. We won round two of the BRC, the Circuit of Ireland which was a great achievement, but there is still an awful lot of work to do. The British rounds seem to be quite repetitive and experience is quite a big thing out there. It’s the kind of thing you’d have to do for a few years to really be on the ball.

We don’t really know what our plans are for next year. We need to see what sponsors we can gather. It is something I’d like to tackle but I just don’t know if it’s going to be next year.”

Sam also attempted the BRC but a poor outing on the first round as well as the increased

work commitments meant he didn’t take it further. “There is so much time off work for those events. You are away Tuesday night and are effectively losing so much of a week. For me with this new factory, if I’m doing anything I’ll be doing the Tarmac Championship.”

There is uniqueness to the family rivalry in the Moffett brothers and Sam thinks there’s an opportunity for promotion out of it. “It would be great to get Monster or Red Bull or someone like that on board. I do think we bring an entertaining element in that we are two brothers who want to beat each other. I think we get good enough publicity out of Combilift Rallying because of it, and it would be nice if someone recognised it.

The likes of Josh’s near miss on Cork got us hundreds of thousands of views on the Facebook page so there is advertising to be had.”

The competition between them doesn’t stop at final control on a stage; Josh said that anything

where there is a watch involved or someone can go quicker than the other, they will try to win.

Sam is quick to give one example. “We went go-karting one day and Josh was giving out that I was sixth on the grid and he was first. Second corner into the race, I put him off the road and he jumped into another kart to try put me off the road because I was winning. He’s a bit of a sore loser.”

Josh fires back, “I had to put him off because he put me off.

Even if it’s a 10k Run or the Hell and Back we did a few weeks ago, there’s always competition to push each other on and see who can beat each other.”

Sam gets the final word on the matter, “Some people say we can be too competitive, but like you want to win. I suppose I wouldn’t be as competitive if Josh wasn’t there. It’s only a bit of fun but at the same time, you want the bragging rights of winning because Josh wouldn’t be long reminding you that you lost.”

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By Martin Walsh

38

TRITON SHOWERS CONTINUE TO REIGN THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY

Photos: Trevor Foster/Seamus Counihan/Martin Walsh/Fergal Kelly

Roy White showed the opposition a clean pair of wheels

U

nlike promoted teams in Premier League football, the second Triton Showers National Rally Championship season didn’t have any real blip as most events continued - given the changing financial climate – to attract reasonable entries. Of course, there were exceptions but more of that later. While the new champions Roy White and James O’Brien didn’t exactly do a “Leicester City” their success was notable for its consistency – a trait so long part of the very fabric of the national series as they clinched the title in Roy’s hometown of Clonmel.

From a Triton perspective the branding of the series remains paramount to their ideals and through the various mediums television, radio, papers and social media it’s an upward spiralling curve.

The one-day format remains the championship’s most valued attributes but nothing can be taken for granted. The sixteen organising clubs – rotating on an eight round biennial rota - are all far more embracing of the series than they were a decade ago. Through the organising committee headed up by Richard Talbot they have seen the value of the series – particularly so when

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it’s their opt out year. However, these remain challenging times for Irish motorsport and nothing can be taken for granted.

Like most other seasons the championship quests whittled down to three or four drivers – this season’s major players were (alphabetically by surname): Declan Boyle, Peadar Hurson, Niall Maguire and Roy White.

Boyle got off to a bad start, his

hired Fiesta WRC failing to finish in Ballina where Garry Jennings (Subaru WRC) injected impetus by taking victory and all of the 23 points available – the Fermanagh man was the first driver to win a Power Stage in Irish rallying in 2015 in Abbeyleix.

Unfortunately, Garry didn’t follow the Triton trail. Boyle bounced back with victory in County Kerry as White continued

to rack up serious points.

Interlopers like Manus Kelly and Sam Moffett were the respective winners in Carlow and Monaghan where the championship reached midway.

Even then it looked good for Roy White – the Tom Gahan prepared FESP/Arbelos liveried Fiesta WRC topped the leaderboard with strong finishes in all four rounds beginning to

Declan Boyle suffered a number of mechanical problems in his Fiesta WRC

Peadar Hurson makes a splash edge away from former triple champion Niall Maguire and another ex-champion Peadar Hurson.

enclosure but White’s second spot edged him closer to that inaugural title. Perhaps it was fate as it came to pass on his home event in Clonmel where he joined former greats Donie Keating and the late Frank Meagher as a national champion – what a year for Tipperary, who also claimed senior and minor AllIreland Hurling titles.

Celebrations for Roy White and his team The Triton season ended Lift off for the second part of with events in Shannon and the season came on the ALMC Killybegs with Boyle taking his promoted event in Trim where fourth and fifth wins of the Boyle was back in the winning season to edge out Maguire

Group N winner Aidan Wray

for the runner-up position in the series. In Killybegs, where the rally received a tumultuous reception from the locals, the event honoured the late Martin Howley. Hordes of spectators thronged the villages of Kilcar and Glencolmcille, again highlighting the great affinity the sport is held within the county.

For the second successive season Tyrone’s Aidan Wray (Mitsubishi) won the Motorsport Safety Group N award beating Monaghan’s Shane Maguire (Mitsubishi) in a final round decider. Maynooth’s Paul Barrett (Subaru) displaying Vado brand won the category on two occasions with a season best overall result (13th.) in Kerry. The Triton Showers Mk.2 Ford Escort Trophy was won by Meath’s Trevor Mulligan, who also netted the rally.ie title.

An exciting Junior series went down to the wire in Donegal where Oldcastle’s Gary McNamee (Honda Civic) took the honours.

Following a great start to the season his title bid hit a

39

By Martin Walsh

few rumble strips and Donegal’s Michael Boyle (Honda Civic) came back into contention. Just prior to the final round Boyle blew the engine of his Honda, however, in a fine sporting gesture, former Junior champion Roscommon’s Cormac Phelan withdrew his entry so as to allow Boyle borrow his engine. Unfortunately, Boyle crashed on the opening stage, McNamee took a start to finish victory to cap a superb season.

The door panels went as high as 161 in Donegal, however, not every event was as fortunate.

Others varied around the 80-100 starter mark – the geographical imbalance is worth noting especially on the opt out year, how soon will it be before some clubs won’t run events on such occasions? Too many rallies is the general consensus – there are solutions – but who will be brave enough?

The 2017 series will kick off in Nenagh – with the Birr and District Car Club’s event reverting to north Tipperary after many successful years in Abbeyleix.

White will begin the defence of the magnificent Vard Memorial Trophy within his native county.

Of course, before all that, the series will be launched in early January - all the 16 clubs should lend their support to Kevin Barrett and the Triton outfit – sometimes its nice to say thanks in advance.

TRITON SHOWERS NATIONAL RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP REVIEW ROUND 1. HOTEL BALLINA/ KENNEDY MOTORS MAYO RALLY Garry Jennings and co-driver Rory Kennedy (Subaru WRC) took a commanding victory in the Hotel Ballina/Kennedy Motors Mayo Rally, the first round of the Triton Showers National Rally Championship.

At the conclusion of the nine-stage rally the Fermanagh/ Letterkenny duo had amassed a winning margin of one minute and 34.8 seconds over the Subaru of Warrenpoint’s Peadar Hurson and his Monaghan co-driver Damien Connolly. Monaghan duo Niall Maguire/Enda Sherry (Subaru WRC) were 41.2 seconds further adrift third.

Jennings mastered the wet and slippery conditions best despite clipping a rock and puncturing on the penultimate stage. Roy White (Fiesta WRC) overcame an altercation with a bale to finish fourth. Gary McPhillips (Escort)

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section. The Meath/Kerry partnership of Gary McNamee/ Kieran O’Donoghue (Honda Civic) took the laurels in the Junior event.

Boyle led all through. Cork’s Daragh O’Riordan, who reverted to driving his own Fiesta WRC, held second until he went off the road on the penultimate stage leaving White into second, the latter posted the best time though the fourth stage and also won the Power Stage.

By Martin Walsh

40

Aidan Wray and Kieran McGrath receive the Group N award was the top two-wheel drive competitor, he also finished fifth overall.

The Group N showroom category was won by Shane Maguire/Mac Kierans (Mitsubishi).

Former national champion Declan Boyle retired his hired Ford Fiesta

based Rose Hotel Circuit of Kerry Rally, the second round of the Triton Showers National Rally Championship. After the day’s seven stages in near perfect conditions they finished 44.1 seconds in front of the Ford Fiesta WRC of Clonmel’s Roy White and

Gary McNamee and Bernard Foley won the Juniors WRC with transmission failure and Paddy McVeigh (Subaru WRC) failed to finish due to gearbox woes.

his Cork co-driver James O’Brien, who won the Power Stage to move into the lead of the Triton series. Peadar Hurson/Damien Connolly (Subaru WRC) were 25.8

ROUND 3. SEVEN OAKS HOTEL CARLOW RALLY The Seven Oaks Hotel Carlow Rally, the third round of the Triton Showers National Rally Championship provided Donegal’s Manus Kelly and co-driver Donal Barrett with a Subaru WRC debut win. They finished the nine stages 10.7 seconds ahead of the Ford Fiesta WRC of Clonmel’s Roy White and his Cork co-driver James O’Brien, who extended their lead in the Triton series.

Longford’s Tommy Doyle - another Subaru WRC debutant and codriven by Cork’s Liam Moynihan were 21.8 seconds further behind in third. The Group N category was won by Aidan Wray/Kieran McGrath (Mitsubishi).

Kelly led all through – one the opening stage he was nine-tenths of a second ahead of Peadar Hurson (Subaru WRC) with Escort driver Frank Kelly eight tenths of a second further behind in third.

White took maximum points in the Triton Showers series including the three points from the Power Stage to extend his lead as the series. There was drama on the penultimate stage for Hurson, his Subaru hit a wall and the car caught fire and Patterson crashed on the same stage. The Mk. 2 Ford Escort Challenge was won by Jonny Pringle.

ROUND 4. HOTEL KILMORE CAVAN RALLY

Trevor Mulligan won the Modified Class

ROUND 2. ROSE HOTEL CIRCUIT OF KERRY RALLY Donegal’s Declan Boyle/Brian Boyle (Ford Fiesta WRC) took a convincing victory on the Tralee

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seconds further behind in third.

Maynooth’s Paul Barrett/Declan Tumilty (Subaru) won the Group N category and Tyrone’s Ryan Loughran and his Kerry co-driver Tony Healy won the Modified

Monaghan’s Sam Moffett and his Cavan co-driver James Fulton in their Ford Fiesta R5 won the Hotel Kilmore Cavan Rally, round four of the Triton Showers National Rally Championship.

They finished 29.5 seconds ahead of the Clonmel/Cork pairing of Roy White/James O’Brien, who extended their lead of the series to 15 points.

Monaghan’s Josh Moffett and his Antrim co-driver John Rowan (Fiesta R5) were 46.1 seconds

further behind in third.

White (Fiesta WRC) set the initial pace, on the first of the day’s nine stages he was 1.1 seconds in front of the similar car of Donegal’s Declan Boyle.

Boyle dominated the remaining two stages of the loop and led the Fiesta R5 of Sam Moffett by 12.2 seconds with White 4.8 seconds further behind in third – despite having hit a chicane bale on S.S. 2.

Boyle retired on S.S. 7 with alternator problems as Moffett went on to take victory. White took maximum points including three from the Power Stage. Josh Moffett (Fiesta R5) was third with Niall Maguire, second in the Triton series, finishing fourth.

ROUND 5. SMARTPART ALMC RALLY Donegal cousins Declan and Brian Boyle (Ford Fiesta WRC) won the Trim based Smartpart ALMC Rally, the fifth round of the Triton Showers National Rally Championship.

Taking the lead on the second stage they went on to finish 43.4 seconds clear of the Ford Fiesta WRC of title favourites Clonmel’s Roy White and Cork’s James O’Brien. Warrenpoint’s Peadar Hurson and his Monaghan codriver /Damien Connolly (Subaru WRC) were 15.6 seconds further behind in third.

Former champion Hurson (Subaru WRC) was quickest on the opening stage albeit a half a second ahead of Boyle, who led after the opening loop - 14.8 seconds in front of Hurson, who reckoned the suspension settings of his Subaru was far too soft.

White was just 0.8 of a second further behind in third - he lost time on the opening stage when he hadn’t his Fiesta in gear at the start line. Niall Maguire was untroubled in fourth. Boyle dominated all three stages of the final loop including the Power Stage as he took the maximum 23 points, however, with White taking second spot and two points from the Power Stage (20 points) Boyle’s title bid evaporated as Hurson stayed on track with third place and fourth placed Niall Maguire also remained in the reckoning for the Vard Memorial Trophy. The Group N category was won by Tyrone’s Aidan Wray/ Kieran McGrath (Mitsubishi).

ROUND 6. SEPAM TIPPERARY STONETHROWERS RALLY Clonmel’s Roy White and his Cork co-driver James O’Brien

By Martin Walsh

41

Modified winners Trevor Mulligan and Sean Hayde

won the Triton Showers National Rally Championship courtesy of their second placed championship finish on the Sepam Tipperary Stonethrowers Rally in Clonmel.

The event, the sixth round of the series was won by Donegal cousins, Declan Boyle and Brian Boyle (Fiesta WRC), who finished 34.7 seconds in front of the R5 Fiesta on another Ulster duo, Alastair Fisher/Gordon Noble.

Monaghan’s Josh Moffett and his Antrim co-driver John Rowan (Fiesta R5) were third, a further 16.9 seconds behind.

White/O’Brien came home in fourth place and gaining second placed championship points they won the Vard Memorial Trophy.

White is the third Tipperary driver to win the National Championship following in the footsteps of Donie Keating (1981 and 1991 and the late Frank Meagher (1986).

Hurson (Subaru WRC) best on the opening stage 1.5 seconds quicker than Fiesta WRC of Declan Boyle with Alastair Fisher (Fiesta R5) just nine tenths of a second further behind in third.

Boyle was quickest through the remaining pair of stages and arrived at the Powerstown Service Park with a lead of 2.2 seconds over the Fiesta R5 of Alastair Fisher. Third placed Josh Moffett a further five seconds adrift - was untroubled. Series leader Roy White was fourth.

Quickest on all three stages of the second loop Boyle stamped

his authority on the rally and extended his lead to 22 seconds.

White lost time on S.S. 6 when he spun and stalled his Fiesta WRC. Little changed on the final loop as Boyle went on to record his third win of the season.

Fourth overall and third fastest on the Power Stage was enough for White/O’Brien to claim the Triton Showers National Rally Championship and the Vard Memorial Trophy.

ROUND 7. HYUNDAI LIMERICK MOTOR CENTRE CLARE RALLY Donegal’s Declan Boyle (Fiesta WRC) co-driven by his cousin Brian Boyle won the Hyundai Limerick Motor Centre Clare Rally, the penultimate round of the Triton Showers National Rally Championship. They finished 56.8 seconds ahead of the similar car of Clonmel’s Roy White and his Cork co-driver James O’Brien.

Monaghan’s Josh Moffett/James Fulton (Fiesta R5) were 5.2 seconds further behind in third.

Moffett led initially, posting the quickest time on the opening pair of stages he led Boyle by 27.3 seconds. Boyle was best through the third stage to trim the margin to 21.3 seconds.

Peadar Hurson, who began the second loop of stages in fourth place crashed out after his Subaru punctured on the fourth stage.

Moffett completed the latter part of the fifth stage with a

puncture as Boyle moved into top spot. Without any further drama Boyle went on to secure his fourth win of the season. White, best on the Power Stage, edged out Moffett for second.

ROUND 8. BAYVIEW HOTEL DONEGAL HARVEST RALLY Donegal cousins Declan Boyle and Brian Boyle took their Fiesta WRC to a start to finish victory in the Martin Howley Bayview Hotel Donegal Harvest Rally in Killybegs, the eighth and final round of the Triton Showers National Rally Championship.

They finished one minute and 39.4 seconds ahead of the Subaru WRC of Manus Kelly/Gareth Doherty with Niall Maguire/ Enda Sherry, also in a Subaru one minute and 37.9 seconds further

behind in third.

The Group N category was won by Aidan Wray and co-driver Kieran McGrath (Mitsubishi Evo X), who finished 22.3 seconds ahead of the Mitsubishi Evo IX of Monaghan’s Shane Maguire/ Mac Kierans, Wray clinched backto-back titles in the Motorsport Safety Group N category of the Triton Showers series.

In the Triton Showers Junior National Rally Championship victory went to Meath’s Gary McNamee (Honda Civic), who was co-driven by Cork’s Bernard Foley, his only rival, Donegal’s Michael Boyle crashed his Honda Civic on the first stage. McNamee/ Foley also won the category in Killybegs.

Paul Barrett in his Group N Impreza

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2016 TRITON SHOWERS NATIONAL RALLY CHAMPIONS

ROY WHITE & JAMES O’BRIEN CarSport

Roy of the rovers…

By Aaron McElroy

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Triton Showers National Rally Championship Photos: Trevor Foster

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hen Roy White bought his Fiesta WRC at the end of 2015, he had the aim of winning the National Rally Championship. He didn’t however think he could take the title in his first attempt. “We were going to give it a go, but did we really expect to win it in our first year? Not really. That was a big plus and a bonus and a little bit of validation, that we got the car and delivered the Championship.”

However it wasn’t just as easy as turning up and winning for White. There was a large amount of learning to transition from the S2400 MG he had, and to build up speed in a WRC specification car.

“To be honest I thought it would be an easy migration. The MG was left hand drive and four wheel drive, and the Fiesta was left hand drive and four wheel drive just with a little bit more power. The MG was already a very good handling car and we thought the Fiesta would be better. But I just wasn’t quite prepared for the increase in the

pace and how much faster you finish a stage.”

Roy admitted that it was a challenging start to the year, as he adapted to the increase in speed that the car had. “Galway was a really difficult rally for us. I was driving very badly. I had no feeling in the car, and couldn’t translate it any better than that. So we really struggled to make any progress.

On the last service we managed to find a tiny bit of progress and felt a bit better, but we were so far off the pace there, it was border line embarrassing.”

After the baptism of fire in on the Galway International, Roy and the team took what they had learned and went into the Mayo Stages, the first round of the National Rally Championship, with a bit more speed and the aim of starting the National Championship with a good score of points.

“4th was a reasonable score for us. Mayo was very slippy, we hit it on one of the stages, we even had the corner marked on the notes as extra slippy, but no

matter how slow I was going, I was still going too fast and I slid off the road. Some kind soul had put a bale in front an RSJ so we just hit the bale, broke the bumper, started the car and away we went. We were lucky to get away with that and get a finish. We came away pleased we had made a bit of progress from where we were in Galway and were going forward.”

White then went to the West Cork Rally. The plan there was to get two days of rallying in the car and bring the pace on again. He said they struggled a bit at the start but

James O’Brien + Roy White

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By Aaron McElroy

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made reasonable times by the end of the weekend. His feelings on their performance that weekend were mixed. “I was leaving the rally happy and sad; happy that we were making progress but disappointed that we weren’t going quicker.”

After West Cork, White went to Tom Gahan to spend some time working on the setups and internals of the car and how they work. Roy said the idea of this was to learn more about how the car worked so he could give more accurate feedback on what it was doing.

“I had to do some proper learning of setups with the car; I didn’t have to do much of that before. I was coming in telling him I have no feeling in the car, that’s not very helpful for an engineer. I needed to learn and get more up to speed with concrete information on what the car is doing, so I went to Tom and he took me aside and we went through all the diffs - took them apart and put them together to see how they work and how they operate - to try and give me some idea of what they were doing rather than just saying something without knowing. We did the same with the shocks and the transmission; we were hoping that we would see benefits from that going forward.”

The extra learning had paid off and they took second on the Circuit of Kerry, as well as a full three points on the Power Stage. Happy with the improvement in pace, White and co-driver James O’Brien then looked to the pace notes they were using, they felt that the notes were now too slow for the pace of the WRC car.

“With the Fiesta things were happening so fast, and I was making mistakes. I was hitting bales, going through chicanes; all because we were going a lot faster than I was used to. I was getting into difficulty two or three times a stage, so myself and James spent a bit of time working on the pace notes to change them in anticipation of how fast we were going to be travelling. We had been in the MG for a long time and everything was as it was, and it worked really well but

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now the notes weren’t good enough to do this pace.”

On the Carlow Stages they finished second to Manus Kelly, who was in his new Impreza getting ready for the Donegal International. Roy said that this was the first event where he was in control of the car and that it was predictable. “That was the first time I felt I was getting to know the car properly, and telling the car what to do as opposed to waiting for the car to do something having to react.”

After three rounds, and with three strong results, they started to believe that the Championship was a possibility even though it was still very early days.

“We took another maximum score and power stage in Cavan.

At that stage we started looking at what we needed to do. I was making progress; I was feeling happier in myself and in the car.”

With the engine rebuilt over the break between Cavan and ALMC, White felt more confident in himself and the car for the upcoming events; as well as knowing they had come a long way since the beginning of the year. He took second behind Boyle which was another good result for their championship hopes.

They then went into the Stonethrowers Rally with the knowledge that they could win the title with a solid score on the event. “James had been doing

Roy White

the sums after ALMC; he knew what we needed to do. I didn’t really want to know. I didn’t need the extra pressure; I had enough

pressure because I knew the championship was within reach and in my hometown and all.”

While Declan Boyle took the

By Aaron McElroy

45

win, fourth overall was enough to see White claim the title in his native Clonmel.

“James told me at the end of the last stage that we had won. It didn’t really sink in with me. We went to the ramp, were presented with the Vard Memorial Trophy and I was a little afraid that

someone had forgotten to carry a one on the sums and made a mistake.”

“As we were heading around the roundabout down the by-bass at Clonmel to parc ferme, it sunk in. It was a tremendous feeling for that mile coming down the road that we’d won the National

Championship. It’s something I’m going to remember forever.

Even now I can’t remember where I finished on what rally, but I’ll be able to remember forever that stretch of road and the feeling I had having won the championship” Although he said that

coming second in the National Championship two years ago in the modified, naturally aspirated MG, and winning the Irish Tarmac Group N series were high points of his career, Roy White believes this will go down as his most memorable year.

“It’s not something I’ll forget in a hurry. It has to be up there with the best. We were having a great battle all year with Declan, Peadar and Niall.”

Looking forward to next year, White feels he is getting to where he should be with the Fiesta. “It is a car built for professional drivers, I’ll never get what’s fully in the car but I’ll still go until I get as fast as I can, and I’m not there yet.

I’m looking forward to carrying progress through.

I didn’t fully appreciate how long it would take to get used to that increase in speed but after the pace in Cork 20 this year we are getting close to where we need to be.”

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Southern Chat

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Michael and the Pacemaker…

By Michael O’Carroll

Kris Meeke jumps for joy!

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hen Kris Meeke won the second of two WRC rounds in 2016, my left shoulder vibrated delightfully with elation. It was bad enough after Portugal, but when Kris and Paul also stood on top of the podium in Finland, the bloody thing went crazy. When you wear a pacemaker it does strange things at times of high excitement or stimulation.

I was delighted for Kris and his co-driver Paul Nagle. I used to know both their fathers. Kris’ mentor Sydney is a most decent and clever man, and an expert fabricator of rally cars. I met him first of all when he was involved with Billy Coleman of Millstreet when the Corkman drove Sydney’s unique rear-wheel-drive Orion.

I was once enlightened and mystified as Sydney and Paddy Coleman, Billy’s supportive dad and gentleman, chatted about rallycar engineering; Paddy, a genius in his own right, with his up and down Millstreet lilt and Sydney communicating with the clipped Dungannon accent. Two different worlds, two different traditions, two men divided also by age, but unified in purpose!

Paul Nagle’s father Maurice was the ace organiser of the first Killarney Historic December bash,

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another as enthusiastic and as pleasant as they come.

It was my privilege to meet such greatness during my working days. Nowadays I can only watch from afar and try to remember the details, but, when the pacemaker goes into high gear, the occasion can be special. The memories come storming back. Names stimulate the diminishing and shrinking

brain. Like Kenny McKinstry! I remember the Banbridge ace, because of his competitiveness and yet ordinariness. I bought a lawnmower from him nearly 30 years ago, and it is still doing a fine job of work. Kenny has often asked me since, “how’s she cutting”. It seems the makers of Harry, as it was known, made it so well that the product never failed, but the company did. Sales diminished. Like my pacemaker,

or rallycars, or rallymen and women, there must be built in obsolescence.

We should not remember Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle’s sparkling success in 2016 without mentioning the continued brilliance of Craig Breen from Waterford who earned his first WRC podium in Finland, the land of the notorious yumps, and put himself in line for a continued

An emotional Craig Breen at the end of Rally Finland

association with Citroen WRC, with Meeke-Nagle, in the year or years ahead. So despite rallysport here having the burden of extra insurance costs long into the future, Ireland as a whole continues to have and grow great rally competitors. However, I cannot but regret as to how WRC has diminished as an attraction, somewhat akin to Formula 1. But we will avoid going down that pathway just now. Space does not allow.

It is only right that we should continue to look at our own sporting fields. I was delighted to see how successful Niall Murray was in Formula Ford in the past season. The Dubliner, the product of a real motorsporting family, won everything worthwhile, convincingly, including the Martin Donnelly, the Brands Formula Ford Kent Festival and the Walter Hayes Trophy at Silverstone. No one had ever completed such a clean sweep of the Kent FF series before and Murray, has put himself in line to win the Mazda Road to Indy shootout, worth $200,000 and a chance to race in next years Cooper Tyres USF2000 series powered by Mazda. The test was scheduled for Laguna Seca on December 6. Niall has now got to move onwards and upwards.

Basic Formula Ford is fine and dandy for young drivers. It takes them through several learning curves. But, the only way to learn and be tested in real motor racing is with slicks and wings, downforce, chassis balance and all that sort of things. It is at second level that young Irish racing drivers lack opportunity, and whereas FF1600 is good to start with in terms of racing wheel to wheel, there is a limit to the amount one learns technically in the category about the racing car and elite technology. That is why Formula Ireland could have been significant or maybe BOSS

Southern Chat

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Niall Murray winning at Brands Hatch could is a possible pathway?. I figure Motorsport Ireland now realise something like that, and is why they have moved away from FF1600 in the year ahead.

For 2017 they will provide the €50,000 scholarship to the winner, to use as he or she wishes. Remember, slicks and wings lead to professional racing!

In 2016 Jake Byrne of Co. Kildare was given the Scholarship drive in the Bernard Dolan fettled MI owned FF1600. it did not work out, and half-way through the year young Byrne ‘fell out’ with Dolan, MI and the formula. Blame was apportioned on all sides, and my pacemaker indicates that I should leave the matter to rest. Eventually MI withdrew the support from Jake. Later they put 16 year-old Jordan Dempsey from Mullingar in the car, with Bernard Dolan on the spanners. No doubt Jordan’s father Morgan Dempsey and his father Morgan Snr, were also involved on the pit-road. This time the results were more than pleasing.

Young Dempsey at 15 had experienced and won the Ginetta Junior championship in 2015 and was credited with finishing in

16 year old Jordan Dempsey in FF1600

the top three in the Scholarship behind Jake Byrne. Some say he was second! However, Jordan performed well in the scholarship car and won himself many admirers so that he is tipped, by those who know, to win the Sport Ireland €50,000 award (to be announced by MI) and so put him in line to race in some category in 2017. I personally hope the student attending Mullingar Community College opts for slicks and wings! At 16 he is the right age to progress professionally, but he needs expert handling and serious finance. Can the sport here, outside of MI, lend him financial support? Maybe the John Campion patronage can shine a light. That is a great story in itself.

Bernard Dolan and his son Sam were praised specifically by both Niall Murray and Jordan Dempsey. I went to school in CCR with Bernard’s late father Joe, sang in operettas and played rugby of sorts with him. It is strange how the wheel turns full circle – we live in a parish called Ireland and we often return to paths previously explored. It is appropriate here to remember the late Derek McMahon, a special benefactor to Derek Daly as he was elevated to Formula 1; and Bertie Fisher who was honoured by a special book beautifully produced by Fergus McAnallen and Bertie’s friend Kieran McAnallen. That book is a rally collector’s must. So also is the book on the late great Tipperary rallyman Frank Meagher from the desk of Lorcan Barron. Both labours of love!

Murphy Prototypes and Status GP are two Irish racing concerns doing nicely internationally. The

former has given an opportunity to Wicklow driver Sean Doyle in ELMS Sportscar Racing. Nichola Drought has had a connection with Greg Murphy’s outfit and there is every likelihood that Jordan Dempsey could race with them next year. It is a category well worth following as Murphy seems to know what he is about.

I knew his father Pat, a keen racer and a gentleman who died much too young. Status GP has yet to give a seat to an Irish driver in GP2 even though Irishman David Kennedy and Mark Gallagher are involved with Canadian Teddy Yip Junior.

But the crowning, and not to be avoided media story of he year is ‘Crash and Burn’; the video story of Dundalk’s Tommy Byrne’s life. Tommy who blew it maybe by being too smart and too good for his own benefit.

Tommy could have been the best driver in the world. He believed he was. “I blew a hundred million dollars,” he says in the video now on release in cinemas, and later to be seen on TV. What a driver.

What a stupid mutt to think that partying, drugs and drink were more vital than putting his mind to his work as a race-driver – racing to win. I witnessed it with my own eyes, without any video.

I was with him in Vegas at his last GP as he went off the rails. “I took more drugs than would kill a buffalo”, he boasts. “ It wasn’t that I could have been the best racing driver in the world, I was.”

What a motor-mouth. What a lost chance. Even my pacemaker is showing signs of depression!

But it’s a film you should see – brilliantly directed and edited, with pathos and meaning. It is clever!

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McGeehan Motorsport

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McGeehans clocking up the airmiles...

Photos: Roy Dempster / Fergal Kelly / Andy Crayford

Man Mc Geehan on his way to winning Dogleap Rally

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rom Barbados to New England via Germany, the McGeehan Motorsport team had a busy 2016. Brothers Derek and Alan ran a wide variety of exworks cars in numerous events in the USA, Barbados and at home.

One of the farthest flung rallies was the event in Barbados where the team were running USA ex-patriot Martin Donnelly in an ex-Liam McCarthy works

Martin Donnelly in action in Bauhados

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WRC Corolla. Martin has been travelling over to compete in Ireland for a number of years but in 2016 he decided the car would travel to him.

Derek and Alan packed up the Corolla with the necessary spares and headed off to Barbados.

The event includes a hillclimb one weekend and the rally the following one so the McGeehan team had time for a holiday in

between... Martin competed successfully in Barbados and then the car and the spares were shipped to New York to compete on a number of events along the Eastern seaboard.

Martin Donnelly is based in Manhattan so Derek and James trailered the Corolla and the spares 600 miles from Pensylvania to Maine for a two day gravel rally and then back to base.

There was also another round in the USA that again included serious road miles but the engine suffered with fuel problems early in the rally and is now on its way back to Draperstown home base for a rebuild.

In between times, the team was involved in running cars in all events, UK International and National rallies in Ireland.

McGeehan Motorsport also ran Marty McCormack’s Skoda Fabia S2000 as well as the similar car of Joe McGonigle, while Alan Carmichael won the National category on the Ulster Rally in one of the Minis... As the Ulster Rally stages were held over the Sperrins, this was one event that didn’t involve big road mileage...

Adrian Hetherington used an ex McGeehan Corolla WRC on the Irish Forestry Championship and was leading the Bushwhacker Rally until he clipped a rock and lost the rally by 12 seconds. The McGeehan team were also in action at the Isle of Man where they were running Liam Egan.

Derek and Alan managed to fit in some rallies themselves. Alan drove a Mini WRC to victory on the Dogleap Rally at Shackleton while Derek had a run at the Sperrin rally that McGeehan

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McGeehan Motorsport

Liam Egan and Martin Donnelly while Marty McCormack will compete on the British Rally Championship in a similar car.

Marty’s older brother Greg, a long time friend of Derek’s is also planning a return to the NI Rally Championship in 2017.

Negotiations are also underway for an as yet unnamed driver to compete in the National Rally Championship, this driver is well known but still to be confirmed...

During the year, Derek was invited to Alzenau in Germany to test the new R5 Hyundai i20 rally car. Will we see a new Hyundai arriving there in 2017? Derek won’t commit to anything yet but it could be a possibility...There’s always plenty happening at McGeehan Motorsport.

Adrain Hetherington on the Bushwhacker Rally

Motorsport sponsored and finished 2nd and then made a return trip to take on the locals at the Tour of Mull. This is not a rally for the faint-hearted, with long and demanding stages running through the night and into a third day. Derek describes the event as ‘very technical and the local competitors are hard to catch in the dark.’ Derek finished a very impressive third overall. In Lurgan Park, Derek got the jump

on the other competitors and was the early leader of the event and finished third on this event as well.

Looking forward to 2017, Alan and Derek will be clocking up the miles again. Joe McGonigle has upgraded from his S2000 Fabia to a new R5 Fabia and is planning to compete on the 2017 Irish Tarmac Championship along with

Derek McGeehan at Lurgan Park

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Mintex MSA British Historic Rally Champions 2016

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Photos: Trevor Foster / Seamus Counihan / Roy Dempster

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or a man who has never competed in more than five events in a single season, Calum Duffy has built up quite some reputation. He is the second most successful driver ever on his home event, the celebrated Mull Rally, which he has won on nine occasions, five of them in the last eight years. He needs three more victories to match the phenomenal achievement of another local, Neil MacKinnon, and the way things are going you wouldn’t bet against him doing it.

to S2000 versions of the Ford Fiesta and Proton Satria, and actually started pricing up a Proton of his own before deciding that the Fabia had a better chassis. “I knew Desi Henry’s Skoda was for sale, and I knew it was a very good car. I bought it complete, including the engine which wasn’t fitted because it was being rebuilt, and later sold the engine along with the wiring loom, the steering rack and a lot of other bits and pieces, which financed a good bit of the bill.”

Duffy is most closely associated with Ford Escorts, having used various examples to beat far more sophisticated opposition on Mull.

In 2015, however, there was an abrupt change of policy. The latest Escort was replaced by a Subaru Impreza 555, and that in turn gave way to Duffy’s current car, the world’s first Skoda Fabia S2500.

The Millington is a special version of the non-turbo Cosworth YB-based Diamond Series II+ developed for use only in four-wheel drive cars. Julian Millington explains that his company has an agreement with both the MSA and Motorsport Ireland not to make engines with more than “just over 300bhp” available to Escort customers, on the basis that they’re quite fast enough already, but the policy is relaxed for 4x4s because of the extra transmission losses. Changes

The engine was chosen before the car was. Duffy knew that Millington units had been made

to the cylinder head and exhaust have raised the maximum output slightly further (the exact figure is not specified) and also improved mid-range torque to help the cars pull out of slow corners.

The obvious choice of company to fit this engine to the Skoda was Maghera-based Den Motorsport. Duffy had been a Den customer for the best part of a decade, building up a very good relationship. The conversion took quite a long time: “I bought the car in mid December 2015, and we were out testing at the beginning of September 2016, so that was about nine months, most of it to-ing and fro-ing and waiting for a lot of stuff. If all the parts had been together at the start, it could probably have been done in three weeks.

“The thing that held us up most was the steering rack. Being someone who doesn’t do a lot of driving, I’d never experienced left-hand drive, so I wanted the car to be converted. I also

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by david finley

Duffy set for National assault in S2500 Fabia

reckoned it would be easier to resell with right-hand drive. But it would have been easier to keep it the way it was. Changing over created a lot of problems.

The rack was a totally new thing which had to be fabricated specially for the car.”

One of the less stressful alterations was a change of gearing. The Millington engine has, according to Duffy, “about 80bhp more power and a damn sight more torque” than the Skoda one, so he fitted longer fourth, fifth and sixth gears to raise the top speed from 117mph to 125mph. When he competed on Mull he hit 125mph several times, but was prepared to accept running briefly on the rev limiter rather than compromise the car on slower sections.

Before that event he had already competed twice in Ireland, first on the Limerick Motor Centre Clare Stages and then a few weeks later on the AceSigns Cork 20 International. Coincidentally,

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therefore far too stiff for the bumpier Mull roads.

by Rob Wilkins

During an emergency phone call conducted in broken English, long-time Skoda driver and now team manager Roman Kresta suggested major changes to the suspension settings, and from then on the Fabia S2500 flew. Duffy and MacCrone tied for fastest time on SS9, Duffy won SS10, MacCrone retaliated on SS11. For the remaining seven stages, it was the Skoda all the way. The gap never closed completely (MacCrone took an emotional victory, seen by many as the correct result a year after the terrible accident which injured him and took the life of his co-driver Andrew Mort) but it did shrink to just ten seconds.

he finished eleventh overall and first in class both times, but the Clare Stages was really just a test session which showed that the power steering pump wasn’t up to the job and had to be replaced by a larger one.

It was only after this that Duffy tried left-foot braking for the first time. “I’d never done it in all my years of rallying but I’d been told I would have to in the Skoda. At the outset of the Cork 20 I thought, right, I’ll do it, and I don’t care if I lose time. By

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the end of the rally I was setting quickest times in the National class, so I must have been getting there.”

By most people’s standards the Skoda was competitive on the opening night of the Beatsons Building Supplies Mull Rally, but it couldn’t keep up with the Fiesta R5 of John MacCrone, who had pulled out a lead of 56 seconds by the end of SS8 on early on Saturday afternoon. The problem, Duffy says now, was that the Skoda was set up for Cork, and

Duffy reckons there is a lot more to come. “The car is just fantastic. I could tell the limits of the Escort no problem, but I’m nowhere near that yet in the Skoda. In the Escort I would come out of a corner and think I’d only just made it, but with the Skoda it’s like it could have gone round 10 or 15mph quicker without blinking.

“It’s a very aggressive car to drive. So was the Subaru to some extent, but with the Skoda you have to be on it all the time or it will do what it wants and throw you off the road.”

He’s also pleased to be back in a car that produces the same characteristic Millington scream

Callum Duffy he grew to love in the Escort.

“With the Subaru there were lots of pops and bangs on the outside, but on the inside you couldn’t hear it. With this thing you really know you’re driving it.”

His enthusiasm for the Skoda is so strong that he is now planning to compete in a whole championship - the 2017 Triton Showers National - for the first time ever. “Time and finance always dictates, but we’ll definitely do the first couple and see how we get on.” If this becomes a series attempt, he will have to take part in at least six events in one year, with the unquestionable addition of Mull at the end of the season bringing the total to a personal record of seven. Won’t he be exhausted by this? “Aye, financially exhausted!

But you can’t take it with you when you go . . . “

Photos: Fergal Kelly

V

ivian Hamill has just taken delivery of a brand new state of the art Mark Two Escort. This fantastic new car was built by Barry McKenna and his team at Den Motorsport…

Mark Two Escorts continue to be one of the mainstays in Irish rallying and examples can vary from the strictly historic to state of the art and Ballygawley building contractor Vivian Hamill’s new car is definitely one of the latter.

It was built up from a brand new shell and is powered by a Series 2 Millington 2.5litre engine driving through a Drenth flat shift sequential gearbox to a fully floating atlas axle at the rear.

Stopping power comes from AP Pro 5000 calipers, bells and rotors and inside the car are the latest AiTech seats and a Tilton floor mounted pedal box. The quality

Vivian Hamill’s new Escort

VIVACIOUS!

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of workmanship is superb.

It is finished in French Blue, the shade comes from a Mitsubishi Evo7 GSR that Vivian used to own and the car looks stunning in that colour.

This new Escort, which was built from an immaculate RS2000 that Vivian owned, also features a DTA dashboard with a MOTEC keypad.

The wiring loom comes from Bremax Electronics adapted to suit the Motec software and this is the latest in state of the art, aircraft technology spec Raychem wiring with

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Vivian Hamill’s new Escort 54

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Vivian Hamill’s new Escort

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military spec connectors.

The car uses DMS suspension which is supplied by fellow Escort exponent Frank Kelly and the suspension set up allows Vivian to use the car on both gravel and tarmac stages. Indeed, the car’s first outing was on Vivian’s home rally, the Bushwhacker, where it connected with a large rock pulled out by one of the four wheel drive cars and pulled out a front wheel. With 350bhp through the rear wheels Vivian describes the car as ‘a bit of handful’ which is sure to be an understatement, but the well experienced Ballygawley driver is well fit to handle it. Hamill has been rallying for 12 years now and knows the highs and lows the sport can bring. Driving this Escort is sure to be one of the highs in 2017…

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all that and takes you back to twenty-five great moments from the sport’s rich history.

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We would like to thank all our customers in 2016 and wish them continued success in 2017

Visit our stand at the Autosport Show Specialising in Modified and Historic Escort Preparation + Skoda Fabia

DEN MOTORSPORT

14 Kirley Road, Maghera BT46 5LG Contact Barry McKenna 0781 6688615 / 028 79 644811 Email sales@denmotorsport.co.uk www.Denmotorsport.co.uk Den Motorsport.indd 1

CarSport

02/12/2016 16:05

DESI DOES IT!

By Andrew Bushe

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Photos: Roy Dempster / Fergal Kelly

2016 Irish Forestry Champion Desi Henry

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or Desi Henry there was sheer delight at that final control of the Glens of Antrim Rally in Ballycastle, he brought the Valvoline Motorsport Ireland National Forest Rally Championship title home to nearby Portglenone.

It had been a hard fought season and one where he climbed back up the points table in a midseason season charge with the Skoda Fabia R5. “I was absolutely delighted to win the Glens of Antrim rally, my home round, and to clinch the championship.

A massive thanks to the team and to Liam Moynihan who is undoubtedly one of the best navigators around. Thanks also to my sponsors for their support, the championship sponsors, TV crews, organisers, marshals for a great years rallying, and to my family and friends for putting up with me during the highs and lows.

It was a superb championship to contest, and it means a lot

to win it, especially after losing out in 2014 on a tie-break. It’s been an enjoyable year. There’s a friendly atmosphere with the championship, and there’s always been a race or two in the forests” The other big winners on the Glens of Antrim Rally included the redoubtable Shane McGirr, as he clinched the two wheel drive title with his rapid Toyota Starlet. The Fermanagh driver’s talents in the woods with the trusty Toyota are undoubted, and he was elated to clinch the

title, especially after some strong challenges from the MK2 brigade led by John Gordon, David Crossen , Mickey Conlon and David Condell through-out the year. “Absolutely delighted to win

the Valvoline 2wd Championship.

Some fantastic rallies all year and one of the best run championships. Very competitor friendly” said Shane after his success.

Two Wheel drive maestro shane McGirr

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By Andrew Bushe

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Michael Carbin was the early leader of the championship The Junior category was also a hard fought category, and with two Kumho rally tyres handed out to the winner of each round from Ears Motorsport Ireland, and a Billy Coleman Award nomination for the first eligible driver, there were great incentives. It was Omagh’s Stephen Dickson who took the coveted category win in his R2 Fiesta, with second placed Shane Kenneally from Waterford in his trusty MK2 Escort the first eligible driver for the automatic Billy Coleman nomination. For Monaghan’s Derek Mackeral there were no real prizes, but once again he displayed some great speed in the forests, but all too often his Vauxhall Nova seemed to fall apart around him.

If there was a big winner in 2016, it has to be the championship itself. One thing that was evident at the final round was the sheer amount of crews who were committed to contesting all the rounds, even if they couldn’t win their class and

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expressing their intentions for 2017. It’s a situation that other rally championships in Ireland would love to mirror, and it’s no

cousin to the Irish National or Tarmac series, this championship now has real kudos. The shift geographically in the series in

Ashley Dickson and his sons were great supporters of the series fluke. The organising team led by championship co-ordinator Ray Fitzpatrick have raised the bar with the series. No longer is it looked upon as a poor

the past two years, to include a more counties in the calendar has activated more entries from a wider range throughout the country. TV coverage of each

round and consistent PR activity have helped greatly also, as have behind the scenes work from Motorsport Ireland, Terry Hegarty Jnr and the whole organising team. Ita Doonan’s contribution is a great one, adding to the friendly atmosphere where every crew is welcomed, encouraged to compete, and at times have their morale lifted at service by some friendly banter! And here’s another thing, the championship was led for many rounds by firstly the Mitsubishi Evo 4 of Mongahan’s Michael Carbin, and Cork’s Ger Lucey in his Evo 8.

Had misfortune befallen the R5 of Desi Henry a relatively low cost four wheel drive rally car could have triumphed in a premier championship. In the Irish Tarmac or National series these cars simply wouldn’t have figured.

It was back in February that the Willie Loughman Memorial Carrick on Suir Forest Rally kicked off the season, the event won by Sam Moffett in an R5 Fiesta, with second placed Patrick O’Brien in his Evo 9 taking maximum points.

Sam winning the tiebreak and Josh taking maximum points, but Desi’s fourth place provided a few more valuable points for his title chase, as Ger Lucey now led the series after consistently good finishes. However that changed after the penultimate round in the Limerick forests, where Desi climbed back to second behind Josh Moffett after a first stage brush with a bank and puncture, and the title was all sealed nicely with his victory on the final Glens of Antrim round.

Ashley Dickson took Group N honours on the final round in his Evo 9, with Ed Muldoon second registered Group N competitor home, meaning that he took the Valvoline class title.

“I’ve never driven as slowly to take second placed points!” said Ed. “Delighted though to take the class- a great championship, and hopefully I’ll be back again next year.” In the other classes Jason Dickson took class two with his ST Fiesta, Ruari Maguire class nine in his Corsa, Brian Little- class ten with his MK2

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By Andrew Bushe

It was a promising start for the young Tyrone driver who took the Junior title in 2015, but his championship challenge dwindled as niggling car problems set in on many of the other rounds.

Adrian Hetherington took 2wd honours in his MK2 Escort, but his switch to a Corolla WRC during the season started to pay off, and Adrian could become a real title challenger in 2017.

Round two, the Moonraker Forest Rally in April, and Desi Henry opened his title challenge with a decisive victory in the R5 Skoda. However on the third round- the Tour of the Sperrins in May- Desi slid off into a ditch whilst leading and third placed Michael Carbin took maximum Valvoline points in third place to lead the championship from Ger Lucey. Shane McGirr took the 2wd honours, as the championship took its mid-season break.

Resuming in August for the Jim Walsh Cork Forest Rally, Desi Henry got the head down and recorded a start to finish win, with Patrick O’Brien second and Adrian Hetherington third, whilst Shane McGirr once again took 2wd honours. Round five in September brought the crews North for the Lakeland Stages Rally in Enniskillen and the Moffett brothers remarkably tied on time at the finish, with

Stephen Dickson won the Junior Category

Escort, John Gordon- class twelve in his four door Pinto MK2, David Condell (MK2 Escort)- class fourteen, Barry Mahon (Honda Civic) class eleven F, and Darren McKelvey (Evo 9) class twenty.

Class fifteen winner Paul McCann in his venerable Escort Cosworth summed it up nicely. “My first ever season in the forests and loved it. Wish I had of done it

years ago. I’ll be back next yearand put the right foot down harder!”

With the end of season prizegiving in Tullamore providing the wind-down after a hectic season, there is little time to re-coup as the 2017 championship revs up again in February, with a renewed excitement.

Desi Henry and Liam Moynihan

Winners of the 2016 Valvoline National Forestry Rally Championship

Thanks to our sponsors, to Valvoline for sponsoring the championship, TV Crews, Marshalls, friends and family CONSTRUCTION NI LTD

Desi Henry.indd 1

02/12/2016 15:58

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By Andrew Bushe

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Seven Up for McGarrity in Northern Ireland Rally Championship!

Photos: Roy Dempster / Fergal Kelly

Derek McGarrity in his Fiesta WRC

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here was a sense relief for Derek McGarrity, as he arrived in his Fiesta WRC at the finish of the Down Rally,

the eighth and final round of the 2016 MSA ANICC McGrady Insurance Northern Ireland Rally Championship. It had been

Camillis Bradley almost took the NI Championship on the final round

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an event where the title was really Derek’s to lose, but with rival Camillus Bradley winning the event in his 2.5 Escort, and McGarrity down in the twenties on the first loop, after severe windscreen misting issues, it hadn’t looked the certainty that everyone expected.

It was back in 1994 that a two wheel driven car had last won the series, as Stephen Mawhinney took his mighty Manta 400 to the title, and in 2016 the same could

have easily happened. Back in ’94 the TV cameras were rolling as Mawhinney powered through the Antrim forests in a cliff-hanger title finish. In 2016 there were no TV cameras, with the series almost a foregone conclusion, and the title challenger unlike Mawhinney’s Manta, not electing to rough up his MK2 in the forest rounds. It was almost by surprise not intention that Camillus ended up a challenger for the title. Indeed it’s a shame that a series that has so much potential and great events isn’t as well supported as it could be but perhaps like the BRC a recoup and rehash could be considered, with help from competitors willing to give up some time for their sport.

Once again the ANICC dates committee had assembled a good calendar of events, predominately

By Andrew Bushe

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Kenny McKinstry won the opening round at Kirkstown on tarmac, the favoured surface for many and round one the NAMCC’s event at Kirkistown started well. Going into the final stage Kenny McKinstry in his S14 Impreza was tied on time with Derek McGarrity’s Fiesta WRC, and Kenny was on the limit through the fast chicanes on the race-circuit, as McGarrity’s Fiesta fluffed its way around on three cylinders, with a misfire problem which plagued the National spec WRC Fiesta right through the season.

It boded well for the second round on the Circuit of Ireland, but Kenny didn’t enter and it was left to McGarrity to take victory, which almost went unnoticed amongst the excitement of the ERC and BRC. Camillus Bradley started his points pick up with a fourth place. The third round on the Tour of the Sperrins gravel proved a disaster for McGarrity, being handed a ten minute time penalty for not starting a stage at

the allotted time, after his Fiesta’s engine started to boil, and a possible third placed finish was lost. It made little odds as Marty McCormack was the victor of the event, with the top NI point’s scorer John Gordon in his Pinto Escort in eighth. Round four and the Newry Motor Club’s Mourne Rally was back on closed roads, and Garry Jennings romped to victory in his Subaru with

McGarrity amassing top points in second. Fifth place however gave Camillus Bradley a vital lift of points, as the series headed for an all new event at Benone run by the Cookstown Motor Club.

It was an event that was enjoyed by the crews, something new and short, sharp format, and for Derek McGarrity despite the usual engine woes, it put his title defence on course again with

a win. The MK2’s of Camillus Bradley in fourth and Alastair Cochrane in fifth took valuable points, whilst Jonny Morrow in sixth with his Evo 6 headed towards the class eight title, and championship sponsor Fintan McGrady scored a fine seventh in his MK2. Next up the Ulster Rally and McGarrity took a break to try and rectify his engine woes. Once again the NI runners were a little

Championship Sponsor Fintan McGrady

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By Andrew Bushe

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Garry Jennings on his way to victory on the Mourne Stages lost in amongst the BRC runners, and the job was to work out who was the first registered finisher, which was Alan Carmichael after a fine run in his Mini WRC, in thirteenth overall despite a road penalty of nearly two minutes.

The very slippery conditions proved un-daunting for Camillus Bradley who took the MK2 Escort to fifteenth overall and second in the NIRC, in what had to be one of his finest runs of the season.

Now it was back to gravel for the traditional Bushwhacker Rally in Omagh where Derek McGarrity could have clinched the title, but the troublesome Ford had other ideas and a down on power performance from the engine left him in tenth, and having to record a respectable finish on the Down Rally. Camillus Bradley had a marvellous drive to win in wet conditions handling the powerful Escort with vigour and taking the 2wd title as McGarrity’s climb back to third insured him the overall McGrady championship.

In the class battles things were hard fought with Neil Monaghan taking class 1 with the ST Fiesta. Colm McFall took class 2- Group N in his Evo 9 on the final round from Clive Kilpatrick. Young Colin Price was delighted to take the class 3 title in his Vauxhall Corsa, ahead of Conor

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Cochrane in the MK2, whilst class 4 was won by Omagh’s Alan Smyth in the Suzuki Swift s1600.

Second in that class was Keady’s James Wilson in his Peugeot 106, who also took the Junior title within the series. This was a hotly contested class with the battles between other young driver’s Adam Bustard in his R2 Fiesta and Kyle White in his C2 R2 Max one of the highlights of the series.

Supporting the series once again where the husband and wife crew of Ian and Amanda Green in their 205 GTI, taking class 5, whilst Alastair Cochrane

ended the year third overall in the championship and winning class 6 ahead of John Devlin’s enthusiastically driven Sunbeam.

Camillus Bradley lifted class 7, ahead of Fintan McGrady, whilst Malcolm Pedlow in his BMW 2002 took Historic class 11 and was second overall Historic to the class 12 winner- Drew Wylie with the MK2 RS1800. Enjoyment was plentiful for the rallies amongst the class runners.

So what of 2017? Well it’s the single venue events at Kirkistown and Bishopscourt to start, with a new closed road event in May run

by the Mid Antrim Motor Club, adding some spice. The decision has been made by the ANICC committee to drop the expensive Circuit of Ireland and Ulster events from the calendar. Next up is the Mourne Rally in June, before the emphasis switches to gravel for the Lakeland and Bushwhacker, whilst the final round in Down may also switch back to gravel.

So it’s a revised more compact calendar, and one which will be easier on the clubman’s pocket.

Let’s see if the change can help to rekindle the halcyon days of the championship.

Marty McCormack won the Tour of the Sperrins

Josh’s Junior 1000 Rally Championship Joy

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By Andrew Bushe Photos: Roy Dempster

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allying for 14-17 year olds on proper MSA events, with a control tyre and technical regulations that are coherent across the UK is the formula that has brought so many teenage rally drivers to light. The 2016 McGrady Insurance ANICC Junior 1000 Rally Challenge Ireland was won for the second year in succession

by Kilrea teenager Josh McErlean in his Peugeot 107. Although the championship was short on quantity as so many drivers came of age in 2015, the quality was evident as Josh and Loughgall’s Peter Bennett who finished in second place in the NI based series led the way in the premier English Junior 1000 series all season.

Round one of the NI series also supported by Rallysales.eu was at Kirkistown in January, and it was Josh McErlean who took the victory on the New Year Stages, with Peter Bennett second in a borrowed Nissan Micra, his new Skoda Citigo not finished in time.

Third was English visitor Ruari Bell in a hired Peugeot 107, with Scottish driver Peter Beaton fourth in another Micra. Indeed Peter was to become a series regular soon upgrading to a Peugeot 107 and ended up a fine third in the championship. The second round was the North Armagh Motor Club’s rally at Kirkistown and it was an easy win for Josh, with Ruari Bell a distant second, Peter

Junior Champion Josh McErlean Beaton third and Peter Bennett fourth after clocking up two stage maximums as his new Skoda went into safe mode.

Next up was St.Angelo in May, for the Enniskillen Motor Club’s May Day Rally, and Josh McErlean once again romped away to victory. The main opposition was expected to come from Peter Bennett, but once again the car protested before the start of stage one, and just half a mile into the first test it stopped with an electrical issue and his day was over. Peter Beaton claimed second, ahead of newcomer Ryan McIvor, third in his Toyota Aygo. Round’s four and five were on the one weekend in August, Saturday for the Maiden City’s event Shackelton, and a quick ferry trip over to Scotland for the Solway Coast Rally on Sunday. By this stage of the year, the Bennett Skoda was reliable, and improvements had been made, as Peter led the UK series convincingly. At Shackleton he was untouchable, taking a commanding forty-three second win over McErlean, with Marcus McElwee having a great debut in third with his Micra, and a troubled Peter Beaton fourth.

It all shaped up well for a final round battle in Solway over the Dundrennan Military Range roads, and this time McErlean got revenge with the win, by just eleven seconds from Bennett who had two costly over-shoots during

the day.

Significant was their one-two finish out of the twentynine Junior 1000 starters from the NI, Scottish and English series, proving once again the pace of the top NI Junior’s. So Josh McErlean joins a list of names that have progressed here through the Junior 1000 concept, including Adam Bustardthe 2013 champion- now in an R2 Fiesta in the BRC, runner up that year Kyle White- now successful in his C2 R2 Max and William Creighton- second in the Irish Tarmac class with his 208 R2. Add to this Daniel Harper who won the Ginetta Junior Scholarship drive in 2016, Michael McGarrity, Philip White, Ben Crealey and more and the value of the category for building up experience and driving skills is clear to see.

The 2017 calendar encompasses seven roundsstarting at Shackleton on 30th December 2016, followed by two early 2017 trips to Kirkistown, Bishopscourt in March, St.Angelo in May, and Shackelton and Solway in August. Names such as

Peter Bennett Peter Beaton, Sam Adams, Marcus McElwee, Jordan Frazer and Rory Byrne could be the ones to look out for on the rally stages in the future.

Having suffered the burden of series co-ordinator for the past three and half seasons, what the challenge now needs is more recognition and support from other volunteers willing to help out, sponsors and indeed rally teams, manufacturers and local rally industry figures to provide incentives for these teenage drivers already fully committed to rallying. Perhaps the MSA and our local motor clubs could offer bursaries or entry discounts so that our young talent doesn’t fall by the wayside when it comes to progressing to senior events, and if we are looking for the next Kris Meeke we need to school them from an early age.

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Branches Branches Branches Branches 1st ClassChampions 16 Irish Forestry Championship 6 Junior Forestry Provincewide ship 2016 Junior Forestry Champions Provincewide Provincewide Provincewide Ashley Dickson 2nd Class 3 Irish Forestry Championshop

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Family Honours in the forests…

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2

016 was another great year for the Dickson Bros.

Motorsport Rally Team.

Dad Ashley and his three sons Stephen, Ian and Jason were all out competing on the NI Rally Championship and the Valvoline Irish Forestry Rally Championship.

Ashley upgraded to a new Mitsubishi Lancer Evo9 and had a fierce battle all year in the Valvoline Forestry Championship, eventually finishing second in Group N by the narrowest of margins – a countback on a tie break. Along the way, Ashley won Group N on the Tour of the Sperrins and Glens of Antrim rallies and took second in Group N on the Jim Walsh and Lakeland Stages as well.

Family honour was also upheld by brothers Stephen, Ian and Jason. Stephen, driving a R2 Fiesta won the Junior category in the Forestry Championship as well as Class 16 and took class wins on the Jim Walsh and Lakeland Stages as well as second on the Tour of the Sperrins and a third in Limerick.

There was also success for Ian who won Class 1 in the NI Rally Championship in his ST Fiesta showing good pace all year.

Younger brother Jason also had cause to celebrate as he drove Stephen’s old Fiesta ST to a resounding victory in Class 2 in the series, scoring maximum points five times during the season.

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Jordan hones his rally skills

Jordan with dad Paul

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wenty year old Jordan Hone from Claudy, Co. Derry is a name to watch out for in the future. The mechanical engineering student won the highly competitive BTRDA 1400 Championship this year driving a Proton Satria and co-driven by his father Paul.

Jordan has been competing for only three years, making his debut on the 2013 New Year Stages where he won his class first time out in a Challenge spec Nissan Micra and followed this up with numerous top three class finishes in the 2013 NI Rally Championship.

During the course of 2013 he had an opportunity to drive a Group N-spec Mitsubishi Lancer Evo6 at the Dogleap Rally finishing first in class and 10th overall. “It was a debut drive in a 4WD turbocharged car and another step towards learning more and more about the sport,” recalls Jordan.

“I felt comfortable from the word go and found it easier to drive than expected. It had more power and was more forgiving to drive allowing me to really push for the result. My personal aim at the start of 2013 was to gain experience in as many rallies as I could and as much knowledge

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of different conditions as I could.

I knew if I could achieve this as the year progressed I would be confident results would soon start to come my way. My campaign was a great success with a championship win and special prize awards.”

“For 2014 I decided to build on the experience I gathered in the Northern Ireland championship and possibly contest other events.

Importantly I moved into a more powerful Nissan Micra 1400S prepared by Rallyhire. This car was more refined than the previous car but the major difference was the increase of power from 90BHP to 140BHP. My debut drive in the new car was on the Circuit of Ireland National Rally which coincided with the European Rally championship as the shadow rally. The car was faultless on the event which saw us post a ninth quickest stage time in the National Rally to finish 31st overall and win the class by over nine minutes. It was a highlight but the results from the year meant not only winning the class again but becoming junior champion”.

Jordan also won the Gerry McGarrity Award. A prize was put forward by Gerry McGarrity for the Lakeland Stages for drivers under the age of 24.

The winner would receive a day of gravel testing with Alistair Fisher. The prize was awarded to the driver who displayed potential in the following areas: car presentation, car preparation awareness, driver attitude and driving talent. “Fortunately for me with a strong result and a lot of event preparation from me I was chosen as the winner. I was and still am extremely proud of this achievement as I was only 18 at the time and competing against more experienced drivers.’ Gerry McGarrity has brought on many young talents over the years, with car preparation and mentoring.

He has worked with the likes of Mark Fisher, Gareth MacHale, Alastair Fisher, Sam Moffett and Josh Moffett.

McGarrity was quoted at the time: “Jordan certainly showed that he has potential, and hopefully he can benefit from some help. We all need help no matter what we do. If I can help Jordan to not make some of the mistakes we all have made, and to improve skills along the way, that’s really what I want to do”.

“I was informed by the Association of Northern Ireland Car Clubs (ANICC) secretary, Nicky Moffit, that my name had been put forward to Greg Symes, the MSA Academy manager as

a potential nominee to be part of the MSA Academy based on results,” said Jordan.

In 2015 he decided the best way to progress as a driver and become quicker would be to contest the BTRDA 1400 Championship. This championship is televised and uses top events in England and Wales where lack of experience in the much faster, wide open stages would leave Jordan at a disadvantage. Despite this, he set some top five class times in the championship at his first attempt.

Unfortunately a brake problem stopped their championship after the Woodpecker. The problem started on the Nicky Grist and forced them to drive to the finish to secure championship points.

On returning home from the rally, no problem in the car could be found, so everything related to the brakes was changed as a precaution. As they were in the final stages of the championship, the team went to the Woodpecker with the intention of a good result as it would put them in a good position in the championship. Everything had gone to plan and the father and son were lying second in the 1400cc class going into the final stage. Three miles from the finish of the rally the car experienced

total brake failure, resulting in an accident which unfortunately put an end to the campaign due to the damage.

Despite this setback, Jordan came back with all guns blazing in 2016. “ I was proud of what I achieved in 2015 and was confident in my ability that in the right car, I could win the BTRDA 1400 Championship. I worked hard over the winter break to source the right car and with a bit of effort we found a Proton Satria which had been previously campaigned by Ryan Weston. The new car was difficult to adapt to at first because it required a different driving style to the

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was great but to win the class by just six seconds from Matt Jackson was even better. With three class wins, and three more podium finishes Jordan and Paul secured the BTRDA 1400 Championship.

“I am extremely proud of this achievement after all the hard work and effort put over the two years in the BTRDA Championship. I also won the E2 Class Championship in the MSA English Rally Championship and finished third in the BTRDA Junior Champion race,” he says.

Jordan Hone - Definitely a name to watch out for in 2017.

Nissan Micras I had used up to that point. However with the experience of the BTRDA rallies I had gained I felt in a much more comfortable position - albeit I still had to learn a new car.”

Jordan’s first 1400 class win came on only their second event in the car, the Malcolm Wilson Rally. It was an extremely tough event they had a puncture, lost second gear and broke a driveshaft, but Jordan never wanted to “throw the towel in” and was determined to get to the finish. So to get to the finish of the rally

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Connolly & McCrudden 2016 Sligo

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eamus Connolly and Gary McCrudden have won the 2016 Sligo Pallets Border Rally Championship. The Monaghan duo have been regular challengers for overall honours over the past few years and in 2016 they had a near perfect year to finally clinch the overall title. Their exciting driving style and commitment has made them and their iconic red Corolla very popular with spectators.

They dominated class 11R right from the opening round in Mayo and further class wins in Monaghan, Cavan & Galway secured the overall title with a round to spare. The pair also won their class in the National

fashion to complete a year of tremendous success for the Monaghan men.

Pushing them all the way was the class 12 team of Brian Armstrong & James Logue who finished just one point adrift.

Armstrong is a regular supporter of the championship and won it outright ten years ago. This year he joined forces with Donegal’s James Logue. They claimed class wins in Mayo, Sligo & Donegal together. Logue missed one round in Galway which left him 3rd overall in the navigator’s section.

John & Niall Kelly put another Monaghan Toyota in the overall honours thanks to their exploits in class 10. The former Border champions took class 10 wins in Monaghan, Galway & Donegal. They were also 2nd in class in Mayo. John claimed the 3rd overall driver award with Niall 2nd overall navigator.

Class 1 Champions Ruari McCaffrey & Seamus McTigue Overall winners, Seamus Connoly, Andrew Tyrone’s Ruari Mullan, Gary McCrudden McCaffrey joined forces Rally Championship in impressive with Leitrim’s Seamus McTigue

and this pair were the crew to beat in class 1. They notched up a number of class wins and only missed out on an overall placing by one point. Mayo’s Brian Lavelle finished 2nd driver in the category with Donegal’s David Kelly & James Conwell 2nd driver and 3rd navigator respectively.

Class 2 Champions Jenna McCann & Eamon Conway Second overall, Niall Kelly, Andrew Mullan, Brian Amstrong Cavan woman Jenna McCann upstaged the men to Monaghan men Shane Maguire take class 2 honours in her Fiesta. & Mac Kierans teamed up to Keelan Maguire & Karl Fallis take class 4 honours in their were 2nd and 3rd overall driver Lancer with class wins in Mayo respectively. Eamon Conway who & Monaghan the highlight. They navigated for Karl Fallis was the also were extremely consistent, top finishing co-driver. Martin finishing in the top three in class McGarritty & Dean O’Sullivan on all six rounds. Trevor Bustard placed 2nd and 3rd navigator in & John McCafferty finished the class. five points adrift with Cathan McCourt/Brian Hoy coming home Class 3 Champions Roger in 3rd place.

Kennedy & Wendy Blackledge

Roger Kennedy & Wendy Blackledge claimed yet another class 3 title after another faultless Border campaign.

Class 4 Champions Shane Maguire & Mac Kierans

Class 7 Champions Niall Maguire & Enda Sherry Niall Maguire & Enda Sherry were the only registered crew to finish in class 7. Their overall win in Galway was the highlight of their year.

Border Rally Championship 2016 CarSport

Cavan & Sligo. Ciaran & Aine Phelan finished as the championship runners-up.

Class 11R Champions Johnny Jordan & Stephen McGing Johnny Jordan was the top driver following Connolly/McCruddens’ promotion. He took a Brenda Flynn, Championship Registrar with class win in Sligo as Andrew Mullan well as 2nd in Cavan.

Barry Cuffe/Stephen McGing were the 2nd driver and 1st navigator respectively after a consistent year. Donegal’s Leonard Craig was the 3rd driver with Conal McNulty the 2nd navigator.

Eamon Doherty was the 3rd overall navigator.

Class 12 Champions Alan Atchenson & Thomas Wedlock This crew pushed Armstrong/ Third Overall John Kelly, Andrew Mullan Logue all the way in class 12 James Logue Class 9 Champions Damien O’Reilly & Damien McCabe The two Damien’s from Cavan cruised to the class 9 title this year thanks to a string of steady finishes and class wins.

Class 10 Champions Shane Carr & Ciaran Carr The Donegal men pushed their Nova to the max in their efforts to overcome the Kellys. They took the class in Mayo but had to settle for 2nd in Monaghan.

A 2nd place in Galway and 3rd in Donegal secured the class once the Kellys were promoted to the overall placings. Martin McGuigan/Sam Clake finished as runners-up with Padraig Connolly 3rd driver.

Class 11F Champions Cormac Phelan & Katja Auhl Cormac Phelan & Katja Auhl had an up and down year but secured the class after wins in

missing out by only two points.

They won the class in Monaghan with 2nd places in Mayo, Cavan & Sligo. A non-finish in Donegal cost them a potential overall placing. Vincent Collins & Michael Moran were 2nd overall with Eamon McGuigan & Matthew Kirwan 3rd .

Class 13 Champions Russell Woods & Martin Byrne Cavan men, Russell Woods & last year’s overall winning navigator, Martin Byrne, came out on top in class 13. Former champions Gary Kiernan & Ryan Moore finished as runners-up.

Class 14 Champions Damien Toner & Denver Rafferty Armagh’s Damien Toner & Denver Rafferty were one of the most active competitors in 2016. A superb 2nd overall finish in Sligo was the highlight of their class winning year.

Gary McPhillips/ Paul Sheridan had notched up two class wins on the opening three rounds but a non-finish in Sligo put an end to their championship bid.

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Sligo Pallets Border Champions

Class 15 Champions James McGreal & Chris Mitchell Russell Woods, Joe Corcoran, Martin Byrne

Mayo’s James McGreal made a return to the championship this year. He was another former overall champion. James & Chris Mitchell finished all six rounds and eased to the class 15 title.

Lorcan Moore was the only other registered finisher to take 2nd navigator.

Class 18 Champions Malcolm Pedlow & Ivor Ferguson Malcolm & Ivor were the sole historic competitors during the year and enjoyed their runs in Monaghan, Cavan & Sligo.

Class 20 Champions Colin Quirk & Chris Caley Colin & Chris made the trip from the Isle of Man to contest this championship in their Lancer.

First appearing in Monaghan, they contested all remaining rounds and easily secured the class in the championship.

Junior Champions Michael Boyle & Dermot McCafferty Michael, son of former champion Declan, was the dominate force in the Junior category recording wins in Cavan, Sligo & Galway. A nonfinish on his home event was a disappointment as it cost him a potential overall placing.

Team Champions Team Toyota Monaghan

Brian Armstrong winner of Brian McGrath Memorial Award

With both Seamus Connolly/ Gary McCrudden and John Kelly/ Niall Kelly in their team it was no surprise that Team Toyota Monaghan easily claimed the Teams trophy for 2016 Summary The 2016 Sligo Pallets Border Championship was once again a huge success. Sligo Pallets have become synonymous with the championship in recent years and we hope this partnership will continue for many years to come. The Border Championship committee would like to thank Andrew Mullen for his commitment to the series.

2016 saw another pair of first time champions crowned for the fourth year in succession.

Congratulations to Seamus Connolly & Gary McCrudden.

We look forward to seeing them defend their title in 2017.

Border Rally Championship 2016 CarSport

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Paul Barrett and Dai Roberts

British Historic Rally Championship - Class Champions - 2nd Overall Would like to thank their sponsors, family and friends

STEVIE HARKNESS TYRES SHERWOOD ENGINES BARRETT BROS BUILDERS

FAMILY & FRIENDS

Wishing everyone a safe and successful 2017 in motorsport

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PlasticBags.ie Southern 4 Rally Championship

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harlie & Johnny Hickey, the father and son team from Killarney, are the PlasticBags.ie Southern 4 Rally Champions for 2016. When the four best scores were taken into account after the six round series, they had one point to spare over Callum Devine & Keith Moriarty. As always the popular clubman championship had a large number of registrations and due to the varying types of events (mini stages, single day, two-day) meant that there were a few drivers leading the championship during the year.

After the first round in West Cork, Donagh Kelly was in front having completed his hat-trick of wins on the event while Aaron McHale was next up in his Skoda S2000. Others to feature included Callum Devine in his Opel Adam and David Guest in a Mitsubishi Lancer who also led the Group N category. With the second round being the Rally of the Lakes

in Killarney it was pretty much as you were on top of the pile as Donagh Kelly had another maximum score with Aaron McHale and David Guest making up the top three. Callum Devine and Charlie Hickey completed the top five, but significantly the next two rounds would be national events which increased the chance of the clubmen looking to move up the list.

In the third round, the Waterford based Ravens Rock event, Enda O’Brien took maximum points which moved him back into the top ten but the biggest move was made by Andrew Duggan from Killarney who was now in sixth place having scored on all rounds to date. None of the top five positioned drivers started the Ravens Rock event which brought the leaderboard closer together. For the Imokilly Mini Stages amazingly the top five still remained the same, as the top

four didn’t take part, but Charlie Hickey did score in fifth place to move to within four points of fourth and just 24 points off the overall championship lead. Enda O’Brien took maximum points again to move into sixth place at the expense of Andrew Duggan who was still in with a strong chance of overall honours.

The Cork 20 International

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Rally was the penultimate round and with Kelly & McHale not appearing, and points being awarded for each day the leaderboard promised to look a lot different afterwards. So it proved to be as Kelly and McHale were knocked back to fifth and seventh respectively and with David Guest having crashed out of Cork his overall chances had

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now disappeared as well. Dropped scores were now beginning to come into play, although for new championship leader Callum Devine, he still had scope to increase his total a he only had scored on three rounds. With only one round to go second placed Charlie Hickey had to score well and for Devine not to score at all to have a chance.

Andrew Duggan in third place was in a similar position to Hickey except he was thirteen points even worse off.

Davy Armstrong was up to fourth place but mathematically couldn’t win the title while Donagh Kelly completed the top five.

So it all came down to the final round in Bantry and the Fastnet Rally on the last Sunday in October and with all three of the protagonists on the entry list the title was up for grabs. With Callum Devine not starting, Charlie Hickey needed to finish in the top seven registered competitors to secure

the title. Seventh of the registered competitors is what was achieved and the PlasticBags.ie Southern 4 Rally Championship was on its way to Killarney by the slender margin of just one point.

In the hotly contested Junior Championship, Fergus Hurley & Eric Deane were the winners

in their immaculate Ford Escort from Eric Calnan who took maximum points in Bantry but just missed out by just two points in his Peugeot 106. Third place went to Anthony Sheehan in his Honda Civic. The Historic Championship there is still one round to go, the Rentokil Initial

Historic Stages Rally in Killarney, but Donal O’Connor has already done enough to take the title in his beautiful red Ford Escort Mk1. Second place at the time of writing is held by Ed Flavahan in his Lancia Fulvia, but he is only four points ahead of George Swanton in his Escort MK1.

Quality Used Cars 243 Upper Lisburn Road Belfast BT10 OLN Tel: 028 90 601 813

Kyle White would like to thank the sponsors and the team for their support in 2016.

CarSport GaryWhite 2017 YB.indd

1

143 Mill Road, Ballyclare, BT39 9DZ Tel: 028 9332 3999

14/11/2016 09:53 Stephen Mawhinney Motors.indd 1

15/11/2016 12:41

Colin’s first Focus

By Pat Burns

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Photos: John O’Neill – Sperrins Photography

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he official results for the 1999 Monte Carlo Rally do not have the Ford Focus WRC of Colin McRae and Nicky Grist listed. But the pair, giving the Focus WRC its world debut, finished third overall in S7 FMC only to be disqualified on a technicality. That car is now owned by Draperstown’s Seamus Heron and has now been completely rebuilt to the original ’99 Monte spec…

The problem centred around the water pump on the new car. The Focus WRC was using a standard part, but because the engine

had been rotated back in the engine bay, the water pump was moved too. The cars were initially banned from starting, but an hour

before the start of the event, the cars were allowed to run under appeal.

The car was originally built by Martin Wilkinson, an ex-Mike Lyttle engineer who joined Malcolm Wilson at M-Sport in 1996. Twenty years later and Martin, who now owns CA1 Sport in Cumbria, rebuilt the car again…

The 67th Monte Carlo Rally marked the official launch of the first Focus WRC. The cars, one for McRae/Grist and the other for Simon Jean-Joseph and Fred Gallagher, were built by Malcolm Wilson’s M-Sport team in Cumbria instead of Ford Motorsports Boreham facility and were the subject of much discussion regarding the cars’ homologation.

Colin McRae in action in the car on the 1999 Monte. Photo- McKlein

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By Pat Burns

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The event was particularly treacherous that year, and Colin McRae drove cautiously over the icy stages before attacking where it was safer. It paid dividends for the Scot, who won more special stages than any other driver including winning one stage by 44 seconds! At the finish of the event, won by Mitsubishi’s Tommi Makinen, Colin McRae was in third place, only for the

FIA to later disqualify the two Focus WRCs for the water pump infringement.

Looking back at the event, co-driver Nicky Grist commented, “ Testing had gone so badly that our expectations for this event were very low. The first stage was 52km and after 10km we had to stop. The heat from the exhaust had set the paintwork on fire and

the fumes were choking us. But it was great to set some fastest times on our first event with the car. We got up to third even after having to stop on the first stage for nearly two minutes.”

Team Director Malcolm Wilson was equally delighted. “We had developed the Focus WRC in record time, just under 12 months.

You can imagine the pressure at the first event – we were going to our first Monte Carlo with the first car we had ever designed. When Colin was posting fastest times on the first rally we knew the car was going to be a winner.”

Immediately after the disqualification McRae was not happy and told Jeremy Hart of The Times, “It’s disappointing to lowse the points after what was a great drive. It’s a kick in the guts after all the effort I’ve put in. The team needs to sort this out and we need to come back… I’m gutted.

I’m disappointed in Ford and M-Sport.

It’s not acceptable.

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It’s just an homologation issue, but it’s a major mistake on behalf of a lot of engineers.”

There were many sleepless nights for the M-Sport team, Ford in Cologne and Mountune engines to rectify the problem in time for Sweden and at one point it looked possible that the team

By Pat Burns

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would drive over the start ramp in Sweden and then retire the cars.

But the team resolved the issue with hours to spare…

Ford started Rally Sweden with two new Focus WRCs with legally positioned waterpumps but Colin McRae retired from the specialist snow packed event in fifth place with engine failure. Vengeance was McRae’s though, as he went to the Safari Rally in a new Focus WRC and won the event giving the Focus its first World Rally Championship victory.

The fourth round of the 1999 World Rally Championship was the Rallye De Portugal and S7 FMC was again pressed into service for McRae and Grist.

After the unpredictable nature of the first three rounds, Portugal is generally recognised as the first real indicator of the fastest car in the championship and Colin was well aware of this. After the first loop of three stages, Colin had pulled out an impressive 37 second lead and by the end of the day had stretched the lead to almost a minute, proving that the Focus WRC could take one second a kilometre out of the opposition. McRae was at a disadvantage for the second and third days of the rally having to run first on the road, but he held his position to the finish, winning the rally by 12 seconds,

beating Carlos Sainz in a Corolla WRC and giving S7 FMC a place in WRC history. Incidentally, Colin’s brother Alister won the F2 category of the event in an Hyundai Coupe kit car and ensured suitable celebrations at Rally HQ.

Lancer WRC) and Richard Burns (Subaru Impreza WRC) fought out the championship with victory going to the Finn.

The car was used by Eamon Boland on the 2000 Circuit of

Kerry where it finished 4th and crashed out of the 2000 Killarney Rally of the Lakes.

The car was sold to Italian Rally team the Jolly Club and Enrico Bertone took the car to second

The following round in Spain saw S7 FMC entered for Simon Jean-Joseph and his Ulster codriver Fred Gallagher but there were to be no celebrations this time as the car retired with electrical problems while a new car for McRae suffered antilag failure and was eventually withdrawn. Tomas Radstrom, with Fred Gallagher co-driving, drove the car on Rally China only to retire with suspension failure.

S7 FMC was then shipped to Argentina for the next round and McRae would drive the car on this event only to crash out on the second stage. The car was shipped back to M-Sport for a rebuild and the last time Colin drove it was the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Luck didn’t stay with McRae and the Ford team in 1999 unfortunately. A string of retirements due to mechanical problems and accidents saw McRae drop down the WRC championship points leaderboard while Tommi Makinen (Mitsubishi

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By Pat Burns

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place on the 2000 Barum Rally. A number of drivers then competed in the car over the next few years, including Roman Kresta and Antony Warmbold, while Janusz Kulig won the 2002 Rally of Turkey in the car.

In 2004, Timothy Wilson used the Focus on the Manx Rally and later that year the car came back to Ireland where Glenn Allen and Brendan O’Hagan drove it on rounds of the NI Rally Championship over the next couple of years.

It’s current owner, Seamus Heron, acquired S7 FMC in 2007 and made his debut in the car on the National Circuit of Ireland Rally and took the car to third place on the Tour of the Sperrins.

The Focus was shipped back to its original builder, Martin Wilkinson, a few years ago for a complete rebuild. Martin describes it as being, “ a helluva mess. It had been rallied to death and was in a bad state of repair when it came back here.”

“Getting parts for the car was a nightmare,” recalls Martin.

“It had been upgraded a few times to a later specification but we wanted to rebuild it back to

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completely original spec. Seamus thought it should be done to Portugal ’99 spec which was the car’s first win, but I thought it should go back to Monte ’99 spec and colour scheme which as the car is the first ever Focus rallied and the first Focus rallied

by McRae. “It was a nightmare to get parts,” continues Martin, “but I had all my original drawings, notes and measurements so we made them all again. The rebuild took two or three years, though a lot of the time was spent waiting for replacement parts so it was probably only 2 or 3 months actual work.

“I built it originally and did the rebuild. The same guy painted it and the same guy did the livery so it is virtually identical to how Colin would have started Monte Carlo in 1999…”

And what about the waterpump?

“The funny thing is after we were disqualified from Monte for having the pump in the wrong place, we put it back in the original place and it actually worked better!”

Sunoco Fuels the way for McKinstry now been mapped for the ultra successful Ford R5 Evo.

Emma and Kenny McKinstry

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eading rally preparation expert Kenny McKinstry at McKinstry Motors is well known in the industry for preparing well turned out rally cars. Being quite handy behind the wheel himself Kenny early recognised the performance and consistency of the Sunoco

and R race fuels and has been a representative on the North Irish market for quite a few years now. Very popular is the specially blended RTC turbo fuel which gives extra low down torque compared to other FIA fuels.

Great news are that both the RTC and the RTF (current FIA) have

Many amateur rally boys with natural aspirated engines are struggling with the inconsistency of normal pump fuels which just seems to get worse and worse all the time especially now when they are containing an average of 5% of ethanol. However, for many years Irish competitors have been blending the high octane Sunoco Supreme (116 octane) with unleaded fuels and thus created a low cost race fuels that not only protect the engines from detonation but also makes the fuel burn cleaner – Kenny recommends a percentage of 10-25 to lift the standard fuels to a usable level. Even the ever growing popular Drifting scene can greatly benefit from Sunoco fuels in form of the highly

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oxygenated unleaded 110 octane Sunoco GT Plus unless the racers want to explore the power of the Sunoco E85R which is also kept in stock.

Kenny says: “Race fuels have for a long time been regarded as the option for those who want to squeeze that extra power from competition engines and although it is true that you get more power from a good quality fuel it is actually false economy to run pump fuels in race engines.

You should see race fuels as an insurance that will make the engines last longer and ensure that rebuilds are cheaper. Running pump fuels, especially in a turbo engine, is high risk and if you are unlucky the pump fuel could be on the low side of consistency resulting in a total engine blew up – and that is very costly.”

Your race fuel specialist

For all your race fuel requirements contact

1 White Row, Banbridge, Co. Down +44 (0)28 4062 5438 www.mckinstrymotorsport.com kennymckinstry@btconnect.com AAOC McKinstry ad.indd 1

22/11/2016 20:57

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25th Anniversary Dinner for Ballynahinch Motor Club

In celebration of their twenty five years in motor sport the members of Ballynahinch & District Motor Club will be swapping their racing suits for bow ties at a 25th Anniversary Dinner in the Millbrook Lodge Hotel, Ballynahinch, on Saturday Feb 18th 2017,

T

he Co Down motor club was formed in 1992 and has continued to grow since then. Meetings are held monthly and new members are encouraged and made most welcome. Social events are organised throughout the year, and a rally safety forum recently was attended by World Rally star Kris Meeke. An annual prizegiving takes place at the January meeting where club members are acknowledged for their success and commitment ‘Our aim has been not only to provide competitors with top class events which are great value for money,’ says Chairman Brian Crawford, ‘but to put the fun back into motor sport. For our twenty-fifth year we decided to celebrate in style with an extra special black tie event.’

A very active club, not only does it run a number of rallies

throughout the year, but club members also help to run other events such as the Circuit of Ireland and the Ulster Rally. They also have two Rescue Units

available for other clubs to hire for their events.

‘We have shared many experiences in motor sport and developed many friendships over

the past 25 years. said Brian.

Tickets priced £35 are available from Brian Crawford on 07803 201823 or Kieran O’Neill on 078 3164 7692

Kris Meeke attended the recent safety event at Ballynahinch MC

25th Anniversary Dinner In celebration of twenty-five years in motor sport an Anniversary Dinner will be held in the Millbrook Lodge Hotel, Ballynahinch, on Saturday Feb 18th 2017.We welcome all our friends and colleagues to join us in celebrating this very special occasion. Don’t miss this Night of the Year!

Tickets, priced £35, are available from Brian Crawford on 07803 201823 or Kieran O’Neill on 078 3164 7692. Black Tie event.

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Navigators do it in the dark!

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Report and Photos: Derek Smyth

Adam Mairs & Phillip Green

Dougie and Glenn Millar

Cousins Leslie and Gareth Hawe

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eports of the demise of navigation rallying may be exaggerated, but there is a grain of truth in them. Only four ANICC Clubs ran these events this year with Dungannon (2), Cookstown, Enniskillen and UAC all helping Club members get a foot on the competition ladder.

Simplification of the route instructions, and focus on beginners, has been the key emphasis this year, and along with Dungannon’s (now) annual rally school, there has been an upturn in interest in this grassroots discipline.

Gareth and Raymond Deazley got the season under way with a win on the Erne Safari, and

then Rally School graduates Terry Patterson and Adam Crawford won the Dungannon Snowdrop.

Beginners Dougie and Glenn Millar took the top honours in Cookstown, and regular Targa driver Mark Faulkner had Ashley Boulton ran out winners of the iconic Moonraker Rally in Dungannon.

Closing the year out was the UAC Firecracker and here it would be Roger Fynn and Robert McGimpsey’s chance to take the overall trophy.

For navigation rallying this has been a transition year, and the newer formats are designed to bring Club members back out in their cars to have a go.

Mark Faulkner & Ashley Boulton Neil Fletcher

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Fred Gallagher ahead of its WRC

Photos: McKlein

“If Mäkinen is anything like a team m like he was a driver, he and Toyota

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er talks Toyota WRC return

eam manager, yota will be hard to beat‌�

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FRED GALLAGHER TODAY: You are still very much involved in rallying as Rally Director of the Endurance Rally Association. What does that role entail?

Basically I head up the entire sporting operation of all our events – so route planning, appointing people and selecting clerks of the course and so on. I also go on the events and help to look after the competitors.

The Peking to Paris event this year, for example, we had 108 starters, so 216 people that had all paid a considerable sum of money to do an event. You really have to, it is not like the WRC, or even the ERC or something, you are having to give all of these people a really good experience and make sure they get value for money and make sure they come back and recommend you to their friends and so on. It is very much a full-time job.

How much do you enjoy still being involved in rallying?

Massively or else I wouldn’t do it. I just love it. Cars have always been my thing. I don’t have any desire to work in the WRC anymore, but I enjoy the historic stuff. I am also Vice-President of the FIA’s Cross-Country Commission, so I get involved in decision making there and on events a few times each year on Cross-Country rallies.

Is it fair to say CrossCountry rallies are closer in spirit to the old WRC events?

Yes, to an extent they are.

They are certainly not sprints, even the one day or two day Baja events that we run probably have considerably more stage kilometres than a WRC event would have today.

Fred Gallagher

F

ew could fault that logic, but such an observation can only be expected from Fred Gallagher, a man who has spent so much of his life involved in the WRC and rallying in general. Now Rally Director of the Endurance Rally Association and Vice-President of the FIA CrossCountry Rally Commission, the 64-year-old has had a long and distinguished career and co-drove for some of the biggest names in the sport. He took multiple wins, with all five of his WRC victories coming with Toyota, the last back in 1990 on the fearsome Safari Rally alongside the late Björn Waldegård.

More than 25 years later, after Toyota quit the sport in 1999 – having won four drivers’ titles and three Manufacturers’ crowns – the Japanese manufacturer is set for its comeback in 2017. How will it do? Rob Wilkins quizzes Gallagher to get his take…

Fred, given your history with Toyota, how much are you looking forward to seeing them back in the FIA World Rally Championship in 2017 after a near two decade absence?

Yeah, it will be interesting.

It will be a very different team.

Obviously Toyota Team Europe (TTE) was Ove Andersson’s team that I always dealt with, so it is going to be fascinating to see what Tommi Mäkinen does.

thing.

What do you remember about your victories with the Toyota Celica, alongside first Juha Kankkunen and then Björn Waldegård?

Well I suppose the first win on the Safari in 1985 with Kankkunen was just so totally unexpected, as it was the first time either of us had done it. The bookmakers had us at 200-1 or something before the start. So our aim was to get around to the finish and if we had finished fifth, sixth, seventh or eighth or something, I am sure we would have been delighted. To win was extraordinary.

Then to go back the year afterwards and do it with Björn Waldegård in exactly the same team, same car, but different driver was great. The pressure though was totally different that time because we went as probably equal favourites with Kankkunen in the Peugeot [205 Turbo] he was driving. So, there was quite a lot of pressure on there.

What did it mean to you to get that first WRC win in 1985 on the Safari and then to make it a hat-trick of Safari wins in 1990?

It was an extraordinary rally, very different from any other WRC events; much, much longer - no rest really, there were no liaison sections, so you were flat-out on pace notes for five and a half thousand kilometres. It used to be billed as the ‘World’s greatest rally’ and I still firmly believe it was in those days. It was just an incredible thing to win. It probably ranks up there with the Monte Carlo Rally as being the really big, big rally that everybody wanted to win. It was a great feeling.

You’ve touched on this, but just how great a test was the Safari Rally in your opinion?

I think the fact some years, out of maybe 100 starters, there were only eight, nine, ten finishers, says a lot. It was very hard on the cars, very hard on the crews and very hard on the mechanics. It was a massive operation. We’d probably spend about three months in Kenya with testing, recce work, preparation and so on, and Toyota also had their own workshop that they rented down there. It was massive.

How did it compare codriving for Kankkunen and then Waldegård at TTE? They were obviously at different stretches of their careers. Björn

How much of a boost is it for the WRC to have Toyota back?

I think any major manufacturer coming in can only be a good

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Fred and Juha Kankkanen on the 1985 Safari

I am sure Kris is thinking he is going to become World Champion and there is no reason why he shouldn’t be World Champion both years. I think he has proven beyond all doubt that he is closer than anybody has ever been to Ogier. It absolutely wouldn’t surprise me to see him become a double World Champion - or more.

SÉBASTIEN OGIER: Just how good do you think Sébastien Ogier is and how does he compare to some of the other greats, like Sébastien Loeb, Juha Kankkunen, Tommi Mäkinen and Colin McRae? I think everything points to the fact he is exceptional. He wasn’t afraid of Loeb when they were team-mates at Citroën. You have got to remember how extraordinarily good Loeb was. No team-mate before Ogier seemed to bother him in the slightest whether it was Carlos Sainz or McRae or whoever. I think for Ogier to do that shows a lot.

I am sure Kris is thinking he is going to become World Champion and there is no reason why he shouldn’t be World Champion both years. I think he has proven beyond all doubt that he is closer than anybody has ever been to Ogier. It absolutely wouldn’t surprise me to see him become a double World Champion - or more.

was already a World Champion and much more my age than Juha - that’s how it felt at the time anyway. Björn is a few years older than me and Juha was quite a bit younger. I got on perfectly with both of them but Björn and I probably had more in common - and Henry Liddon was our team manager and it was just an incredibly good atmosphere in the team, a great feeling. I enjoyed massively going with both.

In addition to codriving for Kankkunen and Waldegård, you also co-drove for three other World Rally Champions: Ari Vatanen, Timo Salonen and Petter Solberg, as well as the likes of Tony Pond and Henri Toivonen. You must look back now, quite rightly, with real pride and satisfaction that you were good enough as a co-driver to work with such a high pedigree of driver?

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by Rob Wilkins

Kris Meeke Kris Meeke seems to have gone from strength-tostrength this season.

What do you think is possible for him and Citroen in 2017 and 2018?

Bjorn Waldegard with Fred on the 86 Ivory Coast

again in the WRC? Well you have to look at Volkswagen and they came in and won the Championship in

To be honest I don’t because it was so extraordinary what Volkswagen did. You look at how Honda struggle, for example, in Formula One and it has taken them a few years to get into their

It was a great honour to go with any of them, but to have gone with all of them and had great relationships with all of them is very satisfying.

Going back to Toyota, it’s fair to say, isn’t it, that you witnessed TTE evolve massively during your time there from 1984 to 1991?

Yeah, because when I joined, the first rally was Portugal in 1984 and I think there were four mechanics and two vans and that was it. By the time Björn and I left after the Safari in 1991 we were into the four-wheel drive era and it was expanding massively.

Toyota has had a lot of success in motorsport and not just in terms of rallying - do you think Tommi Mäkinen is the right man to lead them back to the top in the WRC? Like in all forms of motorsport, I think results will be what proves Toyota’s decision to out-source it and the choice of Tommi and so on, but if he is anything like a team manager, like he was a driver, he and Toyota will be hard to beat.

How long do you think it will be before Toyota is a winning proposition

their first year. I think that shows the level you can perform at and Toyota is as big a company as Volkswagen, so the pressure will be on right from the start.

A company like Toyota has historically always been successful in motorsport too. If you compare them with Nissan, which seems to have lots of near misses and has not really won much big stuff, Toyota has a history of doing pretty well. Okay, in Formula One they didn’t win any races, but they got podiums and so on before they pulled out. I think they have to be in for the long term and they have to be ultracompetitive.

Do you expect them then to come in and win immediately like VW did?

stride. I suppose I expect Toyota to be the same.

Next year will see the new breed of WRC cars introduced. What are your thoughts on those changes and what effect do you think it will have on the sport?

A formula change always stirs things up in motorsport and so we could easily see that somebody gets their sums right over the winter, and is then better than the others. I don’t know that much about the 2017 regulations to be honest, apart from the fact there is going to be a bit more aero and a bit more horsepower and so on, but more power and more grip should be good. I just hope they remain as spectacular as they are today.

Bjorn celebrates the 1990 Safari win

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by Rob Wilkins

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CAREER HIGHLIGHTS FIA World Rally Championship 1999 1998 1990 1988 1986 1986 1985 1985 1982 1982 1981 1981 1975

3rd 3rd 1st 3rd 1st 1st 1st 1st 3rd 3rd 2nd 2nd 15th

Swedish Rally Safari Rally Safari Rally Lombard RAC Rally Rallye Côte d’Ivoire Safari Rally Rallye Côte d’Ivoire Safari Rally Rally of Great Britain Acropolis Rally Rallye San Remo Rallye de Portugal - Vinho do Porto Rally of Great Britain

Ford Focus RS WRC Ford Escort WRC Toyota Celica GT-4 Toyota Celica GT-4 Toyota Celica Twincam Turbo Toyota Celica Twincam Turbo Toyota Celica Twincam Turbo Toyota Celica Twincam Turbo Opel Ascona 400 Opel Ascona 400 Talbot Sunbeam Lotus Talbot Sunbeam Lotus Skoda 130 S

(Thomas Rådström) (Ari Vatanen) (Björn Waldegård) (Björn Waldegård) (Björn Waldegård) (Björn Waldegård) (Juha Kankkunen) (Juha Kankkunen) (Henri Toivonen) (Henri Toivonen) (Henri Toivonen) (Henri Toivonen) (John Haugland)*

Toyota Celica GT-4 Toyota Celica GT-4 Toyota Celica Twincam Turbo Toyota Celica Twincam Turbo Audi Quattro A2 Opel Manta 400 Opel Ascona 400 Opel Ascona 400 Talbot Sunbeam Lotus Triumph TR7 V8 Triumph TR7 V8 Triumph TR7 V8 Triumph TR7 V8 Triumph TR7 V8 Triumph TR7 Triumph TR7 Triumph TR7

(Björn Waldegård) (Björn Waldegård) (Björn Waldegård) (Björn Waldegård) (John Buffum) (Henri Toivonen) (Henri Toivonen) (Henri Toivonen) (Henri Toivonen) (Tony Pond) (Tony Pond) (Graham Elsmore) (Tony Pond) (Tony Pond) (Tony Pond) (Tony Pond) (Tony Pond)

Toyota Celica GT-4 Toyota Celica GT-4 Toyota Celica Twincam Turbo

(Björn Waldegård) (Björn Waldegård) (Björn Waldegård)

Citroën ZX Grand Raid Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero Citroën ZX Grand Raid Citroën ZX Grand Raid Citroën ZX Grand Raid Citroën ZX Grand Raid Citroën ZX Grand Raid Citroën ZX Grand Raid

(Ari Vatanen) (Kenjiro Shinozuka) (Ari Vatanen) (Ari Vatanen) (Ari Vatanen) (Ari Vatanen) (Timo Salonen) (Timo Salonen)

*debut event FIA European Rally Championship 1988 1988 1986 1986 1984 1983 1982 1982 1981 1980 1980 1979 1978 1978 1977 1977 1977

1st 2nd 3rd 3rd 1st 1st 3rd 3rd 3rd 1st 1st 3rd 1st 1st 2nd 3rd 1st

Cyprus Rally AvD/STH Hunsrück Rallye Scottish Rally South Swedish Rally Cyprus Rally Manx International Rally Arnold Clark Scottish Rally Circuit of Ireland Arctic Rally Manx International Trophy Rally 24 Uren van Ieper (Ypres) Manx International Rally Manx International Rally 24 Uren van Ieper (Ypres) Esso-Lombard Scottish Rally Rallye dell’Isola d’Elba Boucles de Spa

FIA Middle East Rally Championship 1989 1st 1988 1st 1986 1st

Dubai International Rally Oman Internationla Rally Qatar International Rally

FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup 1997 2000 1997 1997 1997 1997 1994 1993

FIA 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st

Cross Country World Cup Winner Por Las Pampas UAE Desert Challenge Masters (Paris-Samarkand-Moscow) Baja Portugal Morocco Baja Aragon Pharaoh’s Rally

Rally organisation *Rally Director of the Endurance Rally Association (2015-present) *Vice-President of the FIA Cross Country Rally Commission (2011-present) *Clark of the Course, FIA WRC RAC Rally & Wales Rally GB (1996-2015) *FIA WRC Observer (2007-2009) *Member of FIA Rally Safety Group (2001-2004) *Chairman of FIA WRC Rally Regulation Working Group (2002-2003) *Nissan Raid Team, Strategy Manager (2002-2004)

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I think they will do well. I have been following it since Tommi [Mäkinen] first started the project. I know the Toyota people because Akio Toyoda, who is the main man, his father was the man in charge at Toyota when I was there. Akio is a fan of rallying and that is very important that the main guy is interested in it. The car is good. Of course you need more kilometres and you cannot build the car in a year and win straight away, but next year they will be on the podium.

You had three spells as a Toyota driver.

What was it like being a works driver with them?

- my English wasn’t brilliant before that, but then of course I learned English. Fred had also been with good drivers before and so he was really one of the best co-drivers in the world. It is co-operation work anyway with the co-driver. The driver can be the best in the world, but if you don’t have a co-driver in rallying it doesn’t work. You have to have somebody that understands the road books and can read the pace-notes. The timing is critical - reading them at the right time, not too late or not too early, especially too late, is too late normally! [laughs].

The work has to be 100 per cent and together it is, as I said, a co-operation. He actually visited my farm recently and we had a coffee. He called me suddenly and said: ‘Can I come for a coffee?’ I said: ‘Please, I haven’t seen you in twenty years…’ Fred is a good guy.

KANKKUNEN on Toyota

Nice. I had a good time. I spent nine years with them and that was the longest time I spent in any team. I always liked it. We had very good people working there and Ove Andersson he was just such a fantastic boss as well.

So, it was a good team to work with.

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by Rob Wilkins

Q&A: JUHA KANKKUNEN: How do you think Toyota will fare in 2017?

Fred and Kankkanen

What do you recall about your debut win with Toyota and Fred on the Safari Rally in 1985?

That was the turning point of my career and straight away I knew what I was going to do.

It was really good that Ove gave a chance to the ‘young boy’, me, and trusted me because he had more experienced drivers.

The year before I had a Toyota contract but in 1984 I didn’t do the Safari because I had no bloody experience of the rally, at all. That was why Björn [Waldegård] and Per [Eklund], you know the more experienced guys, did it that year. But then Ove said: ‘Next year you will drive boy, but you have to go with Björn to do some more testing and things’. So I went with Björn quite a lot and I spent maybe one and a half months in Africa. Then I just managed to win the rally and that’s it.

Celebrating the victory on the 1985 Safari

What was Fred like as a co-driver?

He’s a nice guy. Very good, very professional and very exact.

He was actually my teacher

Fred in action on the 1990 Safari Rally

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Group B record and a world premiere

Eifel Rally 2016

Merrgan Johnston and Davy McElory hoped to get such a good entry but I did not believe in it in the first place. I am especially pleased to see so many Group B cars – originals and replications – side by side on this event.” Christian Geistdörfer, former co-driver to Walter Röhrl and nowadays part of the organising team, says: “We have once again set new standards – the only thing that we still have to work on is the weather.”

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he ADAC Eifel Rallye Festival held last July was an event that not only celebrated the history of rallying, it also made history itself. With more than sixty Group B and Group S cars lining up in the Rally Mile in Daun, the demonstration event saw the biggest collection of those supercars ever collected in one place. And it was also home to a world premiere since, 30 years after it was built in 1986, Audi fired up the engine of its Group S prototype in front of the public for the very first time. Taking part in the “Festival Parade”, it tackled two stages successfully.

The driver taking the wheel of the mid-engined Audi was none other than two-time World Rally Champion Walter Röhrl. “It was a great experience for me to drive this unique prototype during its world premiere on the stages of the Eifel Rallye Festival”, said Röhrl. Timo Witt who is in charge of Audi Tradition’s collection added: “The Eifel Rallye Festival and its Group B and S theme was perfect for us to celebrate the public debut of the Group S Audi.

On this event, our prototype has

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done more mileage than it did in total over the previous 30 years.

But we had to careful. The car is a unique piece and nearly all parts of it are irreplaceable.”

A total of six Group S cars found their way to the Eifel Rallye Festival so nearly all available prototypes from the category that was banned even before it was really born were there. At the same time, the Festival saw a re-incarnation of the Group B days. “This is simply great. I could never have dared to believe that the Group B could be revived in such a dimension”, said Walter Röhrl who was also the patron of the event.

Peter Schlömer, chief organiser of the Eifel Rallye Festival, was thrilled by the audience: “The number of spectators was once again higher than before. This is a fantastic reward for the organising team which works for several months to get the Eifel Rallye Festival running.”

Reinhard Klein, head of the Slowly Sideways group, was especially impressed by the large number of Group B cars. “I had always

Apart from the 150 plus cars entered in the Eifel Rallye Festival there were also some legendary drivers present thus making it an authentic journey in time. Walter Röhrl was joined by another twotime World Rally Champion. This was Miki Biasion who drove a real Group B supercar, a Lancia Delta S4, with his daughter Bettina as navigator. “This is simply fantastic, and there were so many spectators.” Stig Blomqvist, 1984 World Rally Champion, also turned the Festival into a family affair. The Swede drove a Ford Sierra Cosworth with his wife Åsa in the co-driver’s seat and commented in his typical chatty way: “It was okay”. But the smile on his face said more than hundred words could have done.

Harald Demuth was re-united with a Audi Sport Quattro S1 prepared

by Audi Tradition and said: “This event only deserves superlatives.”

Awards for Mazda, Audi, Peugeot and John Davenport There might be no sporting competition in the Eifel Rallye Festival, but there were still winners crowned during the Rally Party on Saturday night. A jury of experts had the difficult task of awarding winners in four different categories. After intense consultation, the jury awarded the Mazda RX-7 driven by Yves Loubet as “Best Replication”. The prize for the “Best Original” was presented by Bosch Automotive Tradition and given to Wolf-Dieter Ihle and his Audi Sport Quattro.

For the “Champion’s Choice” award, Walter Röhrl, Miki Biasion, Stig Blomqvist, Yves Loubet and Harald Demuth selected their favourite rally car and this was the Peugeot 205 T16 of Fernando and Dario Garrido. The “Rallying Ambassador” prize was awarded to former co-driver, team manager and author of rallying books, John Davenport.

Eifel Rally 2017 The organisers of the ADAC Eifel Rallye Festival have announced the date for the seventh edition of the demonstration event for historic rally cars. The next edition of the Festival will take place from July 20th to 22nd, 2017 and will once again be one of the world’s biggest meetings for historic rally cars. The organisers expect to welcome 150 cars representing five decades of rallying all the way from the 1960s to the World Rally Cars of the 21st century. The successful concept of the Festival has been attracting crowds of some 40,000 spectators a year and the format will remain as it is. The event will kick off with the Reconnaissance and the Shakedown on Thursday and will end on Saturday night with the Prize Giving and a Rally Party. In between, the historic rally cars - all of which have to comply with the strict Slowly Sideways regulations in terms of originality - will tackle 120 kilometres of

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stages in the beautiful Vulkaneifel region. In addition, the cars will be on display in the “Rally

Mile” in Daun where there is no restricted access so that fans and petrolheads who are keen

on getting close to the cars and drivers can do so.

Mick Biasion

Walter Rourl

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By Angus Frazer

88

This was the future – once…

Photos: Simon Childs

T

he fans that attend the Eifel Rallye Festival in Germany are a knowledgeable lot and it really does take something special to impress them. After all, when the entry list contains one Group B Mazda RX 7, two Toyota Celica TCTs, three MG Metro 6R4s, four Ford RS 200s, five Lancia Delta S4s, an equal number of Peugeot 205 T16s and fourteen Audi Quattros, it’s

kind of hard to make a stand out impression.

But late on the Friday evening of the event that it is exactly what happens. The great Walter Röhrl comes briskly through a stage in a car that was developed in secret three decades ago, hidden away for years and until this moment in time has never been seen on a rally stage.

Charilie Eastwood one of the top stars in the 2016 Porsche Carrera Cup

You can hear the collective gasp of disbelief as the phantom white machine scythes down the country lane. And after it has departed the animated chatter of the spectators lingers long in its wake.

With its nose pushed low to the ground, faired-in headlights, large curved front screen, compact cabin and huge rear wing, it looks almost like a miniature Le Mans car from the Group C days. Although clearly not a contemporary design, it has the aura of a machine that would have looked fantastically futuristic when it was created.

It is a car without a name, although the four-ring badge on the front at least enables it to be identified as an Audi. There have been rumours of this car’s existence for years, with tales as

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tall as the mid-engined machine’s rear wing detailing power outputs as high as 1,000bhp. It was supposedly built to comply with regulations for Group S – designed to replace Group B as rallying’s top tier by 1988 with more innovative and crucially safer cars. But the category was cancelled along with Group B in 1986 and group S cars never ran.

To find out more, we head to the rally service area in Daun to meet Timo Witt, Audi’s Head of Historical Collection. Witt acknowledges that Audi rally engineers, without the knowledge of the company directors, developed the car in secret in the mid 80s. But he is keen to point out that what we see today is very far from a finished car.

‘Compared with the frontengined Group B Quattro S1 this car is obviously completely

The car uses a turbocharged five-cylinder engine, similar

to that which powered the Quatttro S1, but it is mated to a conventional six-speed manual transmission, not the twin-clutch PDK system that Audi used on occasion on the S1. Naturally the car also deploys Audi’s all-wheel drive quattro technology.

Thirty years after it was built, no one knows how much power the engine now produces. Audi has not put it on a dynamometer to test it, but it is estimated to be in the region of 500bhp. ‘But it could have had more.” I suggest.

‘Yes, and it could have had less,’ counters Witt. “No one knows what the eventual outcome would have been, the car could have even been developed with a

four-cylinder engine.”

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While it’s wonderful to daydream of Röhrl and co-driver Christian Gesitdörfer rocketing to victory in Monte Carlo in 1988 at insane speeds in this winged wonder with maybe 750bhp at their disposal, Witt’s predictions of considerably less

power would have been closer to the final outcome. After all, the power output of Group S cars was intended to be capped at 300bhp. Even so, that would still have been plenty, considering the car’s lightweight fibreglass body.

And anyway additional power was not what Audi’s rally engineers were trying to achieve. They already had plenty of that; with 480bhp the S1 E2 was the most powerful car to ever compete in the world rally championship. No, the Quattro was never outgunned on a rally stage, but it was, in the end, out handled by its mid-engined rivals.

“It’s clear that the engineers at

By Angus Frazer

different as it has the engine sitting in the middle of the car. It could have evolved into a Group S car, but we cannot say for certain. It was only a concept car, a prototype if you like,’ explains Witt.

the time were experimenting to see what they could discover by shifting the weight of the car to the middle,” acknowledges Witt.

“But you can see how far from finished it was. You have this great big wing on the back, yet there are no aerodynamic aids on the front.”

Nor was this car the only solution that Audi’s engineers were working on in secret. ‘There was also a car that looked a little bit like an S1 but with the engine in the middle, which was the stage between the front-engined S1 and this Group S car. Walter

Röhrl drove it for one test only, but then it was discovered,” confirms Witt.

Not only was that car discovered, it was also destroyed, allegedly within 48 hours under the orders of Audi Boss Ferdinand Piëch, who is said to have personally witnessed its demise.

Also destroyed were all known Group S prototypes. And yet, somehow, this car survived.

After finally emerging from hiding, it has spent years slowly revolving around the giant paternoster in Audi’s Ingolstadt

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By Angus Frazer

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The Group S quattro has only 36km on the clock

museum, like a decommissioned weapon forged for a war that was never fought. And yet it is remarkable how easily it has been brought back to life.

“Obviously we had to check that the suspension was OK and we had to fit new oil hoses and water pipes. But we did not rebuild the engine. It only had 30km on the odometer and we believe, although we are not certain, that most of those were obtained by pushing the car from place to place over the years,” reveals Witt.

“We changed the oil of course, and the belts, and we worked with Bosch to develop a new ECU unit.

Then we just pressed the button and it started.”

So what is it like for Röhrl to finally try out the car he never got the chance to drive all those years ago?

‘This is not just the first time I have driven the car,” points out the German, “it is the first time anybody has driven it. I drove the mid-engined car that looked like the S1, but never this one.”

“It feels like a very light car, everything is going very, very, perfectly. It turns in perfectly; the only thing I have not tested is the power, because the engineers say I should not turn over 5,000rpm because it is a handmade prototype. But I am sure that it would be a fantastic basis for a

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proper racing car.”

“The only thing I can tell you the response of the turbo is of course very bad, but at 5,000rpm it is incredibly powerful, plus it is running with one bar of turbo pressure less than it could run with. Once I drove a Lancia Delta S4 and it feels like a Lancia Delta S4 from the handling side; for the steering, everything goes very smooth.”

“The gearbox, which usually in the Audis had a long throw, here it is a very, very short throw and nice.

I am sure it was better than my S1 in 85. I am sure that even today if this car had a development of two or three months it would be fantastic car, even if it is 30 years old.” And with that Walter squeezes his tall frame back into the compact confines of the car with no name.

I watch the car come through one more stage. The hand built Group S prototype is not of course being blasted flat out, but it is being driven neatly, tidily and very, very swiftly. As the huge rear wing disappears out of sight, the line used by former Prime Minister David Cameron as he walked away from the Parliamentary Dispatch Box for the last time comes to mind – “I was the future, once.”

Walter Rohrl

calendars

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Motorsport Classic 2017

McKlein’s “Motorsport Classic 2017” calendar offers you the chance to travel in time to the wildest days of motor sport history. The high-quality black-and-white calendar features 25 incredible racing and rallying images from the 1950s, 60s and 70s - a long bygone but well-loved era - thus bringing famous moments of the sport’s history back to life. Every month, this McKlein calendar gives you the choice of two images taken from Formula One, sports car races and international rallying.

These include Graham Hill getting a lift on the engine cover of Jim Clark’s Formula 2 Lotus, Ford GT40s and Porsche 910s approaching the first corner on the airfield of Vienna-Aspern side by side, and the burning Mini Cooper of Rauno Aaltonen on the 1962 Monte Carlo Rally, just three examples of the moments in time captured in this calendar. All the pictures come with a short description of these unique moments from days gone by.

Technical details: Size: 67 x 48 cm Number of pages: 26 Images: 25 (a choice between two images each month) Extras: Spiral binding, shrink-wrapped and sent to you in a special cardboard box ISBN: 978-3-927458-84-0 Price: 39.90 euros

McKlein Rally Calendar 2017 – The Wider View The official calendar of the FIA World Rally Championship shows 25 breath-taking photos from the most spectacular motor sport discipline on the planet. Coming in a giant 95 cm panoramic format, McKlein’s “Rally 2017 – The Wider View” offers a choice between two very different pictures for each month of the year, all of them seeking to highlight the thrilling action, the stunning landscapes and the enthusiastic audience of the WRC. The world famous photographers of McKlein take you on a journey around the globe. Watch Sébastien Ogier fighting his way through thick Welsh mud in his Volkswagen Polo R WRC, Kris Meeke sliding his Citroën DS3 WRC over Finnish gravel and Thierry Neuville climbing a snowy Col in the French Alps driving his Hyundai i20 WRC. To add additional interest, McKlein also gives an insight into their camera settings for each photo.

Technical Details: Publisher: McKlein Photos: McKlein Size: 95 x 48 cm Pages: 25 Pictures: 25 (a choice between two images every month) Extra features: spiral binding, shrink-wrapped and dispatched in a cardboard box ISBN: 978-3-927458-83-3 Price: 39.90 euros /34.99 GBP Please find additional information and a list of distributors at: www.mcklein-calendars.com Or directly from the publisher at: Rallywebshop Hauptstr. 172 51143 Cologne Germany Phone: +49 (0)2203-9242570 / Fax: +49 (0)2203-9242590 / www.rallywebshop.com

Rally History 2017 – Special: Group B For 2017, McKlein is launching a new calendar series aimed at rallying aficionados. It is named “Rally History”. This wall calendar comes in a 67 x 48 centimetre format and shows a mixture of both rare and wellknown images from the McKlein archive in a size and quality never seen before. For its first year, McKlein has chosen the theme “Group B”. Twenty-five spectacular colour images show the Group B supercars in action including the Audi Sport Quattro E2, Peugeot 205 T16 and Lancia Delta S4. These photos not only give a feeling of the titanic fight for glory between these fearsome machines but also highlight the unique atmosphere of a wild and fascinating rally era. Re-live the harshness of the Safari, the crazy crowds of Portugal and the beauty of the Sanremo Rally with this high-quality product. Just like all other McKlein wall calendars, “Rally History” offers the choice between two very different images each month.

Pictures: 25 in colour (a choice between two images every month) Extra features: spiral binding, shrink-wrapped and dispatched in a cardboard box ISBN: 978-3-927458-88-8 Price: 39.90 euros /34.99 GBP

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Photos: Max Ponti

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Sad end to Rally Legend

WRC

‘Lu

Italian driver 'Lucky' in his 16v Lancia Integrale

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he final rankings of Rallylegend 2016 tell that the Sicilian Totò Riolo together with Gianfranco Rappa won the “Historic” category in their Audi Quattro. The San Marino driver Marco Bianchini and his co-driver Daiana Darderi could do nothing with only two-wheel drive of their Lancia 037, who finished second, after winning the opening night stage.

The third step of the podium went to Giuliano Calzolari, co-driven by Corrado Costa in a Talbot Sunbeam Lotus.

Among the “Myth” the

evergreen “Lucky”, co-driven by a great navigator Fabrizia Pons, was practically always in the lead with his Lancia Delta Integrale 16V, but his victory was not so easy. His teammate with an identical car, “Pedro” together with Baldaccini on the notes was an uncompromising opponent until the end, despite the consequences of taking the jumps flat out. And the four-time European “historic” champion also had to watch their backs from a perky Andrea Navarra.

With Renzo Casazza next to him and behind the wheel of the

Conor Falvey and James O'Brien in the 911

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Fabrizia Pons co-drove for Lucky Subaru Impreza Wrx, Navarra was debuting at Rallylegend, but he quickly regained his shine of the past. He classified third, just some seconds from “Pedro.”

Fourth in the category, but first among the under-performing two-wheel drive cars, was the

French champion Gilles Panizzi, making his debut at Rallylegend Champions such as Miki Biasion, with the Eberhard & Co. Lancia 037, Hayden Paddon, with the Hyundai i20 WRC Hmi team and Russell Brookes, in his Sunbeam Lotus and Juha Kankkunen in an Integrale 16v were just some of the legends also taking part. Marcus Gronholm also ran as a 00 car in a WRC VW Polo.

Sadly, the event ended in the death of a marshal and eight spectators being injured when a Renault Clio left the road at a square left in a village.

David Kedward in his ex-works Peugeot 205T16

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WRC star Hayden Paddon put on a great display in the Hyundai Italia WRC i20 The Lancia 037 were out in numbers on Rally Legend

Russell Brookes made a guest appaearance

‘Lucky’ won the biggest jump award

Former World Rally Champion Miki Biasion

Giles Pannizzi in his Peugeot 306 Maxi Russell Brookes throws the Andrews Sunbeam Lotus about

Giles Pannizzi

Armin Schwarz in a ST205 Celica

Armin Scwarz

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48

McGARRITY EVO 9

Available from www.crspics.com IRL €22.00 UK €26.00 Europe & USA €32.00

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Barrett’s Historic Victory

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McGARRITY EVO 9

48

Ryan Barret

O

some excellent times on the seven ne year on from stage event. With the top two the havoc of Storm finishers Ryan Barrett and Melvyn Desmond, Killarney and Evans not registered for the series District Motor Club celebrated the Murphy took full advantage 20th anniversary of Ireland’ s only gerry mcgarrity evo at Bishopscourt. and is the early leader of the rally dedicated to testing historicthe cars. championship.

The overall rally title went to Andy Johnson and Jim Tyrone man , Ryan Barrett who McSherry took fifth place but came from behind on stage were the clear winners of their one to overhaul early leader category in their Vauxhall and Welsh visitor Melvyn Evans.

Chevette completing the seven Barrett was on his first visit to classic stages more than two the Rentokil Initial backed event, minutes ahead of the Ford Escort and while he was off his Escort of runner-up Keith McIvor. rival’s pace over Moll’s Gap, it Seven times Circuit of Ireland did not take long for him to get onaghan’s Josh Moffett nigglingJimmy problems withshowed the Evo winner McRae acclimatised to the Kerry terrain . clinched theRentokil 2015 whne that hewe hasfirst lostlaunched none of the his car fire by Third place in the Valvoline Irish Forestry at the end 2014 and then I winning theofPost-Historic section Initial Killarney Historic Stages Championship at the final round, discovered a fault in the wiring in a Vauxhall Firenza.

Rally went to Owen Murphy the Glens of Antrim Rally. Driving loom and once we cured the There were hugethere celebrations who tookGroup maximum points inEvo 9 the new A Mitsubishi electrical gremlins was no as Pat and Tara Looney brought the Clonakilty Blackpudding Irish developed

by Irvinestown engineer holding Josh back.

The car cost their Ford Escort Mk1 theto Tarmac Historic Championship.

Gerry McGarrity, Moffett’s main a tenth of the price of aover WRC finish ramp of the Driving the opposition wasiconic Mick ex-Russell O’Brien in a build but now thatRentokil we haveInitial it Focus WRC. running reliably is more than a Killarney HistoricitRally as the best Brookes Sunbeam Lotus and Gerrybeing McGarrity was delighted match for any World Rally Car. local crew on Saturday evening. despite hampered by a with the had a few “Josh has only The father and limited daughter team, misfire forresult. most “We of the day, he set

from Kilcumnin, set out to win Killarney crew Aidan Kennedy the Jimmy Devane Memorial and Joe O’Leary reported a Trophy and drove a perfect rally to trouble free run on their way secure one of the most coveted to winning their class in a Mini awards on the event.

Cooper.

Garage man, Looney, was a Rathmore’s Donal O’Connor , life-long friend of the late Jimmy a double Southern Four Historic Devane, a stalwart of Killarney Rally Champion, finished fifth and District Motor Club, who his category driving a Ford Escort passed away after an illness MK1. in 2009. The memorial cup is Rob Duggan and Ger Conway, presented annually to the highest the current British Junior placed all Kerry crew on the Champions, switched from the event. usual front-wheel drive Vauxhall Royramp, DemPsteR / FeRgal Kelly / eymaRD BRennan SpeakingPhotos: at the start Adam to a rear-wheel-drive Ford on Killarney’s High Street, Pat Escort and led the category from experience the Irish forests also the engine further outlined hisinambitions to set so startdeveloped to finish, despite coming we were delighted have named a level with cylinder head. about winning the to trophy underwork a loton ofthe pressure from playing forfriend. the Mayo The Evo Meath’s runs on Panta Fuel from after hisfield great Less Forestry County Jack Newman Stages as none of them had been Euro M-Sport who also supply than 24-hours later he and his and Andrew Brown. used for about 25 years. Josh put the Samsonas gearbox, Galfer daughter Taradown wereon nearly in tears Evenand a late scare, when they the hammer the first brakes Xtreme Performance as theyand drove Escort spun on“The the service final stage nearfrom stage wastheir quickest byover 25 the clutch. we get finish podium as winners.

Shrone church, and to broke the says seconds!”

Samsonas is second none,” “It a special feeling,” said left rear wheel on the Escort, Theiscar has been developed Gerry.

The car was second on the with“This new 5is way XTC Lakeland Stages and second on Pat. whatadjustable we wanted. unbelievably without puncturing, suspension really the Bushwhacker with victory We set out which to do ithas and it’s to claim victory inRally the hotly improved the car, while Gerry has in Mayo being the highlight of the unbelievable.” contested category.

Moffett takes Irish Forestry Championship in McGarrity Evo

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Rallying Review

96

Teaching the Finns how to fly!

By Ian Beasant

Kris Meeke and Craig Breen were the stars of Rally Finland.

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hat a year for rallying!

Brilliant in parts, disappointing in others.

Portugal in Spring and Kris Meeke really came of age with a great drive which saw him steer his DS3 WRC to a brilliant win. Even better as we were able to watch it on Channel 5. I thought that while watching Kris his whole demeanour had changed, he was more relaxed, less anxious - well I suppose a three year contract from Citroen does give you confidence.

He did not have to wait long until scoring an historic victory in Finland. The first time a British driver has ever won what is the Holy Grail of the World Rally Championship and he did in some style setting the fastest overall time on any World Championship rally. Not forgetting that his teammate Waterford’s Craig Breen finished 3rd – brilliant.

With Citroen not contesting the full championship in 2016, deciding to concentrate on testing the new C3 WRC with Kris Meeke leading the team and Craig Breen and Stephen Lefebvre joining him in the team, 2017 looks exciting and interesting with the new specification cars giving more power, being wider and noisier. Rally Monte Carlo looks very attractive.

Rally Monte Carlo is probably when we will know for sure who

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is driving for whom. At the finish of Wales Rally GB Volkswagen announced their decision to leave the World Rally Championship.

I think the billions of Dollars in fines and costs over the diesel emissions scandal is really starting to bite. Volkswagen won 4 drivers and Constructors championships, Sebastian Ogier led the team and took them to 33 victories.

Volkswagen will certainly be missed as they really raised the bar and attracted manufacturers to the series. In 2017 we have Citroen, Hyundai and the new

Greer finished a fine third in the British Rally Championship guys Toyota. M–Sport will also be there with their Fiesta. If the promoter can get a calendar together for 2017 and the teams can manage to field 3 of the new spec cars each we should be in for a good season. I do wonder what will happen to the 2016 spec cars as really they may have the privateer’s championship but is competing in it of any value?

Closer to home, the Clonakilty Black Pudding Irish Tarmac rally Championship worked really well

with the changeover to R5 cars.

The result went right down to the final round in Cork which was great. I do wonder how 2017 will go as the second year is always the year that tells the full story, but if all rumours are to be believed at the moment it’s shaping up nicely. I was sceptical at the start of the season but less and less drivers of 2 litre World Rally Cars turned out and some rallies I am sure felt the pinch of a few less entries but competition

Bobby Willis is planning an Easter Stages rally next year.

When you are up against the NW200 motorcycle races and the number of people who attend that event, if you are searching for public money from an ever decreasing purse there really is only going to be one winner. The NW200 which I covered for Q radio is a massive event which is well run, They start their PR nine months before the event, and they have press and supporter events in Belfast where most of the press are based. They are also very media friendly which is a massive difference to the way the MSA run things and the results in funding both public and private support are simple to see. I did feel the internet streaming of the event was a good idea, really that was an advertisement for the following year’s event, unfortunately that will not happen now. The Circuit organisers had done their homework on the media and

7.00am!, Now if you paid for BT sport you could get an hour long programme in the evening and towards the final events of the year BT sport were showing their programme before Channel 4. I was even more surprised to see only one shot of Alastair Fisher who led the Ulster and finished second and was hardly given lip service. I really thought the MSA had learnt from the past mistakes. Looking at the final standings in the championship 24 drivers registered. Elfyn Evans in the DMACK Fiesta really had the championship to lose and the debacle of the Pirelli Carlisle rally where bogey times were being beaten on several stages certainly did the championship no favours. The MSA imposed so many conditions on Media to get accreditation the Media lost interest and again the lack of spectators was well documented.

Oh yes, I can hear the MSA crying we had to do all these actions for insurance reasons # but the lack

get the money for the car and all the other expenses to run it.

Elfyn Evans British Rally Champion 2016 did not start Wales Rally GB due to lack of finance. It sort of says it all.

The Triton Showers National Championship- well it was just as it always is, brilliant organisation, Martin Walsh does an outstanding job on PR and the TV coverage is really good. They understand the value of media; they have the championship sponsored and all the rallies as well. It works and works well.

They keep it simple as in whoever is the fastest in whatever type of car wins - simple! Derek McGarrity became the Northern Ireland Rally champion for the seventh time and well done to him. The championship went right to the final round , the Down Rally with Camillus Bradley in with a shout, unfortunately for Camillus it was not to be, he won the rally but McGarrity finishing 3rd was enough to see him claim

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at the sharp end was very good and if a few more drivers make the change to R5 cars 2017 should be fine. The Championship information I found to be good and the management team are doing a good job – really when they were starting from a low base.

The TV production was excellent especially when it was concentrated on the Tarmac Championship and was not on a rally like the Circuit of Ireland which involved 4 championships - then it just becomes confusing.

The scheduling of the TV was terrible as I, who went looking for it, had bother finding it and basically it seemed to be put on as a filler for the TV companies which is not a good sign at all.

One thing I did notice was that spectators were sparse on all the rounds I saw and attended, Donegal being the exception.

Donegal starts its advertising very early on in the year and the number of people that attend and

The Spectators were out in force in Finland. We could do with a few more here. compete in the rally shows that this works.

The loss of the Circuit of Ireland in 2017 and its uncertain future is sad to be honest, 2017 will be a year when we have no motorsport events based in Belfast and that is not good.

The Circuit organisers ran a great rally and it was extremely well promoted. When I was out covering the event there were very few spectators, I think this had a lot to do with the change of date from the Easter weekend as I was asked by a lot of people “Is the Circuit not on this year?” the first day of the event was especially quiet. The finances of the event relied on public money a little too much and when that ran out with no private funding to fill that gap the future was bleak.

a warm welcome was given to those who were accredited.

The British Rally Championship made a comeback in 2016 – Well to be truthful when I heard about this I was delighted as I competed on it in years gone by and it was always classed as a stepping stone to the World Championship.

Colin McRae, Richard Burns, and Alistair McRae to name a few that reached those dizzy heights of making a living from rallying not to mention the numerous co-drivers who cut their teeth in British Rally Championship over the years.

I was hoping that with new rallies, new cars and terrestrial TV it all sounded good. I was surprised when I found out the TV would be on Saturday morning on Channel 4 at approximately

of MSA involvement in previous years led to this.

It was great to see Jonny Greer finish a fine third in the championship and Desi Henry on the podium three times and also Valvoline Irish forestry champion, Rob Duggan winning the Vauxhall backed junior category, but I wonder how they feel now along with Elfyn Evans – where do you go next? What is the prize? The British Championship should look into following the French Federation and paying for a works drive for some of these guys- it works. Between Sebastian Loeb and Sebastian Ogier they have dominated the World Rally Championship winning 13 driver’s titles. The British Championship offer a free entry to Wales Rally GB – that’s okay , where do you

the crown. I was able to follow the Championship on Rallyscore and with bits and pieces by Sammy Hamill in the Belfast Telegraph. I think the ANICC need to have a look at how they promote their events as the public out there does not even know when and where they are on. The Facebook and Twitter messages don’t cut it.

2017 sees the Northern Ireland Championship cut to seven rounds and the Ulster rally will not form part of it. I think this is a good idea as the championship can stand alone, I have always said Championships need rallies, rallies do not need Championships.

One thing is for sure, 2017 is going to be an interesting year.

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You’re History!

Keith McIvor’s 911 and Mark Two Escort built to full fia histroric appendix k specification Photos: John O’Neill – Sperrins Photography

Keith McIvor and David Burns in action on the Circuit of Ireland.

Photo: Roy Dempster Cookstown man Keith McIvor has just completed building his second FIA Appendix K Historic rally car, a Mark Two BDA Escort after building a Porsche 911 in 2014.

Keith laughs when asked about his new Escort. “This is where I started,” he says. “Twenty odd years ago my first rally car was a Mark Two Escort, but it wasn’t like this one… It was a lot rougher. It had a Toyota 16 valve engine with a 4-speed gearbox and I used it on quarry sprints and a few rallies. I always promised myself that one day I would have a proper works spec Escort and now I finally have…”

Both cars are built to the same exacting historical standards of FIA Appendix K. The cars have been built by Dan Sutherland of Dansport in Chesterfield who specialises in endurance historic rallying on events like the Safari Classic and the Historical Rally of Morocco. “Dansport’s attention to detail is second to none,” states Keith.

“The plan is to use the 911 on tarmac events and use the Escort on gravel rallies,” says Keith, “but

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it’s not quite working out like that as I have entered the Killarney Historic Rally in the Escort as we are currently having the gearbox on the Porsche rebuilt.”

Keith has been rallying 911s for the past number of years and prefers the 911 to the Escort on tarmac “I wanted a wide body 911 built to FIA historic spec,”

says Keith. His previous 911 was a narrow bodied version with smaller brakes and ran on British Historic spec 70 series tyres which don’t suit the Porsche particularly well as the back of the car rolled a lot on high speed corners. The FIA regs allow a lower profile racing tyre (still historic) and the car can be run on 305mm 911 turbo

brakes.

The 911 is based on a left hand drive 1975 donor car with a full spec 3.0 litre engine using Bosch mechanical fuel injection with a ZF plated limited slip diff. The Achilles heel of the 911 though, according to Keith, is the gearbox.

Keith uses the word ‘chocolate’ to describe the fragility of the

unit. “The gearbox is an original 915 box with little modification allowed which was designed in 1960’s for a 134bhp engine, not the 300bhp we are putting through it,” he says. “With a rear mounted engine you get a lot of traction on dry tarmac especially in slow junctions. This stresses the transmission significantly so we have run a transmission oil cooler in the whale-tail as we noticed the gearbox getting tight when it got hot.”

“Driving a 911 is a bit of an acquired taste, with no weight over the front axle you have to drive the car more aggressively to get it to turn in. The car came with proper anti roll bars but I have taken them off,” says Keith. “I don’t like the way the 911 handled with the anti-roll bars fitted, it was lifting an inside wheel mid corner but you probably sacrifice some straight line stability. We took the 911 out on the Circuit of Ireland and had a great battle with the BDA of Ian Millar until we rolled a couple of stages before the finish, not ideal for these old body shells!”

The 1979 Escort RS is built to full FIA standards again and Keith bought the car a few years ago partially built. The car, though, had a modified floorplan and transmission tunnel so this had to replaced during the rebuild. The spec is full historic standard – 1.8 BDA engine, ZF gearbox, Atlas axle etc. Both cars use historic spec non-adjustable Reiger suspension and Keith likes his rally cars to be fairly soft.

The Escort is probably more fun and forgiving to drive according to Keith. “I had never driven a good Escort until I got into this one and it is great on gravel, giving you so much confidence.

We tested it earlier this year for the first time at Walter’s Arena, I had a huge smile on my face all day!”

Keith plans to use the cars on selected Irish events next year and is considering a few forays into Europe but business must come first. Keith is MD of KDM Hire with branches in Cookstown and Belfast and has also just launched a new van hire business, All Road Vehicle Rental. KDM already hires out a range of welfare vans and vehicle mounted access platforms so this new venture is a natural progression of that side of the business. The new operation is open to both private and business customers and will offer a wide range of vans, trucks and specialist vehicles up to 7.5 tonne.

The vans are all new though, none of them are historic!

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Derek’s Home Win Photos: Michael Anderson

Derek Tohill

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ouble European Touring Car Rallycross champion Derek Tohill scored his third win in a row at Mondello Park to clinch the Parts for Cars National Championship for the first time on home ground. The Dubliner’s Fiesta Mk 7 dominated every race it contested, taking the day’s main event, the Super Final, by a clear 14 seconds from the Mitsubishi of Noel Greene, who just held off a strong challenge from outgoing title holder Willie Coyne.

Coyne, whose two wheel drive Opel Corsa was completely outclassed by the four wheel drive supercars of his rivals, had a great drive to finish less than half a second behind Greene after earlier winning the Modified A Final.

John Ward won the Stock Hatch Final ahead of Derek Lenehan, while victory for Shane Duggan in the Junior Final gave him the class title.

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Lioyd Spendlove

Noel Greene

Bertie Fisher Book Launch Photos: John O’Neill – Sperrins Photography

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lmost 700 people attended the launch of Fergus McAnallen’s book about Bertie Fisher: ‘King Fisher, the story of a rally legend’ at the Armagh City Hotel last March.

Kris Meeke flew in from Mexico to attend the event, while other guests included rally stars Billy Coleman and Austin McHale as well as Cathal Curley, James Cullen, Andrew Nesbitt and Niall McShea. Bertie’s long time friend and engineer Sydney Meeke was also present as was 4

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Dave Campion from Prodrive and co-drivers Austin Frazer, Rory Kennedy and Gordon Noble.

Stretching to 330 pages and containing over 500 photos, this coffee table-style production has been three years in the making and has been in everyone’s thoughts since Bertie, his son Mark and daughter Emma died in a helicopter tragedy in 2001.

Such is the affection and respect for this record-breaking driver, businessman and charity contributor that the dinner was sold out and saw his friends and rivals join the Fisher family, wife Gladys and son Roy, who survived the crash, along with brothers Ernie, Ivan and Kenny for an unforgettable night.

Hosted by Pamela Ballantine, it featured footage of the Fisher era, from his early Ford Escorts to his state-of-the-art Prodrive Subarus, but best of all it contained

Ivan Feury, Liz Patterson, Brain Patterson, Cynthia Feury Sammy Hamill, Austin Frazer, Cathal Curley Kieran MacAnallen and Billy Coleman Sydney Meeke has a wry comment for Pamela Gladys Fisher (centre) with Kieran MacAnallen and Roy Fisher Rally legend Billy Coleman The MacHale family with co-drivers Pamela Ballentine interviews Kris Meeke

tributes and anecdotes from so many people.

They were all there to participate and to hear video tributes from World championship team bosses like Dave Richards and Malcolm Wilson. Even First Minister Arlene Foster recorded a message for the launch which was masterminded by his friend, sponsor and frequent business partner Kieran McAnallen.

From former billionaire Sean Quinn to MLAs Tom Elliott and Gordon Dunne, they were all sharing memories of a modest man who touched so many lives.

The £45 book is available at www. bertiefisher.com and proceeds from it go to the Fisher Foundation and the Armagh Tigers Charitable Trust.

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Glenn Allen – Mr Sideways DVD now on sale W hen Glenn Allen, (the 2007 Northern Ireland Rally Champion), tragically lost his life in a non motoring related accident in November 2015, he left behind a devastated fan base.

Big Glenn had a big heart, a big talent, a big smile and always those big armfuls of opposite lock as he broadsided his Mk II Escorts and WRC Toyota Corollas to may wins.

It took him three years and three Corollas to

finally win his Northern Ireland Championship, but it was the fun rather than the trophies that Glenn chased.

The Cookstown driver was to the forefront of the Mk II Escort revival and this DVD, with the help of his family, co-drivers and friends like Eugene Donnelly, Frank Kelly, Richard Hogg and Kevin Lynch, charts the pleasure that ‘Mister Sideways’ gave to his many fans as he sprayed the stones or melted the tarmac at alarming angles.

‘MISTER SIDEWAYS’ retails at £14.99 + P&P from RPMMotorsport.com

Frank Meagher Book Launch I rish rally photographer and journalist Lorcan Barron produced a superb book depicting the rally history of the late Frank Meagher.

Frank was killed while testing a Sapphire Cosworth on 10 March, 2002 aged 39.

Frank won the Circuit of Ireland in 1992

driving a Sierra Cosworth and was the Irish Tarmac Champion in 1995 driving an Escort Cosworth.

He also won the Tipperary Stonethrowers Rally a record 9 times.

Lorcan is pictured here at the book’s launch with Frank’s wife Theresa.

The book is available via barronpix@gmail.com

Circuit Déjà vu Cheque Handover success of their Circuit Déjà vu in 2016, Dr Beatty Crawford and Plum Tyndall have announced the launch of Déjà vu Killarney 2017, which as the name suggests will again be centred in the Circuit of Ireland rallies old HQ in the County Kerry town.

From left to right: Alan Tyndall, Director of Deja vu Motorsport, Shona “We hadn’t Mulholland of John Mulholland Motors and on far right Richard Finlay presenting intended to a cheque for €5000 to Phil Kane (second from right) of Marie Curie. Richard Finlay repeat our Irish and Mulholland Motors were major donors to the charities Déjà vu event so quickly but Northern Ireland and would like lum Tyndall and Dr Beatty with no Circuit to thank all who made generous Crawford were delighted of Ireland International Rally in contributions that enabled us to hand over the proceeds 2017, it seemed like and open to give to these very important from 2016 Circuit Deja vu and goal,” says Beatty. “Killarney and worthy charities a total of have been able to make a €5000 Déjà vu will fill a void in the Irish €10,000,” said Plum Tyndall. donation to Marie Curie. “We motorsporting calendar in Easter Killarney Déjà vu 2017 April 15/16 have already made a €5000.00 2017.”

Following the outstanding donation to Cancer Focus Déjà vu Motorsport has

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announced that details of the next charity event are now online at www.rpm-motorsport.com Here you will find registration and hotel booking details. The emphasis this time will be on the Group B era and the brilliant Rothmans Rally Team.

“We are moving the emphasis of the event forward a generation to the sensational Group B rallying era of the 1980s. Under the slogan, ‘Firing Up the Group B Memories’ we will be attracting personalities from one of the most exciting period in the sports history in this country. All Historic rally cars and supercars are welcome, however we hope that we will see a large gathering of the cherished Group B machines in Killarney next Easter,” added Plum.

“We are looking forward to seeing you in Killarney.

Keep the revs up!”

Photos: John O’Neill – Sperrins Photography

by Rob Wilkins

Mr Sideways – Glenn Allen DVD launch night

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Plum Tyndall with Glenn’s son Philip, partner Olivia, mother and daughter Nicole

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o mark the first anniversary of his death, the family and friends of Cookstown rally driver Glenn Allen organised a launch night recently at the Royal Hotel in the town.

Plum Tyndall was MC for the evening and the many guests included Glenn’s co-drivers, sponsors and wide circle of friends.

This big, burly, affable character was one of Ireland’s most popular drivers, a man who could set the special stage roads and forest tracks of Ireland alight.

Part of a renowned group of rally winners from Mid Ulster which included Charlie and Eugene Donnelly, all centred on the McGeehan Motorsport team in Draperstown, Glenn won the Northern Ireland championship in 2007 before stepping back to concentrate on his car body repair business.

Admired for his early all-action performances in Mk2 Ford Escorts, it was when he switched to a WRC Toyota Corolla that he won the Northern Ireland title in a battle that went down to the final round on the Glens of Antrim Rally.

Proceeds from the event went to St. John’s Ambulance.

Glenn’s Navigators

Glenn’s Rally team

Magherafelt Motor Club

Nicole & Philip with Plum

Co-driver Paul Coey

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Along came a Spider…

By Jim McCauley

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t may be a relatively new company when it comes to desirable production cars, but the name McLaren has a rich history in many facets of motorsport from Formula One to Le Mans and Can-Am. Today McLaren Automotive exists as a separate company with a dedicated focus on producing cars that carry its heritage onto prestigious and impeccably built road cars. The standard, and desirability, was set with the 3-seater F1 of 1992 of which only 106 were produced, but today a wider choice is available in the three model ranges – Sports,

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Super and Ultimate Series.

Test choice is the 650S Spider from the Super Series, its badge referring to its power output of 650PS (641bhp), and the ‘S’ for Sport underlining the focus of the car on driver engagement.

In terms of the McLaren range, the 650S draws its styling cues from the P1 of the Ultimate Series, although the lines are teased out in a smoother conclusion adding an elegance to its no-nonsense assertiveness.

The front-end and mid-body air ducts nudge the bodywork up into accommodating curves while upwards hinging dihedral doors

provide clear access to the dropdown seating position.

Power source is the 3.8 litre twin-turbo V8, shared with the 570S but offering 80bhp more

which gives it an advantage in its performance figures despite carrying some 57kg more weight at 1,370kg. This enables the 650S Spider to reach 62mph (100km/h) from rest in a mere 3.0 seconds while twice that speed can be attained in 8.6 seconds en route to a stated top speed of 204mph.

Settle into the carbon fibre tub, comfortably upholstered in leather to cosset the driver, and a central push-button fires up the mid-mounted V8. Gently on the power and the car crawls slowly forward, much more civilised than expected. Power delivery is controlled and linear, very manageable in traffic and respectful of the driver’s input.

Clear traffic, and the car reveals its true potential. Sharpen the throttle input and the 7-speed automatic responds through its twin-clutch system with lightningfast changes that keep the car alive and engaging. Move onto ‘B’ roads and the seduction continues with a suspension that provides acceptable comfort, yet

holds the car so confidently over more demanding surfaces. One of its handling technologies is ‘Brake Steer’ which subtly uses the rear brakes to manage traction by partially braking the rear inside wheel during cornering to minimise mid-corner understeer at speed. Steering is pin-sharp and well weighted controlled by a switch-free wheel finished in carbon fibre and leather.

The car, as the name range suggests, is also designed for track use and features ‘Proactive Chassis Control’ which allows the choice of a firmer suspension set-up for more engaging road use as well as maximum damping and roll modes for race-track use.

Track use was also very much in mind with the standard Brembo carbon ceramic brakes – six-piston callipers up front and four-piston units at the rear, which also perform quite well in normal road use.

Instrumentation is dominated by the central rev counter with

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Series: McLaren Super Series Engine configuration: 3,799cc V8 twin turbo

inset digital speed readout, while tapering side screens provide additional information including current gear selection. A central stack with storage behind, rolls off the dash top and contains a portrait format touch screen before dipping down to the selection buttons for the drive modes and gear options. The cabin is well proportioned for two occupants, providing sufficient shoulder and leg room while the Spider has the added bonus of a powered retractable hard top panel. Luggage space up front is quite generous for a mid engined

car with cabin oddment space also provided.

But it is not a car of elements that you individually consider as you drive; it is very much a complete car that offers a package of perfection in which all aspects are beautifully integrated enabling the driver to bond with it and tease it to satisfaction. It provides the performance and security for road use, but also has the technological goodies to take it on track to extend its appeal.

Overall, the 650S Spider adds to McLaren’s portfolio of excellence in a quality performance car that is exclusively built in Woking, Surrey where a production ceiling for all models is fixed at 5,000 cars each year.

This ensures quality in production as well as exclusivity in ownership which for the model featured costs in the region of £220,000.

Drivetrain layout: Longitudinal mid-engined, rear wheel drive Power: 650PS at 7,500rpm Torque: 678Nm at 6,000rpm Transmission: 7-speed SSG Brakes: Carbon ceramic discs, 394mm front, 380mm rear Tyres: Pirelli P Zero Corsa Front 235/35R19: Rear 305/30R20 Performance: 0-100km/h 3.0 seconds 0-200km/h 8.6 seconds 0-300km/h 26.5 seconds Maximum speed: 329km/h (204mph) CO2: 275gms/km Combined fuel consumption: 24.2mpg (11.7 l/100km)

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By Jim Mc Cauley

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TYRONE JOHNSON: THE DRIVING FORCE BEHIND THE FOCUS RS

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he Focus RS is the result of over three years development work by Ford’s Performance Department, and at the car’s UK launch at Silverstone race track there was an opportunity to meet up with the project’s team leader Tyrone Johnson.

The engineering graduate joined Ford on leaving university 31 years ago to work with the US parent company. Later he transferred to Europe, where he progressed through

chassis engineering and project management to head Ford’s motorsport involvement in both rallying and Formula One. More recently he was the programme manager for the development of the latest ‘C’ platform before heading the ST and RS products.

He is now in charge of the Performance Department which brings together the previous separate strains of the company’s global performance model production..

Turning to the Focus RS, he

says that the vehicle objectives were set at the beginning of the programme to design a performance car in which every element would be functional and efficient. Everything on the car would have a purpose; there would be no decorative additives for appearances sake only.

Performance targets of 350PS and

RS Rear Clutch Assemblies

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440Nm were set for the engine as was the requirement that it would be all-wheel drive. The thinking behind this was linked to the fact that the RS brand would be extended world-wide for the first time. In addition, overall cost was considered and in keeping to the Ford tradition, the new model would also have

based on that of the mainstream Focus models, it is heavily modified including a dual mode

for the Focus RS. The standard tyre is the Pilot Super Sport, while a dealer-fit option is the

RS Drivetrain from the front

damping system to cope with the performance potential of the RS

Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyre, both with widely different characteristics.

While the chassis has been

The front axle

as well as having to accommodate the four-wheel drive system. Tyres on all Ford Performance models world-wide are developed and supplied by Michelin, and Johnson acknowledges the company’s

The rear axle

success in achieving the high performance standards required

upgraded for additional strength, the upgrades are essentially bolton units as the car is produced on the standard Focus production line. However, Johnson stresses that the base Focus is already world-class leading in terms

of stiffness and that the RS specific upgrades are because of the higher performance. One

significant element is what is referred to as the ‘lion’s foot’ member that connects the bases of the rear shock towers contributing significantly to both local and overall body stiffness.

To stop the car the Brembo brakes with aerodynamic cooling ducts are the largest and most powerful ever fitted to an RS, which also contribute to the original design requirements of having to run on track for 30 minutes with no system degradations. This has to be done at a minimum of 95% of the fastest speed on any particular track. As an example Johnson cites that 30 minutes is over three laps of the Nurburgring.

To further enhance performance through driver choice, the new RS comes with four Drive Modes which modify six key settings: two for road - Normal and Sport, and two for race track - Track and Drift.

Selection adjusts the all-wheel drive system, dampers, steering, engine, ESC and exhaust valves.

While these default to Normal on starting, Sport will enhance all settings except Dampers and ESC which do not upgrade until in Track mode. The Drift selection is specifically for that experience and changes the calibration of the all-wheel drive system to suit.

Additionally there is a launch control option for ultimate startup on track with a shift light to indicate optimum gear change points.

Driving the car confirms its fast and confident road response, while its engineering also provides the options for increased driver involvement as well as specific set-up options for track or drifting use. Despite its uniqueness, the third generation Focus RS is the ‘most common’ car that Ford produces offered for sale worldwide, but built only in the one plant in Europe. Initial pre-launch orders in the UK accounted for more than 3,000 units in a buoyant market that has seen a 40% increase in sales of Ford Performance models in Europe in the past year, rising from 29,000 in 2015 to 41,000 models in 2016.

The third generation model may have taken some time to follow on from the second series launched in 2009, but the upping of the performance potential of the respected RS badge with all-wheel drive, innovative technologies and an affordable price will appeal to a new generation of owner for both onroad and track use.

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By Jim Mc Cauley

to ‘be affordable’. Part of this consideration would be the fact that it would be selectively built on the standard Focus production line at Saarlouis in Germany.

Dealing with the main features of the car, it was decided to opt for the 2.3 litre engine just introduced in the Mustang.

However while the Mustang installation was in-line, the Focus requirement was transverse which required substantial re-engineering both internally and externally to fit the bill. The aerodynamic brief was ‘zero, zero’ – no lift on the front and no lift on the rear. Careful paring of the design resulted in the front and rear spoilers as well as the rear diffuser in order to achieve this.

Cooling considerations resulted in the largest grille ever fitted to a Ford model and even the covering mesh was specifically designed for accommodate aerodynamic requirements. So safe were the calculations that the intercooler proved too efficient and required a blanking plate to prevent it from over-performing and introducing vapour – an achievement, he says, that impressed the Mustang development team when they visited the European team.

Addressing the engine requirements specifically, Johnson details the additional torque figure of 470Nm available as a 15 second over-boost feature as well as provision of a straight-through exhaust with an electronic exhaust valve to help achieve overall NVH refinement. But the design of the exhaust was not only to reduce back pressure but also to provide an appropriate note which required three homologation visits to confirm adherence to international regulations.

With the commitment to four-wheel drive, a standard differential system was considered through to prototype stage and while it provided satisfactory straight line traction, it did not deliver on total vehicle dynamics.

The system ultimately developed permitted the control of torque to the back of the car and then to distribute it as required between right and left sides of the rear axle. As the torque is transferred to the rear wheels, it is also balanced between both sides with the higher proportion going to the outside wheel when cornering which helps turn in, minimising understeer. This results in faster corner exiting. The rear axle is also designed to run 2% faster than the front which gives the car its constant lively feel.

Although the suspension is

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Targa Review 2016

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wo drivers, Christopher Evans (MX5) and Robert Woodside Jr (MX5), were winners on all but two of the eleven Targa Rallies run in 2016 to the end of November. Only David Crothers (MX5) and Eamonn Byrne (Toyota Starlet) managed to break the pattern with one win each.

Oversubscribed entry lists were a feature of events throughout the year. The popularity of this grass-roots motorsport format is hard to comprehend until you consider the format: no competition license needed, all-forwards tests, road tyres, no roll cages needed, all seats and trim must be in the car. A perfect recipe for Club Members to have a go.

Tests, usually between 15 and 20 of them, are a combination of road rally selective and autotest using private lanes, avenues, carparks and farm yards. The variety of test formats that are possible leads to a tremendously enjoyable day’s competition where retirements are rare, and smiles are wide. There are classes for Expert, Semi-Expert and Novice drivers, and separate classes for front and rear wheel drive cars.

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Over the hill…

By David Finlay

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David Finley on his way to scoring the first points ever in the British Hill Climb Championship

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f you made it as far as page 143 of the last CarSport Yearbook you’ll know that I spent the 2015 season driving eleven different press cars in rounds of the British Leaders Hillclimb Championship. What had started out as rather a silly idea caught the imagination of the public and the manufacturers in a big way - the Multi-Car Hillclimb Challenge, as it was called, generated so much interest and amusement that it seemed worth repeating in 2016.

Primo plc Multi Vehicle Insurance agreed to sponsor us for a second year, the splendid Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes was retained as our chosen charity, and the number of manufacturers involved grew to twelve, some of them trusting us with eye-wateringly expensive cars. As before, each of them was in completely standard condition and fitted with normal tyres, unlike most of the ones they were competing against. Here’s how it all went.

Round 1: Prescott My preparation for the opening event of the year was not the sort of thing I’d recommend to anyone. Circumstances dictated that I had to drive overnight from home, near Glasgow, to Lexus headquarters just outside London, pick up a GS F and take it to Prescott in Gloucestershire in time for scrutineering. This was rather exhausting, as you can imagine, and I blame it for a spectacular piece of brain fade during practice.

The GS F can be adjusted in all sorts of ways. One of its features is called ASC, which was switched on when I collected the car.

While trying to set up the car for Prescott I at one point switched

it off. It made no difference at all, as I would have known if I’d been aware that ASC stands for Active Sound Control, a system which makes the already glorious V8 engine sound even more wonderful on the inside. Mental note: check handbook before fiddling with things.

Although it’s more of a grand tourer than a sports car, the GS F was huge fun, and could have done very well at other venues.

Unfortunately, Prescott’s two famous hairpins - Ettores and Pardon - greatly favour four-wheel drive. Still, I ended up sixth, just half a second behind Simon Tarling’s Porsche 911 GT3 (which had benefitted enormously from being fitted with new suspension over the winter) in a car I’d never

Bentley W12 Continental

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driven before. As season openers go, I’ve had worse.

explode, and in fact showed no sign of damage whatever.)

By David Finlay

Round 2: Craigantlet

I wouldn’t have blamed the Craigantlet regulars for being

responded with immediate enthusiasm to a daft suggestion that I should compete in a Mirai, even to the extent of spending £4000 covering its dark blue

This was perhaps the highlight of the whole year. In 2015 I’d competed at Doune in a Honda Civic Type R, and Honda was so pleased with how things had gone there that it cheerfully offered the use of another one for Craigantlet.

In the British Championship proper, as opposed to the Leaders Championship I was competing in, the twelve fastest registered drivers compete for ten pointsscoring positions in two RunOffs at each round. There are often thirty or more possible contenders, but only eleven had entered for Craigantlet, so I hurriedly registered for the British myself.

Other than Peter Herbert’s Porsche 911, the Civic was up against ten single-seaters which it could not hope to beat. In order for us both to get into the points, at least two of these would have to expire during practice, and fortunately two of them did. We expressed our sympathies to the drivers, almost but not entirely without sincerity, before qualifying for the Run-Offs simply by completing the first two class runs without incident, then did the same in the Run-Offs themselves, the excellent Civic being quicker than the Porsche on each occasion.

The Civic thus became not only the first Honda but the first standard production car of any sort to score points since the British Championship began in 1947. It was a small thing really, and entirely down to good luck, but I was extremely chuffed all the same.

The Run-Offs gave me extra experience of Craigantlet, a hill I’d competed at only once before, and this was crucial to my class result. If I’d taken only the five runs that everyone else did, I’d have been battling with Adrian Mulholland’s Escort RS2000 and Philip Montgomery’s amazing little Toyota Starlet GT Turbo, but since I actually took seven I was able to pull away from them, setting a new record of 54.69 seconds on my final run despite a couple of sideways moments and a deeply embarrassing shift from third to second instead of fourth just before the finish line.

(Remarkably, the engine didn’t

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BMW M4

rather cross about this, but in fact they were extremely generous and offered warm congratulations.

Hillclimbing is truly one of the

bodywork with a dramatic chrome wrap.

The Mirai is quite heavy and

a hillclimb anywhere in the world.

The difficulty with this adventure was persuading the MSA to let it happen. There seemed to be a concern that competing in a car with a hydrogen tank was as dangerous as crash landing an airship into a bonfire, even though the tank in question is made of 15mm thick carbonfibre and can easily withstand gunfire. I was allowed to run only on condition that I was followed by a course car containing a Toyota engineer who would be able to advise the marshals on what to do if the Mirai disappeared in a mushroom cloud.

Despite this understandable but unnecessary alarm, all runs were completed without incident.

Afterwards, I celebrated by making a cup of coffee using the small amount of water the fuel cell produced during the event. I doubt anyone has ever done that before, so that was another piece of history to add to the list.

Round 4: Shelsley Walsh

Ford Focus RS

friendliest forms of motorsport there is, across the UK in general but particularly in Ireland.

Round 3: Gurston Down There was no chance of repeating the Craigantlet

only moderately powerful, so there was every possibility that it was going to finish last overall. (An overly pessimstic prediction, as it turned out. In fact, it was only fourth last.)

More importantly, it was the first hydrogen fuel cell car to compete

Vauxhall Astra 1.6 Turbo

performance at Gurston, but we did make more history. Toyota

in any motorsport event outside Japan, and the first to compete in

After a successful outing at Shelsley in an S8 the previous August, I found that Audi was enthusiastic about another visit to one of the world’s oldest motorsport venues this season.

An RS 6 Avant was duly supplied, and while I never thought a twotonne estate car on standard tyres could be in with a shout of a class win against the usual formidable Shelsley opposition I felt it at least had a good chance of finishing in the top half of the results.

Imagine my surprise, then, when after Saturday’s practice runs the RS 6 was actually leading the field, ahead of Roy Standley’s fearsome Mitsubishi Evo 5 and Robert Lancaster-Gaye’s Porsche 911 Turbo. Unfortunately, things fell apart on Sunday, and it was entirely my fault. Although I gained time in some sectors through increased familiarity with the car, I lost it on others.

Somehow I wasn’t placing the Audi as well as I had the previous day, and since it hadn’t changed I assumed something had gone badly wrong with my driving.

It turned out that the car had in fact changed. I’d been running it in Sport mode during practice and then switched to Comfort on Saturday evening. On Sunday morning I forgot to switch it back.

The resultant softer damping was what had made the car more

I still believed he was in reach until he recorded an incredible 49.75 in competition. Hammering

It was always the intention to use a wide variety of cars for the Challenge, and surely the most

Round 5: Loton Park After Shelsley, it was a relief to have a no-pressure weekend at Loton. Vauxhall had supplied an Astra 1.6 Turbo 200PS Elite which, though quite powerful for a conventional hatchback, had no other sporting pretensions at all was never going to come near the 911, the two Evos or the Sierra Cosworth it was up against.

Instead, I compared times with David Garnett’s modified Renault Clio in the class below.

Most of the runs, including both the competition ones, were held in the wet, and David is very quick in these conditions, while I was battling with mid-corner wheelspin in the Astra. The Clio eventually triumphed in our private battle, but it was all good fun, and it demonstrated the point Vauxhall was trying to make, namely that competing in a very ordinary Astra can be a surprisingly enjoyable way of spending a weekend.

Jeep Grand Cheukee SR-T

up this most intimidating of hillclimb courses as hard as I dared, I couldn’t do better than a 50.50.

unlikely was the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT. There was a good reason for deciding to run it at Barbon rather than anywhere else; it probably wasn’t going to

There was no reason to be disappointed, though. I’d done my best, Grant had driven well and deserved the win, and 50.50 was the best run ever at Doune by a standard car. I felt quite satisfied on the drive home

be much good on corners, but Barbon has only three of those, plus a couple of long straights where the 6.4-litre V8 engine’s 462bhp could be unleashed.

This theory might just have

The previous September, I’d beaten Grant in the Honda Civic Type R, so there was every reason to think that the more powerful four-wheel drive Focus would be dominant this time. It soon turned out, however, that the Subaru had benefitted from a significant power boost and uprated suspension over the winter.

I was able to stay ahead on a damp track during the first two practice runs, but when conditions improved Grant pulled ahead with a 50.67 to my 50.84.

And so I finished third out of three, but it was a good experience, if not one I necessarily want to repeat.

The startline marshals, who nearly wore themselves out manhandling the 2.4-tonne Jeep into position, made it clear that they would also prefer this to be a one-off. “Do come back,” they said when I thanked them for their efforts after the event, “but not in that.”

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Round 8: Harewood The day after Barbon I was at Harewood in Yorkshire driving the utterly unJeeplike SEAT Leon Cupra 290. Although this isn’t the most dramatic hot hatch you can buy, I loved the way it behaved on the road and was almost equally impressed by its handling on the track, which is excellent as long as you don’t get on the power too early midcorner.

Round 6: Doune There were only four competitors in the class during my first visit of the year to my home track, but what a battle we had. Along with my 2015 team-mate Alisdair Suttie, who took part in only a few events this season, I was in a Ford Focus RS, while the opposition consisted of Grant McLellan and his new codriver George Emmerson in their Subaru Impreza.

required. I did what I could, but there was no way of keeping up with Jamie Powell’s Evo or Peter Herbert’s 911 (whose roof, I noticed, was at about the same level as the bonnet of the Grand Cherokee) without risking a monumental accident, which would not have gone down well with the Jeep people.

By David Finlay

difficult to place, but I didn’t realise this until I was driving home after the event. Although I finished third in what was generally agreed to be the best time ever recorded at Shelsley by an estate car, this didn’t compensate for my frustration at having lost out on a better result for such a stupid reason.

Not for the first time, it turned out that I was in the wrong car for the class. The Cupra was up against two Imprezas and two Evos, all of them modified to within an inch of their lives.

One of the great things about hillclimbing, though, is that you can set your own target and not worry about what everyone else is doing. My goal was to get under 70 seconds, which is a pretty good time for a front-wheel drive hatchback at Harewood. The SEAT seemed as enthusiastic as I was and recorded a 69.56. No trophy this time, but no disgrace either.

Round 9: Shelsley Walsh

Skoda Superb Estate

afterwards.

Round 7: Barbon

worked on a dry track. Barbon, however, was damp all weekend, so considerable caution was

The most talked-about car of the 2016 Challenge was surely the Bentley Continental that Alistair and I shared at Shelsley in August. Originally Bentley offered a V8, on the basis that it was lighter and more nimble than the more powerful W12, but a week before the event it was sold, and Bentley asked if we would mind using a W12 instead. We said that would be fine.

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By David Finlay

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Mecedes AMG A45

At 633bhp it was the most powerful Road-Going Series Production Car in the event, but since it also weighed nearly as much as the Jeep it had the third worst power-to-weight ratio. Despite its enormous bulk, though, it flowed through the corners astonishingly well, allowing me to finish sixth in a class of 13, nowhere near the usual Shelsley front-runners but ahead of the McLellan/Emmerson Impreza and the Tarling 911 GT3.

Round 10: Prescott Like the Lexus I had driven earlier in the year, the BMW M4 had plenty of power and made a fabulous sound but struggled through the Prescott hairpins. The result was much the same. I was slightly closer to Simon Tarling this time, but still sixth in class, and vowed that next time I went to Prescott it would be in a car with four-wheel drive, or sticky tyres, or preferably both.

Round 11: Doune The Mercedes-AMG A45 was one of the very few cars I thought could beat the Focus RS’s unofficial production car record at Doune, and it came very close. It feels more like a normal road car, and the fact that I

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could never get its Race Start launch control system to work on the track (though to add to the frustration it occasionally did on the public road) was quite disappointing.

On the other hand, it was very powerful, and its seven-speed semi-automatic transmission changed gear far more quickly than the Ford’s manual box. With one run to go I was 0.31 seconds off my target and confident I could beat it, but then the rain, which had at one point been forecast for much earlier in the day, finally arrived, and that was that. I won my class, which is usually an achievement at Doune, but on this occasion I have to admit that I was the only one in it.

eleven cars that made it through to the competition runs at Loton.

Incredibly, it finished fifth, beating three Porsches, a Jaguar E-Type and a supercharged Lotus Elise. Its secret was the combination of four-wheel drive and a DSG semi-automatic gearbox, which made it third quickest off the start line and gave me little concern about

Round 12: Loton Park The season was meant to end in a relaxed and uncompetitive manner, but it didn’t work out that way. Skoda had supplied its Superb Estate 2.0 TSI 280, which on paper was the least promising of the

Toyta Mirai

grip and none at all about gear selection. Despite being designed far more as a load-carrier than a hillclimber, it was therefore the car that exceeded expectations more than anything else I drove in a season that had its ups and downs but was overall a wonderful experience. If I’m lucky enough to be able to make it all happen again in 2017, you can be sure I will.

Roy Cathcart

An Appreciation

113

By Sammy Hamill Photo: Esler Crawford

CAPTION: Pictured at the 2009 Circuit of Ireland, left to right, Roy Cathcart, sons Matthew and Richard along with co-driver Martin Brady. Photo: Esler Crawford

R

oy Cathcart, who died earlier this year, was a member of a Fermanagh family steeped in motorsport as well as being a prominent Enniskillen businessman.

He and his brother Ian were leading drivers in the Seventies and Eighties, contemporaries and rivals of their close friend, the late Bertie Fisher. They shared many battles on rallies locally and further afield, not all of them won by multi-champion Fisher.

Roy’s friendship with Fisher saw the two of them join forces to win the Burmah (Lurgan Park) Rally in 1982.

Famously, he never rallied on a Sunday which is why Roy wasn’t

seen on internationals like the Circuit of Ireland although he finished fourth behind the first Irish Tarmac champion, John Taylor, on the 1978 Ulster Rally.

But he also had a preference for gravel events and regularly travelled to cross-channel events.

Two of Roy’s sons, Richard and Matthew, have grown up to be talented drivers too, and he was the uncle of Timmy Cathcart who died in an accident on the 2014 Ulster Rally.

Indeed, the last time I saw him was to commiserate with him as news of Timmy’s death reached the service area at St Angelo airport. Usually such an ebullient character, he, like the rest of us,

was in a state of shock, struggling to believe such a talented young man had lost his life.

Roy ran the long-established family business, F R Cathcart builders’ merchants and garden centre, in Enniskillen and was a landowner in the area.

A Ford enthusiast all his life, his collection of famous cars included Roger Clark’s 1972 RAC Rallywinning Escort which in more recent times he brought it out for historic events including the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Roy, who was 68, is survived by his wife Maureen, daughter Julie-Anne and sons Richard and Matthew.

Keith Boyd Enniskillen Motor Club also lost another of its stalwarts, former chairman and president Keith Boyd, who died in August.

As well as being a leading co-driver, partnering the likes of George Elliott, Brendan Kelly, Raymond Johnston and Scottish champion Drew Gallagher, Keith performed many roles for the club including clerk of the course of the Lakeland Stages.

He was also co-ordinator for the Northern Ireland autotest championship and a council member of the ANICC. Keith is survived by his wife Midge and daughters Hayley and Jill.

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An Appreciation

114

Aidan Bagnall

By Richard Young

a Crossle FF2000 and a Ralt RT30 Formula 3 car for the newly resurgent ‘Libre’ class.

W

hen Aidan Bagnall lost his long fight against illness last April at the tragically early age of 57, Formule Libre in Ireland – the BOSS Series as it’s now called - lost one of its most ardent supporters.

But when he happened on an ageing PRS Formula Ford, the racing bug bit, and bit hard.

Initially he raced in Billy Finnegans Sunday Series at Bishopscourt, before moving on to a Formule Renault single seater 135and getting his MSDA licence. Before long he had amassed an eclectic collection of racing machinery including

FORMULA LIBRE

Aidan had been involved with cars for most of his life, dealing with a lot of exotic machinery from his business base in Newry. An assortment of Jaguars, Lotuses, Ferraris and

other desirable machines passed through his hands and he loved them all.

into the back.

Finished in the striking livery which once adorned F1 Jaguars during the Eddie Irvine period, it was a real eye-catcher, but once again mechanical gremlins – caused by installation work carried out by a company in the UK - proved frustrating for Aidan and despite running some very rapid laps during testing at Kirkistown, the car never actually

The Lola, meanwhile continued to be a frustration for Aidan, who remained resolutely upbeat throughout despite a couple of comprehensive blowups.

He didn’t give up though, and the project was still ongoing up to the time when the illness which dogged his final months made all thoughts of racing impossible.

A quiet man with no airs or graces, Aidan never lost his enthusiasm for cars, both ancient and modern. He will be sadly missed by the motor sporting fraternity. A gentle man and a gentleman, he is survived by wife Teresa, daughter Ashling and son Anton.

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The Ralt, although rapid enough, proved unreliable, and after several mechanical frustrations, Aidan moved on to much stronger meat in the shape of a Formula 3000 Lola T91 with a massive NASCAR V8 engine stuffed

reached a starting grid.

During that period he did manage one successful day’s racing, when he and good friend Stanley Watson appeared with a brace of Ed Meredith’s Legends cars for a Roadsports ‘double header’ at Kirkistown. Both raced hard and well, and Aidan’s broad grin at the finish told its own story….

sounding Reynard 88D and managed to put manners on the Renaults once or twice too.

Jonathan Fildes made an appearance towards the end of the year and unsurprisingly, showed no signs of being rusty, as he led away before becoming involved in a furious dice with Dagg, despite the age of his Ralt RT4! Jonathan hopes to make a fulltime return to tin tops in

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Noel Robinson

Engineering, Dan Daly Engines and Dunshaughlin Motors, 13:30 the class were able to02/12/2016 televise their Mondello appearances on Mondello TV- if you want to see some of the scraps mentioned above, you can still log on and watch them!

For 2016, the class looks even stronger with new drivers and cars joining up. There are also some exciting plans in

Patricia Fernandez Fastest Lady Road Racer in the world

By Plum Tyndall Photo: Esler Crawford

D

erek McMahon, who passed away on the 13th November 2016, has left a big legacy to Irish motorsport. He was a skilful competitor in racing and rallying. A founder member of the Donegal Motor Club which has given us the Donegal International Rally, the Donegal Harvest Rally and the Knockalla Hill Climb. His efforts, the efforts of his pioneering pals and those that have followed them have brought millions of tourist euros to the north west over the years.

Derek used his Irish Shell connections to obtain considerable financial support for the Donegal International Rally, and he personally sponsored young Irish talent in international motor racing.

I have come across many characters in the sport but none as big as ‘Big D’ – Derek McMahon, the ‘King of Donegal.’

There is certainly a book in Derek, but if anyone wished to bash the keyboards and tell it exactly like it was, they would have to have a good solicitor as their story would have to be X rated. Derek lived a full and very extravagant life.

He was born into a motoring family in Milford County Donegal. His father Arthur built up a considerable business that included Hillman, (later Rootes Group), Massey- Ferguson, and BMW dealerships. The real financial winner for the McMahon

family however was their deal with Shell which gave them a percentage of every gallon of petrol, diesel and heating oil sold in the county.

Derek excelled in sport at Coleraine Inst. where he was able to move his bulk at an alarming speed. Following an apprenticeship at Harry Ferguson’s in Belfast Derek returned to the family business and along with another motorsporting minded Donegal contemporary - Robert Ward, started to race all over the country.

The Fanad Peninsula neighbours quickly became known for their speed and the exciting way that they drove a whole variety of vehicles on the tracks and stages. McMahon and Ward began to frequently appear in Kirkistown, Phoenix Park, Bishopscourt, and Mondello programmes, racing saloons and sportscars with considerable verve.

They were big friends and rivals and their entertaining combats became highlights at many meetings and hillclimbs.

I can recall Derek in MG Midgets, an MGB, in a full race Escort and even a Royal sportsracing car. When Production Saloons were introduced Derek would appear in almost anything that he could borrow out of the McMahon garages.

I tangled on many occasions

with the hard charging McMahon/Ward racers and on one occasion at Bishopscourt ‘Big D’ told me that he was going to ‘close the door’ on me. I didn’t fully understand what he meant until I entered the Esses in my 1275 Mini Cooper S to find Derek’s 5 Series BMW completely sideways in front of me with a graphic of a farm gate on the side of his large saloon. His blocking tactics enabling Ward to disappear into the distance!

The pair’s regular long hauls to far off venues got them thinking.

How could they bring motorsport to the mountains, or the hills of Donegal in this case, rather than the Mohamads having to go to the mountains?

And that’s how the Donegal Motor Club was formed and the Donegal International Rally created. And what a legacy Derek, Robert and their fellow committee members have given us.

Derek’s Irish Shell backed support for the International Rally over many seasons enabled the club to build their event and persuade numerous competitors and visitors to travel to the hills of Donegal each June.

The McMahon generosity extended to many in the sport and particularly to drivers like Derek Daly, Alec Poole, Bernard Devaney, and Damien Faulkner.

An Appreciation

‘BIG D’ LEAVES A BIG LEGACY

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in Formula Ford and Formula 3, went right to the top in F1 and Indy Car racing. Alec Poole spent hilarious racing days with Derek in Barbados and Guyana, and Derek then supported him in a Group 4 Escort in Europe and the UK with a Derek McMahon Skoda Super Saloon.

Bernard Devaney won a F3 round in the UK driving for his team and fellow Donegal man Damien Faulkner won the Formula Audi Championship and went on to race Porsche Cup in the US. Derek was never a ‘shrinking violet’ be it ‘00’ing his M1 BMW supercar through the streets of Ramelton and Letterkenny; occupying a front row balcony suite at Lowes Hotel during the Monaco GP or sharing bar space with extroverts like Gerry Marshall at Silverstone. This big man with a sometimes overpowering personality had solid family values that were always supported by his lovely and sorely missed wife Ann.

So in saying goodbye to ‘Big D’ we can truly say that in motorsporting terms he was ‘The King of Donegal.’

Derek Daly, after early support

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An Appreciation

116

Malcolm Neill

By Sammy Hamill Photo: Esler Crawford

Malcolm Neill (left) with British Rally Championship organiser John Horton who also passed away in 2016, together with Rauno Aaltonen (right).

I

t was Malcolm Neill who steered me through my early days in motorsport reporting.

He saw advantages in having someone who was an enthusiast as well as a staff journalist with an important newspaper as a means of raising the profile of rallying, particularly the Circuit of Ireland which he had just taken over as clerk of the course.

He offered me the chance to join him as he attended smaller events, thundering around the countryside in his big three-litre Ford Capri and introducing me to drivers, officials, anyone he thought could be helpful in my education. It wasn’t without its ‘exciting’ moments, like when Malcolm fell asleep at the wheel as we careered down the M2 at more than 100mph on our way home after an all-nighter.

Thankfully, the crunching noise of the tyres on the hard shoulder woke him up!

It was to be the start of a friendship which lasted close to five decades and only ended when he died suddenly at the age of 72 during the summer.

From guiding the Circuit through the Ulster Troubles, he moved on to take the helm of Rally GB for 14 years and in latter times is credited with securing Mexico’s place in the World Rally Championship.

A no-nonsense character, he could be abrasive at times and I felt his wrath on numerous occasions but he was one of

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the first to recognise the value of promoting events and did so much to bring me into the inner circle of motorsport.

That Malcolm would be steeped in cars was all but predestined. His father Gordon, a director of the Neill flour milling company, was a major figure in Ulster motorsport which at the time was spearheaded by the likes of Harry Ferguson, of tractor fame, and Wallace McLeod.

A leading member of the Ulster Automobile Club, Gordon Neill was instrumental in reviving the Circuit of Ireland after the Second World War and played a key part in developing the rally into the international event it is today. He also oversaw the transfer of the old Ards TT races to the Dundrod circuit in the 1950s.

One of Malcolm’s earliest memories, he used to say, was of his mother going to the airport to collect the legendary Juan Manuel Fangio and drive him to the Grand Central Hotel in Belfast.

“If I ever write a book,” he said, “it will be called My Mother was Fangio’s Driver.’”

From such a family, it was inevitable Malcolm would follow in his father’s footsteps, not just into the family business but into motorsport, too. He raced sportscars and rallied for a time before assuming the role of clerk of the course of the Circuit of Ireland in the early Seventies.

There were question marks over whether it was wise to continue

running the rally at a time when many events were being cancelled because of unrest on the Belfast streets and elsewhere. But Neill was determined it should carry on even though overseas competitors were reluctant to come to Northern Ireland.

He even persuaded Gallahers to continue their sponsorship in 1973 although their name never appeared on any promotional material, the cigarette company reluctant to draw attention to themselves in light of the unrest.

They had withdrawn support for a major golf tournament but at Neill’s urging they kept faith with the rally.

He was delighted when Yorkshireman Jack Tordoff emerged as the 1973 winner, saying it was an important step in rekindling international interest in the rally.

Neill was in charge for three tremendously successful years but then stood down when the UAC refused to back his proposal that it was now time to appoint a full-time organiser. Still working for the family business he said the demands of the clerk of the course role made it impossible to hold down a normal job.

Neill went back to being a competitor and among his successes was victory in the Donegal International Rally alongside Brian Nelson in 1976.

After the flour business was sold and the family moved to England, Malcolm was able to

pursue his love of motorsport on a bigger stage. His expertise was quickly recognised and he moved through the ranks of UK rallying, eventually taking charge of Britain’s biggest event, the World championship RAC Rally of Great Britain, now known as Rally GB. He held the post for 14 years through much of the Eighties and Nineties before stepping down although his involvement in rallying was far from finished. Malcolm set up his own consultancy and advised organisers in many countries on how to develop their events.

Among them was Mexico where he was guided them to their current World championship status. Turkey, Canada, Jordan, Qatar are other countries where he was recruited to help them build their rally ambitions. Most recently he set up The Rally Show at stately Chatsworth House.

Educated at Portora Royal School, he shared a dorm with TV motorsport commentator and producer Alan Tyndall who was to be best man at his wedding.

Just at Easter they were re-united when Neill returned to attend the Circuit Déjà Vu gathering in Killarney which featured many of the great drivers from the past.

Malcolm died at his home near Reading after a short illness. He is survived by his wife Irene, son Andrew, daughter Helen and their families.

by Angus Frazer

H

ans Stuck adjusts his goggles, tightens the strap of his leather helmet and pulls his leather gloves on. When he is happy that the supercharged 512bhp 6.0-litre V16 engine idling right behind his back is warmed up, he depresses the clutch and eases his works Auto Union Type C towards the start line of the hill climb.

The spectators hold their breath. Never have they seen machinery as technically advanced as this before. The air of expectation is palpable. But the weather is not kind though, and as the screaming Silver Arrow racer launches its attack on the hill, a sharp shower of rain drenches the course.

the car off the line. But there is no thought of throttling off. The man they call ‘King of the Mountains’ is going for it, rain or not. Only his lighting fast reactions and precision-perfect dabs of opposite lock prevent disaster.

The spectators of course love it and are, according to Motor Sport Magazine, rewarded by, “the most ferocious series of tail wags we have ever witnessed, his

elbows in turn rising high above the car’s side as he corrected the skids, and finished the run with a skid across the line which must have made the timing officials jump for their lives.”

While the timing officials may have jumped, they didn’t neglect to stop the clock. And despite the rain Hans Stuck set a time of 45.2 seconds, giving him victory in the ‘Over 5 litres Supercharged class.’

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Hillclimbs

Driving Dad’s V16 Auto Union Hill Climb Car Eighty Years Later

That all happened eighty years ago at Shelsley Walsh hill climb in England’s idyllic Worcestershire countryside in the summer of 1936. The 1000-yard course is the oldest motor sport venue in the world still in use, as cars first began climbing the hill in 1905.

And now, eight decades later, the 200mph plus Auto Union Type C is back at Shelsley. It is not the exact car that Hans Stuck

Never mind going for a record time, simply keeping this behemoth on the narrow track has now become the priority.

Even though this Auto Union Type C is a hill climb special, with unique twin wheels and tyres on each side of its rear axle designed to provide optimum traction, taming 512bhp in the wet requires a herculean effort.

The following month’s Motor Sport Magazine will report on the German driver’s battle with ‘colossal wheelspin’ simply to get

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Hillclimbs

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drove, but a precise replica, commissioned by Audi to honour its Auto Union ancestor company and constructed by British firm Crosthwaite & Gardiner using around 50 per cent original 1930’s parts. It is of course 100 per cent authentically accurate, right down to its double wheel rear axle.

The man sitting in the car today is wearing the same goggles, leather helmet and gloves and is trying hard to blink back the tears that are threatening to come.

Sixty-five year-old Hans-Joachim Stuck has come to pay tribute to his father by driving the Auto Union Type C up the hill.

But, much as he would love to, he will not be doing so in his father’s racing gear. Reluctantly, after the photographers have got their shot, off come the goggles, leather helmet and gloves. In order to keep the race officials, and his wife Christa-Maria who is watching, happy, Hans-Joachim pulls on his modern full-face helmet and his fireproof racing gloves.

The V16 roars into life and Hans-Joachim blasts off up the hill for first time.

He only flew to the UK from his home in Austria this morning, and has only been up the hill once, as a passenger. Quiet practice runs with no one watching?

Pah! No need for any of that.

Hans Stuck

focussed solely on his driving and the challenge of conducting his fearsome charge with inch-perfect accuracy. Afterwards though, on his way back down the hill, it is a different matter.

“Yes, on the way up I had to

Today the sun is shining on the beautiful silver bodywork of the Type C. The track is bone dry, affording HansJoachim much more traction than his father had at his disposal eighty years ago. With a thunderous roar the Silver Arrow Hans Stuck Sr, in 1936 flashes past. HansJoachim is not careful,” Hans-Joachim tells us going for a record today, but that when we catch up with him. “I is not stopping him from drifting was well aware that I was driving the car through the bends. a piece of history. And you know I am a piece of history too – my A task like this requires wife wouldn’t like it if I crashed!” supreme skill and concentration.

Then the joking stops as he Whatever his thoughts before reflects on his run back down the start there is no time to think the hill. “I am not afraid to admit of his father now. His mind is it that I had some tears running

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down my eyes. It was very precious to me knowing that this is my Dad’s car, knowing how crazy it must have been for him to drive this car and it gave me such a fantastic moment.”

So just what was it like to

drive this ‘crazy car,’ the legend of which had always been there all throughout Hans-Joachim’s childhood. “It is a car where you have to be the master. It is not a car that has traction control and anti-skid technology, nor a PlayStation gearbox and stuff like that. The engine is superb ¬– so much torque – and the throttle

response is fantastic. I only used about a third of the throttle travel because the tyres were already spinning. But thanks to my Dad, who invented the twin rear wheels on the back because with only single rear tyres the car would only go sideways, it was OK.” “But it is not easy, everything feels so heavy – the clutch pedal, the brake pedal, the steering, the gearbox – everything is difficult. So I ask myself, ‘How could they do a 500km Nürburgring Grand Prix in a car like this?’

And I really don’t know.” Bear in mind that this is coming from a man who won Le Mans in 1986 and 1987 in a Group C Porsche 962 in the days when the Mulsanne straight was taken flat out, and then clinched the German Touring Car Championship in 1990 in an Audi V8 quattro.

Despite the huge variety of machinery Hans-Joachim has raced during his 42-year racing career, the Auto Union has clearly made a big impression on him.

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Hans Senior was known as ‘King of the Moutains’

“I must thank the guys at Audi Tradition who look after the car so well. This car is in such good shape. I tell you, Daddy is looking

down and would love to drive it again!”

If Hans Senior is indeed looking down, I wonder what he

might think of his son’s driving, especially the drifting through the corners? Hans-Joachim laughs and recalls how his father taught

him to drive, sitting beside him for his first lap of Germany’s legendary 14-mile Nürburgring race circuit when Hans Junior was only nine-years-old.

“I did a decent speed perched on two cushions so that I could reach the wheel with Dad sitting next to me. He had big balls to do that you know. Then when I started racing, when I used to come into the pits I had more squashed bugs on the doors than on the windscreen and he said “Bubble, my little boy, don’t drive too much sideways,” and he was right, because I was too wild in those days.”

Wild driving and the Auto Union Type C could well prove to be a disastrously potent cocktail, and that maybe explains why Hans-Joachim is not quite ready to hand over his father’s goggles, gloves and helmet to the next generation just yet. “Both my sons Ferdinand and Johannes are racing. The other day the oldest one, Johannes, asked me, ‘Hey when can I drive

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Rosberg : A worthy champion

By Maurice Hamilton

Nico Rosberg celebrates victory in the 2016 F1 World Championship

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thrilling F1 finale in Abu Dhabi was tainted somewhat by claims that Nico Rosberg did not make a worthy World Champion. The suggestion that Lewis Hamilton deserved it more was prompted by the Englishman commanding the race just as he had the previous three, his supporters pointing to earlier mechanical disasters as the only reason behind a failure to take a fourth title. It is a hollow argument.

Mishaps beyond a driver’s control are part and parcel of a sport relying on highly complex machinery. Use of such caveats in Hamilton’s favour is a dangerous practice since it calls for an uncomfortable comparison with 2008, when he won his first title.

Forgetting for a moment the extraordinary events on the last lap in Brazil when Hamilton became champion at the final corner, it would follow this year’s pro-Lewis logic to point out that had Felipe Massa not suffered a catastrophic engine failure while leading in Hungary (not to mention being waved out of the Singapore pits with the fuel hose still attached to his Ferrari), the Brazilian would have been just as

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worthy a champion.

In fact, if you applied the ‘if only’ argument at the end of almost every season, there

would be a case for claiming the championship should have gone to someone else. Graham Hill, for instance, would not have won the 1962 title in South Africa

had a screw not dropped out of the engine in Jim Clark’s leading Lotus. Had Alain Prost’s Renault not developed a habit of blowing itself to bits, the Frenchman

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Max Verstappen was one of the top stars of 2016

would have been champion in 1982.

That year, of course, the title went to Nico Rosberg’s father, Keke – who won just one race.

And yet there is no ‘Ah…but’ asterisk against Rosberg’s name any more than there is lengthy proviso accompanying the success of John Surtees in 1964, James Hunt in 1976 or, more recently, Sebastian Vettel in 2010.

Nico Rosberg proved that championships are won across a season and not through either an outstanding performance or an unlucky result in one particular Grand Prix. Hamilton may have won 10 races to Rosberg’s nine in 2016, but the German scored more points. And there the debate ends.

It’s a risky argument to bring up Hamilton’s undeniable

disappointment when his engine let go while leading in Malaysia or to cite his excruciating difficulties earlier in the year as Rosberg built up a substantial lead.

was actually when he lost the 2015 title during a miserable (for him) race as Hamilton rubbed his nose in the Texas dirt at Circuit of the Americas.

If such detail is to be exhumed from the field of statistics, then it also needs to be said that Hamilton did not serve his cause by a mistake during qualifying in Baku and a curiously off-thepace weekend in Singapore when, according to one Mercedes team member ‘Lewis just didn’t turn up’. Throw in Japan when his mind was all over the place (as demonstrated by bizarre behaviour when dealing with the media) and you have the basis for another poor start to a race.

Looking at his forlorn figure, it was tempting to wonder if Rosberg would be able to pull himself out of the mental mire and take on his prodigiously quick team-mate for a third time.

Fighting for a championship is all-consuming. Two years in succession is mentally and physically demanding. The thought of a third must, at that moment, have prompted questions about the value of continuing to play the role of punch bag rather than prizewinner.

Rosberg, on the other hand, remained totally focussed from the beginning. In fact, even before that. The crucial moment

When Rosberg won the final three and extended the run into the first four races of 2016, it not

only answered questions about whether or not Hamilton had allowed this by backing off postchampionship but it also gave an indication of a mind-set informed by lessons learned the hard way.

That’s how Rosberg dealt with an exceptionally fine run mid-season as Hamilton clawed back 43 points and Nico was then able to retake the lead when Lewis subsequently suffered mechanical as well as mental fragility.

Ironically, on a weekend when Hamilton went into reverse in Singapore, Rosberg engaged overdrive with a truly commanding win on the unforgiving streets, nursing his brakes and tyres and not putting a foot wrong in humid and debilitating conditions when under attack from the impressive Daniel Ricciardo in the Red Bull.

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The finish line in Abu Dhabi. Lewis Hamilton attempts to slow the race so the Red Bulls can pass Rosberg And that in itself was a surprise. At the end of 2015, Red Bull had been rubbish, complaining bitterly about the absence of power in their Renault engine. But in 2016, they came back, helped by homework from Renault and the all-round talent of Ricciardo (whose pole position at Monaco was one of the season’s stand-out performances, a tactical screw-up by the team then costing him victory).

Even though the smiling Australian won in Malaysia, his season was compromised a little

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by the arrival of Max Verstappen, the teenager promoted from Toro Rosso after four races – and immediately winning in Spain (after Hamilton and Rosberg had taken each other out on the first lap).

Verstappen’s exceptional talent may have been highlighted once more by an extraordinary drive into second place in the wet in Brazil but his exuberance brought complaints about some of his defensive tactics, seen as more suitable for karting than F1. When the rough edges are knocked off the Dutchman (born in Belgium),

Verstappen has all the hallmarks of another Senna or Schumacher.

He is the sort of driver Ferrari will be looking for. But, for now, the Italian team is simply looking for some semblance of form after a disastrous year when there was not a single victory. They found it difficult to unlock the narrow window of tyre performance and possible victories (Australia, for example) were often thrown away by poor tactical decisions.

It was one disaster after another.

The new world champion’s only low point was Monaco, a dismal performance by Rosberg

being exacerbated by Hamilton’s incredibly deft touch in the wet (something we would enjoy again at the penultimate round in Brazil).

You will get no argument from me that, on a lap-for-lap basis, Hamilton is the fastest driver out there. But a championship is about more than thrilling virtuoso performances (a lesson that Verstappen has yet to learn).

It’s the points that count.

Not the ‘Ifs’ and ‘Buts’. Nico Rosberg’s name is at the top of the 2016 table – and deserves to be there.

Ca

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Paddy’s first European win Nicole

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HDrought

aving made his European Radical Masters debut at Monza just a few weeks earlier, Newtonabbey’s Paddy McClughan took his first European victory at the Catalunya circuit near Barcelona in October, sharing a Radical SR8 with former Champion Brazilian Victor Correa.

Paddy took part in the first qualifying session and was second quickest, 0.725 secs off pole position. “It was a decent session for me, but I only got one really quick lap and had a problem selecting sixth gear so pitted early,” he explained before handing to Correa who claimed pole for the second race.

He struggled in ninth place and it got worse when the lack of brakes ended their race in the barriers at Turn two within a lap of Correa taking over.

Starting from pole position in race two Paddy did his best to snatch the lead into Turn One. Side by side with James Swift, but a big lock up left him exiting in third. He reclaimed second place into Turn Four on lap two and ran a clear second throughout his stint. “After the lock up I got a run on Costa and was through on the inside for second. James had already got away so I just secured the gap to third and kept it there before handing to Victor,” he explained. Correa then took over and brought the duo’s first win by over 30 seconds.

Paddy was on pole again for the third race and the final one for 2015 and lost out to Woodward initially, before claiming the lead back into Turn eight. He continued to build a healthy advantage until Swift worked his way through from the rear of the grid.

By lap 10 his lead was being seriously threatened and he was finally forced to surrender to Swift into Turn Three a lap later.

Over the winter months, Paddy has a Sunoco Fuels backed prize drive at Daytona to look forward to in 2016.

Would like to thank Gem Oils, I.T. Monkey and Stapleton's Bakery for their much valued support in 2016.

Paddy McClughan (fourth from left) celebrates victory.

Also, Murphy Prototypes, Sean Edwards Foundation and Leo Nulty Promotions.

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Paddy behind the wheel of the Radical in Barcelona.

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Turkington’s Silverline Subaru Surprise Success British Touring Car Championship

By Sammy Hamill

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or Colin Turkington it was the silver lining which took the edge off the disappointment of coming up just short in the final fight for the British Touring Car championship.

In truth, he should never really have been contemplating a third BTCC title, not after his Silverline BMR team made a late decision to switch from Volkswagen to the totally untried Subaru Levorg and the early season tribulations that entailed.

But Turkington is a “never say die” guy and against the odds he was still in the mix coming to the final trio of races at Brands Hatch.

Yes, the records will show that the Ulsterman finished fourth in the standings yet they don’t tell the story of a determined effort which revealed, again, his talent and qualities as a touring car driver.

As Honda rival Gordon Sheddon took the title for a second time, Turkington came back home to the news he had been awarded the BRDA’s Silver Star, the prize that goes to the leading national driver across all disciplines of British racing.

“That was awesome news,”

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he remembers. “I’d won it before but to get it at the end of a season in which we had virtually started from scratch was something special and testament to the work put in by the team.”

It was, in his own words, an up and down season, but one in which he outshone his recordbreaking team-mate Jason Plato

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Colin Turikington (right) celebrates victory with team mate Jason Plato

and came to the Brands Hatch finale in contention for the title even if, in his own words, he considered himself a “significant outsider”.

Not unexpectedly, he and his team-mates had struggled in the early part of the season as they got to grips with the all-new Levorg. It lacked straight line

speed and when James Cole’s car caught fire at Donington, all four Subarus were withdrawn from the next round at Thruxton.

“It was a bold move by the team to switch from the VWs, which had been fairly successful, to the Subarus but the fact we had manufacturer support was important,” said Turkington. “But

the decision came late and it meant we were on the back foot.

“We had no testing at all before we turned up at Brands for the first meeting of the year – in fact I had to wait for my seat to be fitted before I could go out for the first practice session.

“Those early races were tough.

We were just getting to know

the cars and ironing out the problems and having to pull out of Thruxton was a big disappointment but it had to be done on safety grounds.”

But an extended test session at Pembrey in Wales paid dividends, bringing about a major turnaround in the performance of the cars, resulting in a first victory

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of the season at Oulton Park.

“That has to go down as one of the highlights of my career,” he said. “From struggling to make the top ten I was out front and winning a race. It showed the potential of the car and gave the team such a huge lift.”

From then on Turkington was back on the pace and with the exception of a couple of races at Knockhill and Rockingham he was a contender, taking further wins at Croft and Snetterton.

Entering the final meeting of the year as one of eight drivers in mathematical contention to lift the crown, the Portadown driver produced a stunning display to take his quest for glory to the last race of the season.

A brilliant pole position in uncertain conditions was followed by two victories – his fourth and fifth of the year, 41 in total – and suddenly Turkington had closed down a 37 point deficit to just 10 with one race remaining. He couldn’t do it, could he?

Not with the maximum of 75 kilos of ‘success’ ballast on board the Subaru and seventh place on the reverse starting grid. Bogged down in the middle of the pack, he could do nothing to stop Sheddon taking the title ahead of Sam Tordoff’s BMW. Nevertheless, given the late start, the early season troubles including the withdrawal of all four BMR cars at Thruxton because of concerns over their fuel system and some dubious grid penalties, it was a remarkable comeback.

Reflecting on the season, Turkington said: “I knew I was a significant outsider coming into the season finale but I still

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wanted to prepare and plan like it was my crown. This has been my approach all season, and I can honestly look back at every weekend and say I gave everything I had.

“I never missed an hour’s preparation and I put 100% into every lap I had the Levorg on track. In the end it just wasn’t meant to be, but I am far from disappointed.

Yes I was saddened to know that I couldn’t get any more out of race three and my chances were over, but overall it was a near perfect weekend.”

Finishing the season in fourth place and just 19 points behind eventual champion Shedden having only started 27 of the 30 races, the double title winner was keen to not look back and think about what could have been had things panned out differently.

“It was a season of ups and downs with DNFs, DNSs, grid

penalties and tough battles but we kept our focus and kept pushing onwards,” he reflected.

“You can’t start contemplating what ifs or what might have been, all you can do is look back and be proud of the success we had and how hard we worked for it.

“I’m proud of what we achieved and don’t think we could have

expected more.”

Turkington says it is too early to know what 2017 will bring or if, indeed, he will be staying at BMR. But given the progress he and the team made with a car which had never previously been raced in any championship, it seems likely he will be campaigning the Subaru again next year with title No.3 firmly in his sights.

by: Richard young Photos: Roy Dempster

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s a former professional footballer, Noel Robinson is, no doubt, familiar with the oft-expressed opinion that the beautiful game is a game of two halves.

That being the case it may not have surprised him too much when his Northern Ireland Formula Ford campaign turned out to be pretty much the same, even if the first half did turn out to be rather more successful than the second…..

From the opening Kirkistown race meeting at the beginning of April to the eighth round at the end of May he hardly put a wheel wrong in his immaculatelypresented Van Diemen, winning six of the eight races and taking the runner-up position in the other two. With 157 points to his credit it looked like a pretty unassailable lead.

And then he went on holiday, missing the two rounds in June before returning to resume his campaign in July.

And that’s when it all started to unravel.

By this stage of the year, Alan Davidson had emerged as Robinson’s closest rival in Hugh

Reid’s ageing-but-very-effective 1989 Mondiale, a string of second places and one win at Bishopscourt in May moving him clear of the pursuing pack. Robinsons absence in June handed him a brace of

unchallenged victories which moved him to within six points of the lead as the penultimate rounds in July drew near.

And that was when the wheels began to fall off the Robinson campaign.

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Not literally of course, but the winning streak was over thanks to a recurring misfire which kept Noel out of the points in both the July rounds and saw him go into the final brace of races with nine points to make up on

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new leader Davidson who had endured problems of his own. His haul from July was poor by his own standards with a DNF and a second place behind the returning Jake Byrne, winner of the opening race but absent thereafter.

So the scene was set for a title showdown at the final rounds, but things didn’t work out that way.

Robinson was fastest in qualifying, with Davidson a few tenths slower in second spot.

However the man who was to decide the title in the first of the scheduled two races started third, just another couple of tenths behind the Mondiale man.

Stephen O’Connor’s lightning starts have been a feature of the season and on several occasions his 1990 Van Diemen has been out of the traps faster than anything else. That was the case this time too, and while both Robinson and Davidson made reasonable enough starts, the pair found themselves looking at O’Connors gearbox as the field streamed through Debtors Dip and down to Colonial for the first time.

But Robinson had other ideas, and a Championship lead to regain and after two laps looking at the back of the red Van Diemen he made his move as the trio crossed the line to start Lap 3.

However O’Connor was having none of it and went defensive.

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The saying goes that ‘attack is the best method of defence’ and this certainly seemed to be the case here as the two cars tangled and speared off to the right and into the Armco.

With them went Robinson’s chances of the title, and it was an almost apologetic Davidson who went on to take the win, and the points.

Almost unnoticed during all this, Ryan Campbell put in a string of very strong drives in his newly-acquired Reynard FF89 to claim third place on the table.

In the classes, Davidson was, of course, best Pre-90 driver out there, while the Pre-87 class went to Fiesta graduate Andrew Blair in his 1984 example. Paul McMorran was pretty much unchallenged among the few Pre-82 runners.

He was, of course, driving a Crossle 32F. Still with Formula Ford, Niall Murray made his first Kirkistown appearance of the year at the Martin Donnelly Trophy – backed

by Ards & North Down Borough Council - in October and, having already clinched the BRSCC ‘National’ title a couple of weeks earlier, duly won – before going on to dominate both the FF Festival at Brands Hatch and the Walter Hayes Trophy at Silverstone.

The coming year promises more of the same, but hopefully with more cars on the grid thanks to

sponsorship from Dawson WAM, whose boss Dennis McGall is himself no stranger to Formula Ford.

This will mean cash prizes for all Kirkistown championship rounds – something which hasn’t been seen for many years.

And negotiations are also well advanced for the circuit to host a ‘double header’ round of the National British Championship on a date yet to be decided.

Elsewhere on the Kirkistown programme, Fiestas provided plenty of excitement and some controversy, but at seasons end it was the non-controversial but very rapid Jonny Forsythe who took the honours , and quite a lot of the wins as well although Thomas Agnew finished strongly to pip Dan Conlon for second.

A record 26 cars started

the opening round, but some fell by the wayside as the year progressed, deterred in at least one case, by the somewhat exuberant driving styles of some others, and a bit of paddock pugilism at the June meeting which left a bad taste in some mouths.

In general though, the Fiestas provided great entertainment, and plenty of work for the body repair specialists, especially at the opening meeting where the weather provided extra excitement, even though few people- including most of the drivers- could see it through the spray.

Kirkistowns Libre saloon class provided some good racing too, although a lack of numbers meant that they often had to share the grid with Roadsports.

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Kirkistown Review

Their best race, however, was in May where three of the four cars which appeared fought tooth and nail for the lead in both races.

Andrew Armstrong and his very rapid BMW M3 won through in the end though, with seven wins from 14 starts.

Stephen Traub and his Honda Integra were plagued by unreliability issues but still placed second ahead of Donal O’Neill’s SEAT Cupra.

Among the Roadsports brigade, Radical pilot Jim Larkham proved to be the winningest driver out there, winning all but two of the 12 races, and placing third and fourth in the two rainhit April events. Paul Conn and John Benson took second and third places with their S2000 Crossles.

Excitement, however, was provided by the 1.0 litre Class B brigade, the best of whom was Mark Francis (GMS Honda) in fourth place overall having played nip and tuck with Paul Thompson’s Honda-powered Stryker all year. This class, too, tapered off towards the end of the season and it’s to be hoped that it will be back up to strength for 2017 As ever, Kirkistown also played host to a number of visiting classes during the year, including a tentative first appearance in April by some of the Historic FF2000 brigade from across

the water. Despite horrendous conditions which saw cars skating off in all directions, they enjoyed their first visit and plan to return in 2017 for two full championship rounds.

And, of course, there were visits from across the border, most notably from the Formula Vee brigade who never fail to entertain, F.Vee may be a ‘budget’ class, but they race like tigers and notched up a couple of ‘firsts’ during the year, most notably the first wins – and hard-fought ones

at that – by a woman driver when Paula Moore took the honours in the B&C races in both August and October. The October meeting also produced one of the closest-ever finishes when Colm Blackburn beat Justin Costello, Dan Polley and Kevin Grogan to the line, all four of them covered by just a tenth of a second at the flag.

Other welcome visitors included Formula Sheane, BOSS Ireland, Global GT Lights, HRCA Historics and the Stryker Sports cars which, like Alan Kessie’s Supercars were

able to share grids with ‘home’ classes.

The latter also provided a surprise, when former BTCC Champion – and current frontrunner – Colin Turkington turned out in one of the Kessie machines, and while car problems prevented him from showing his class on this occasion, his appearance was very much appreciated.

So, a generally optimistic outlook for Kirkistown for 2017.

Hopefully the season, which starts on March 25, will live up to its promise

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Carey is the BOSS!

By Leo Nulty Photos: Michael Chester

Lisa Malone and Leo Nulty

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OSS Ireland came into the 2016 season with strong plans. The numbers had slumped slightly and changes had to be made. An ambitious plan was put together by co-ordinator Dave Smyth to boost numbers and exposure for the class- a plan which culminated in the class racing for the famous Leinster Trophy in Mondello Park in September, with a packed grid.

Jonathan Fildes’ spectacularly driven Ralt RT4 may not be state of the art, but is certainly capable of taking the fight to the newer machines, as was demonstrated at the opening rounds of the championship, Jonathan finishing 30 seconds ahead of the Formula Renault mounted trio of Noel Robinson, Cian Carey and Barry Rabbitt- setting fastest lap at an incredible 51.711 too. In the second race, Eamonn Matheson gave the Renaults something to think about in his self built machine as he blasted his way to third, behind Fildes and Robinson-

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his car being a handful on the twiddly bits but explosively fast on the straights!

The class starred at the July race meeting as Cian Carey and Barry Rabbitt went toe to toe in their Formula Renault machines. Carey took the honours in race one but in the second one, Rabbitt managed to stave off the newer spec machine despite huge pressure throughout. In what was described as one of the battles of the season in any class, the duo were separated by just four hundredths of a second at the flag!

On the run up to the Leinster Trophy, the class held a launch at Finnstown House outside Dublin, where they displayed Dan Daly’s Jordan F1 car, which they intended to run at the event, as well as two of their competitors’ cars. The news that a Jordan F1 car was to run at Mondello Park for the first time since 1999 was quickly picked up by both

mainstream and specialist press, ensuring that the event would be well attended. Hillclimbing star Sylvie Mullins entered his glorious sounding F1 engined Gould machine. Double Leinster Trophy winner Stephen Daly was also entered, at the wheel of father Dan’s Reynard-Holden and was confident of challenging too.

As some feared and others hoped, the heavens opened on Mondello Park on the Sundayand when it came it was of biblical proportions. In extremely difficult conditions, Lloyd led away and looked set to dominate as he immediately eased away from the packed grid. By mid race though, Paul Dagg, making a return to the class in his Dallara F3 machine was matching and then beating the leader’s times, the gap visibly closing as the laps ticked away. Cian Carey was also uncorking an incredible charge, having dropped to the back of the field early on and looked set for a possible podium position as he too, matched the

leader’s laptimes. Unfortunately, as the leaders went onto the International loop for the final time, with limited visibility, a backmarker allowed the leader through but inadvertently baulked Dagg. At the line it was a delighted Hywel Lloyd who added his name to a very famous and exclusive list with Dagg second and a delighted Carey in third after a giant killing performance.

The weekend was extra special for Carey as he also wrapped up the BOSS Ireland title after a great season and subsequently received a Motorsport Ireland Young Driver of The Year nomination to boot.

John Daly, who supported the class in 2016 through his Dalco Engineering business, drove well all year in his Lola F3000 machine, to take the BOSS 1 class honours.

Smyth and his team intend to build on this for 2017 and there are already a few drivers chasing cars to join the class. There are rumours that Darragh Daly could be coming back from Australia to go racing again…

Motormouth’s Mondello Mutterings…

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By Leo Nulty Photos: Michael Chester

Hywel Llyod won the Leinster Trophy

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won’t rant for too long about how it seems like only last month that I sat at the laptop to pen the season review for the 2016 CarSport Yearbook, but it does seem that way. In fact it seems quicker each passing year- I can only assume that it is age related!

Formula Vee was as popular as ever in 2016, the budget single seaters providing close affordable racing all year long.

Dan Polley has been a front runner in the class for many years, making a name for himself as a “rainmeister” initially before taking a number of impressive wins in the dry. This year, he dominated, winning nine times in his LOH/Enya Sheane en route to

a well deserved E Fox Engineers title. Colm Blackburn stepped it up for 2016 with a new team and was always at the sharp endoften leading races before finally taking his first A race win at the seasons’ end. Kevin Grogan was always in the mix too, taking a solitary win mid season en route to third in the title chase. Anthony Cross took the B championship with Joe Power winning the Finol Star Of Tomorrow beginners series in his GRRR Leastone.

BOSS Ireland enjoyed a great season, with some fantastic battles between some very different machines. Cian Carey’s Mooretown Engineering Formula Renault was superbly presented and driven all year and he was a well deserved champion when the points were totted up. His battle with Barry Rabbitt at the Vee Festival Mondello meeting was one of the best races of the year and they deservedly shared the Barry Rabibtt and Cian Carey in the Boss Ireland Series wins on the

day. Rabbitt wrung the neck of his slightly older spec Renault all

Formula Atlantic Ralt, whilst son Stephen, on a bid to be the first

16 year old William Kellett year, loving his return to single seaters. Jonathan Fildes was as spectacular and impressive as we have come to expect, flinging his Ralt RT4 around in typically exuberant style. He didn’t complete the full season though and has apparently sold the car in anticipation of a full time return to tin tops in 2017.

The class also successfully applied for the Leinster Trophy and did a great job in attracting a full grid for the September meeting.

Dan Daly fielded a beautiful

ever triple Leinster Trophy winner, took the helm of the family Reynard-Holden and hillclimb champion Sylvie Mullins entered his glorious sounding F1-engined Gould. UK visitor Hywel Lloyd brought his Mercedes powered F3 car over for the meeting and, in horrendous conditions, pretty much dominated- although in the closing stages Paul Dagg got his older machine right onto the visitor’s tail, only an errant backmarker stopping him from challenging on the last lap! The

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Brian Hearty formula Sheane winner smaller machines generally have the legs of the bigger “BOSS 1” class cars, especially at Mondello Park but John Daly drove well all year to take the BOSS 1 title in his Dalco F3000 machine.

Phil Lawless dominated the early stages of the Procraft Tools Fiesta Zetec series, even a dip in form and some mechanical issues not preventing him from wrapping up his first title with a round to go. Darragh McMullen

Fiesta ST series tin top veteran Dave Maguire drove superbly to claim the inaugural title. Ulick Burke and Sean Lillis but arrived at the final round with a chance to take the title but Maguire made no mistakes, runner up spot at the second race sealing the title for the former karter. Brendan Fitzgerald was a frontrunner all season, his Lucan Doors and Windows machine as spiritedly driven as ever. Kevin Doran was the Gilles Villeneuve of the class-

from Peter Barrable and Sam Moffett- this trio generally well clear of the rest. Bob Cameron ran them close on occasion and former Punto champion Barry Hallion showed great pace on his few appearances. The championship came down to the wire at the Leinster Trophy meeting with all three being in with a shot at the title. O’Brien made no mistakes though, to take the win and the title, with Barrable retiring as he was about to challenge. Former Rallycrosser Graeme Colfer also joined the series and showed front running pace- he will also be back for more in 2016. Alan Kessie’s dream of bringing back the RT2000/Dunlop Supercar class has come true and there were some classic battles in 2017. There is already further interest in the class for 2017 and some small technical changes planned too.

Grzegorz Kalinecki was dominant in the Teng Tools ITCC in his Sportchip.ie Golf.

Despite sometimes being beaten away by the rear wheel drive machines, he calmly picked them off, almost at leisure, and was generally first across the line.

the series in his unusual Honda powered lhd Corrado and was quick enough to cause Kalinecki concern on occasion. He has a host of upgrades planned for the winter break and should be even quicker in 2017 as a result.

Eddie Kinirons went well in the ex Erik Holstein BMW M3 and was battling for the lead when a season ending shunt destroyed the car at turn two. Rob Savage’s Integra was also heavily damaged but he somehow managed to repair it and return to the track for the final rounds. Jay O’Reilly took Production honours after early leader David Cassidy suffered engine maladies mid season and early leader Nicole Drought encountered handling issues after an off at Bishopscourt.

The evergreen Brian Hearty claimed an incredible eleventh title (have a think about that for a minute) in Formula Sheane, with Kevin Sheane, as ever, running him close. Just three points separated the duo at the end with Robbie Allen and Dave Parks next up. As ever, the Wicklow built racers gave great entertainment, David Sheane’s original theory that the cars should have more

David Maguire in the Fiesta series drove superbly to take second in the series, his car one of the best presented in the class. Michael Tumulty was also right in the mix and took a fine third in the standings. Mark O’Donoghue joined the grids mid season and was immediately a front runner, taking a string win at the final

great to watch and as quick as anyone but a little accident prone.

If Doran was the entertainer, saloon expert Michael Cullen was the panto villain, causing more than a few raised eyebrows at the televised Leinster Trophy race with his “elbows out” style! The class was a great success in its

Historic Champion jackie Cochraine round- definitely one to watch for 2017.Colin Lewis improved as the year went on and was a regular occupant of the top ten by the end of the year. His team also took runner up spot in the hugely popular Fiesta 6 Hour race at Mondello in November.

In the Patch Tyre Equipment

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first year, the cars look and sound great and did not suffer from the eligibility issues that plagued the Zetec machines in the early days.

The driving standards were pretty good, for the most part, too!

Andy O’Brien took the Tool Dynamics Supercar Championship title, despite strong competition

Seat Champion Erik Holstein His car, as ever, was presented superbly and he became the first to win both the Production (in 2015) and Super Touring titles.

Shane Rabbit’s lurid Mazda RX-7 was his closest challenger, the flame spitting machine being a favourite with the crowds too. He was the master of the standing start and generally led going by the grandstand on the opening lap, regardless of starting position. He also managed to take a hugely popular first win and has unlocked more performance since so should be a major factor in 2017. Martin Duffy has progressed superbly over the last number of years, the former Fiesta Zetec driver having built himself a BMW M3. Having moved closer to the leaders during the season, he scored a hugely popular debut victory at Mondello mid season.

Keith Campbell also returned to

power than grip still being proven correct!

The popular Future Classics class attracted sponsorship from Micksgarage.com and as ever, produced full grids and some great racing. Timmy Duggan avoided the barrier time on most occasions and used his head to win at the slowest speed possible, as the saying goes, to claim the championship in his ex works SEAT Ibiza. Aidan Byrne’s Chevette in evocative Castrol/ DTV livery was second with the giant killing Fiat Uno of David Hammond in third. William Kellett starred in the class, the 16 year old having converted his junior Rallycross Micra to race spec, and earned himself a Motorsport Ireland Young Driver of The Year nomination to boot. For 2017, he moves to the Fiesta ST Championship, with backing from

ITCC Champion Grzegorz Kalinecki JH Autobody and Motorsport.ie With 8 outright victories, Jackie Cochrane and his rumbling Sunbeam Tiger took the HRCA series. As ever, the Tiger struggled to get off the line and Bernard Foley often led in the early stages in his modified MGBGT V8. Despite his best efforts and the resultant scrap which gave great entertainment, the Tiger usually grabbed the lead back by mid race. As we have come to expect, Steve Griffin was as impressive as ever in the famous Liam Plower Modsport Midget.

This car was a regular winner at Mondello back in the 70s and it was great to see both it and Steve return to the top step of the podium at the July Mondello meeting. The George Mangan trophy, for combined race and hillclimb events, was won by Noel Kavanagh, with Cochrane second and Clive Brandon’s Lotus 47 in third. Noel also won the coveted Joe Flynn trophy, named after the famous MG racer and awarded to the top MGB/Sprite/Midget racer. Wolfgang Schnittger and Liam Ruth, both former winners of the trophy, were his closest challengers.

The Harron brothers, William and Samuel, dominated proceedings in the Dennings Cars Ginetta Junior Ireland series, with William taking the title by over 40 points. Samuel’s margin over third place man Darragh Denning was substantially less, just a single point separating the pair. Denning was generally best of the rest but

was up for a scrap whenever he got close to the Harron pairing!

Morgan Quinn was fourth and improved as the year progressed.

Patrick Dempsey was impressive on his debut season, the karter having to wait until mid season to join the series. The reason? He was waiting to turn 14! Cameron Fenton, Hollie Byrne and Rob Parks also progressed well during the year and all should be back for more in 2017.

The SEAT Supercup Ireland series may have been slightly short on numbers but was superbly promoted and attracted manufacturer support, with SEAT Ireland sending their hospitality unit to the Mondello race meetings as well as some of their latest models for display. Erik Holstein did a last minute deal to join the series with Murray Motorsport and was always going to be hard to beat. A massive shunt at Bishopscourt and a few other niggles made it hard work though and he didn’t clinch the title until the last round. He understands the commercial end too and having attracted backing from Enniscorthy Motor Company, attended the National Ploughing Championships with his title winning machine and competed in the Maxol Fuel Economy run in the new SEAT Ateca too. Rod McGovern was in contention until the end, his Mick Merrigan tended machine always at the sharp end. Niall Quinn was in the title hunt too, despite missing a few rounds

Mollett, Barrable and O’Brien in lrish Sportscars

mid season and his family tended machine running on a shoestring budget. Dave O’Brien made a few appearances in the John Farrelly car, unsurprisingly being right on the pace too. Jonathan Fildes also dovetailed his BOSS commitments with a campaign with Murray Motorsport and Rob Butler also ran in the series with the same team, an inspired tyre choice earning him pole in Bishopscourt.

His season ended badly though, a massive shunt with Fildes in difficult conditions ending both of their seasons.

Peter “Max” Drennan took yet

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Mondello review

few years and in 2016 they made genuine progress and ran a close competitive championship. Paul O’Brien took the honours but had to work hard all year as James Holman and Niki Meredith were right there too- both claiming wins during the year. Former Punto front runner Ian Conroy also went well, his machine always beautifully presented.

Des Foley went well before disappearing from the grids later in the year.

Alan Watkins claimed the Irish Sportscar (formerly Strykers) title once again- blending speed with consistency en route to his eighth class title! Both Dave and Bill Griffin gave him trouble on occasion but neither showed the consistency to challenge for the crown! The evergreen Des Bruton made a welcome return to the class. Des makes no allowances for age and has lost none of his speed as he showed, taking three wins en route to second in the standings. Roger Welaratne was third ahead of Mike Ward and Des Meehan.

The season ended with the aforementioned Fiesta 6 Hour Race- a hugely popular event with

Legends Champion Paul O’Brien another Reeltech Global GT Lights title, generally being the pace of the class. A maiden win for Conor Farrell when the class visited Anglesey upped his confidence though, and he challenged Drennan hard on a few occasions after this. An impressive win in difficult conditions at Bishopscourt helped Ivor Miller to third in the title standings with Michael Conway in fourth, having taken the win at the final race of the year at Mondello. ITCC racer Nicole Drought also debuted in this class in Anglesey, qualifying second and finishing fourth, and Jake Byrne also returned to the class for a cameo, sharing the wins with Drennan on the day.

The organisers of the Irish Legends series have worked hard to promote the class over the last

packed girds and drivers from almost every other class involved.

Unfortunately fog prevented a restart after a shunt triggered a red flag but it was still a hugely enjoyable event. The Blackchurch Team of Kevin Doran, Shane McFadden and Sean Lillis didn’t pit during the pre red flag safety car period and were leading on countback, giving them the win- an incredible achievement considering they started at the back and were down a lap at one stage too. Mondello management have said they may run this race earlier in the year in 2017 and competitors have even been suggesting a three round Endurance mini championship.

Get out there and buy a Zetec Fiesta now guys!

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Adam Carroll signs for Jaguar Formula E Racing

F

ormer A1GP World Champion Adam Carroll will race for the Panasonic Jaguar Racing Formula E team in the 2016/2017 series.

Panasonic Jaguar Racing will compete in the third FIA Formula E season with the first all-electric Jaguar racing car in history: the I-TYPE 1.

At the launch event at the

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Jaguar Collection Centre, the new I-TYPE 1 made a dramatic debut driven by the team’s official reserve driver Ho-Pin Tung and outlining the brands commitment to ‘Race To Innovate’ - a mission to change the perception of electric vehicles, to develop new electric technology and to inspire future generations.

In addition, Jaguar revealed an exciting race driver line-up with Portadown’s Adam Carroll confirmed to drive the I-TYPE 1 in the team’s inaugural season.

This driver line up will spearhead Jaguar’s return to top-level racing.

Jaguar detailed its partnership with Panasonic that will see the leading electronics and automotive technology company partner with the Jaguar Racing Formula E team to develop a future that promises to push the boundaries of electric technology in a performance environment. In addition, Jaguar

was pleased to announce Lear Corporation will join the team as an Official Team Partner.

Adam (33) brings speed and experience to Jaguar in a career that spans karting, F3, GP2, A1GP, IndyCar and WEC. He has also successfully carried out the bulk of Panasonic Jaguar’s Formula E testing duties.

Adam Carroll said: “It’s a real privilege to be racing for Jaguar in Formula E. You only have to look at the calibre of the other drivers in the series to see the level of competitiveness and prestige that this championship now has. To drive for Jaguar is also a dream come true. They are the biggest brand to come into the series and one of the most evocative names in racing.”

I

t is clear Charlie Eastwood is a man currently living his dream.

While talking to the 21-yearold, he is on his way to Porsche’s Human Performance Centre at Silverstone for a training session.

As Eastwood puts it, “not a bad location for a gym.”

Moving over to Northampton five months ago to be closer to Porsche Motorsport HQ, Eastwood left his native Four Winds to further his Porsche powered adventure.

His ambitions are clear and Eastwood leaves no doubt that this is where he needs to be, “Motorsport is all about connections. There are a lot more opportunities over here.

No matter what happens with Porsche I can see myself living here for at least the next five years.”

Eastwood is now firmly on

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Charlie Eastwood one of the top stars in the 2016 Porsche Carrera Cup

Porsche Motorsport’s roster after winning the Carrera Cup GB Scholarship at the end of last year. The scholarship gives Eastwood a two-year deal to run in the Carrera Cup alongside the British Touring Car Championship, as well as the perks of racing at Silverstone on the Formula One and World Endurance Championship packages.

“Josh won the championship in year one but for sure it wasn’t as competitive,” dismisses Eastwood, “In his second year I think it sort of showed when he could only finish third. We just wanted to do our own thing and it is quite nice knowing that we have a two-year contract.”

He immediately set out a plan for the two years, aiming for the Rookie Cup in year before turning his attentions on the Carrera Cup GB title the following year.

Ahead of the season, there were challenges that faced Eastwood. This would be his first race season outside of a single seater car, and he admits

After the success of previous Porsche Carrera Cup scholarship winner Josh Webster, who won the championship in his first year, you could have been forgiven for thinking that Eastwood would have felt pressure for having to follow in Webster’s footsteps.

The truth is quite the opposite, Porsche’s two-year programme has allowed Eastwood to find his feet knowing that his Porsche career isn’t make or break in year one.

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that stepping into the world of Porsche racing was a challenge, “It involved quite a different style of driving. The Porsche is nearly double the weight of the single seater and without aerodynamics you have to use a lot more of the mechanical grip.

“The big thing for me was adapting to the brakes. There was a lot of weight over the rear wheels as it is a rear engine car.

That would mean that the front wheels would really lock up quite easily as there is no ABS and that is what we were really working at from the very start.

He was so dominant that he sealed the title with three rounds to go. Mission accomplished.

It was the ease that Eastwood walked to the rookie title that was most impressive. The other first timers couldn’t get near him. However, when he crossed the line at Silverstone he hadn’t realised that he has sealed the crown.

“I didn’t actually know that I

but I probably had one of my best races of the year, coming from eleventh to finish in third. I was so happy that I had managed to get on the podium that I had to be told that I had won the Rookie Cup!” As many have found over the years, racing against Dan Cammish can be a difficult task at the best of times. He won all 24 races he entered in the 2013 Formula Ford championship,

Eastwood was a class apart from the other rookie drivers, taking an astounding 14 Rookie Cup wins throughout the season.

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“Every single race we went to we learnt so much,” Eastwood admits, “experience helped him and of course there was times he was very quick but I just used it as a target. I knew if I just kept chipping away with the aim of being able of beat him by the end of the year.”

And beat him he did. In the final round of the year at Brands Hatch, Eastwood put his Redline Racing Porsche on pole position.

He converted it into a dominant win, taking the chequered flag 1.3 seconds ahead of the rest of the field. He would then go on to take a podium in the final race of the year, finishing in third place.

“We were there or there abouts in pre-season testing. It is difficult in the Porsche to find that tenth or two of performance.

We definitely stepped up and managed to get that last bit of pace out of the car. In the Porsche you can gain or lose a lot of time if technically you do not know what to do with the car which means it is quite rewarding in that sense when you do get it right.”

“We were getting the rookie wins pretty quickly,” he recalls, “You always want that bit more so we were chasing to get into the top three of the Pro category.”

advantage, “He provided a baseline from the very start. We worked together a lot to get the techniques right as quick as possible so we could hit the ground running.”

had done it,” he laughs, “I had brake trouble in qualifying which meant that I could only qualify eleventh. Silverstone is a hard track to pass on and we knew that it would be a very difficult race.

“At no point did we ever think about the Rookie Championship,

taking the title with ease. Again, in the 2015 Carrera Cup, he took 11 wins and with that another title. Cammish was the man to beat.

Instead of hiding away from the challenge his team mate possessed, Eastwood took the positives and used it to his

“It was such a relief sealing the Rookie Cup as that was our goal for the year,” he recalls, “We could push the boat out to get the win because the championship was sealed up.

We didn’t have to hold back and think about the championship and we just decided to go for it!

“Brands Hatch got a monkey off our back. I was just so happy that I could get pole and convert it into a win. Qualifying on pole in the wet and winning the dry

showed that we could be quick in any conditions so without doubt that was the highlight.”

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“Winning in the last round makes the winter a lot shorter,” Eastwood believes, you can sense his confidence is soaring as he is itching to get back into the car in 2017, “Knowing that you are able to win gives me a massive boost heading into next year.

“Even if Dan [Cammish] is there or not I’m not overly bothered. I really do think that we can push for the championship either way. I’m feeling pretty confident heading into next year and I just really want to get going with it to be honest!”

One of the perks that the Porsche scholarship provides is the opportunity to race on the support categories of some of motorsport’s most prestigious series. Eastwood raced to a top-10 finish in the Formula One support series, the Porsche Supercup. However, it was racing under the banner of the World Endurance Championship, a series in which Porsche are the reigning LMP1 champions, that impressed Eastwood the most.

“It gives you a real insight into what can happen if it all goes right and it gives you a real

buzz,” he gleams, “You still have to go out and do the same job no matter what happens in the paddock.”

Eastwood was able to transfer the excitement that surrounds the WEC paddock onto the track as he recorded a maiden podium in his third Carrera Cup race. He then backed his pace up as he scored a second podium in as many days around the home of British motorsport. Impressive stuff for a rookie.

His successful debut season,

where he netted 10 podiums from 16 races, also created a new long term goal for Eastwood, who now has his sights firmly fixed up upon where he would like to continue his racing career: “Porsche look after their junior and scholar drivers very well. At the end of next year there is a shootout for the drivers on the junior programme which gets you a drive in the Porsche Super Cup, so that would be the next step for me.

“I would love to keep moving

up the ladder but we will just see how it all goes. So much of it is performance related so we need to keep making sure that we keep getting the results and keep making an impression.”

If the season past is anything to go by, Eastwood is on track to keep making the right noises among the Porsche hierarchy.

With confidence at an alltime high, and with Eastwood continuing to learn and improve round on round, it is very possible that Northern Ireland could have another champion in twelve months’ time.

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Wayne Boyd: Around for the Long Game

By Andy Gray @AndyGrayNI

A

fter a tough few years without a full time drive, Wayne Boyd finally was offered the chance that he had been craving for so long. In February, the Templepatrick driver signed with United Autosports for a full season in their debut LMP3 campaign in the European Le Mans Series.

“It all came together quite quickly really,” Boyd recollects, “I did a test in the Ligier at

Magny-Cours and it was a bit of an audition really to make sure the team were happy with me. It also gave me the chance to make sure it was the path I wanted to go down.

“The last few years have been very frustrating not having a full time seat. It was the usual story in motorsport of not having the funds to get a deal together.

However, a few years without a full time seat to jumping into

the European Le Mans series was definitely worth the wait!”

2016 was a year of adapting for the County Antrim driver.

Boyd’s pace has never been in doubt, the fact that he is one of only a handful of drivers to win the prestigious Formula Ford festival twice highlights this.

This season allowed him to explore a new style of driving, a chance to prove he has the

versatility to match the undoubted raw pace. Endurance racing is a different beast compared to single seater racing.

It has a team aspect to it for a start, every lap you drive in the car you also drive for your team mates. You win together and you lose together.

As Boyd was to discover, the transition from single seaters to a LMP3 car is not the smoothest of rides. You have to pace yourself, driving in a marathon and not a mad sprint.

“The car isn’t actually that hard to drive,” says Boyd, “Once I managed to get my head round the speed and grip I found the car to be quite forgiving and comfortable to drive.

“I did not feel entirely comfortable for the first two laps, but as the first test day went on I really got the hang of it. The team had a great test schedule in place to get us up to speed.”

After being impressed with the car and getting to grips with the new challenges, Boyd and his team mates had only one thing on their minds, “Mark Patterson and Matt Bell and I all showed very strong pace and after we had done a few tests together our aim

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was to compete for race wins.”

The season got off to a fast start for Boyd and his team mates, bringing the #3 car home in second place. In doing so he created a piece of history, with United Autosports scoring a 1-2 on their debut in the ELMS. “It felt amazing to get on the podium at the first round,” Boyd beams as he looks back on one of his season highlights, “it a very special team 1-2. They deserved so much after all the hard work they had done over the winter.

“Getting a podium in endurance racing is tough,” he continues, “it is a proper team effort and everyone has to be on top of their game.”

Despite the positive start with the team, issues began to creep in throughout the following rounds.

With so few races to build a championship challenge, Boyd and his team mates were swiftly placed on the back foot.

Despite qualifying the car on pole position, nature was to show its hand at Imola. This ruined any chance of the #3 car capitalizing on Boyd’s stunning pole lap, “It wasn’t meant to be, the rain was so heavy that the race was under full course yellow for the final hour so I couldn’t improve our position throughout my stint.”

In the following rounds in Austria and France, more bad luck was to come the 26-year-old’s way, “We were hit from behind at

the Red Bull Ring which gave us a puncture. We also had to change the rear light cluster which meant that we lost three laps.

“Then at Paul Ricard we had an engine failure in Free Practice Two. Despite the top effort from the lads we missed qualifying and to add insult to injury we had a two-minute stop and go penalty for changing the engine.”

While the illusive win remained out of reach, when trouble free the #3 car was a front runner. At the fearsome Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium, Boyd, in his first opening stint of an endurance race, survived an early scare as he had to take extreme avoiding action to avoid a slow starter ahead.

Although it was not the cleanest of starts, Boyd’s strong recover helped to lead the team to third place and their second LMP3 podium of the season.

Better things were to follow at the ELMS season finale at Estoril.

The #3 car came home in second place, once again highlighting that when the car was problem free it could challenge at the front.

Despite the bad run of luck mid-season, the #3 LMP3 car’s strong finish to the season ensured that Boyd and his team finished fourth in category, an agonising three points off a podium spot in the class.

The end of the ELMS season did not mark the end of Boyd’s track time in 2016. He impressed

the bosses at United Autosports so much that he was called up to drive in the inaugural race of the Protoype Cup at Snetterton.

Continuing with his impressive form he crossed the line in third place, also setting the fastest lap of the race.

While the race was a one off for 2016, Boyd believes that it is one to watch next year, “Well, the team were running Jay Palmer and they suggested me to drive alongside him. That’s definitely a series that will take off next year, mega cars and good tracks all for a sensible budget.”

He then went on to compete at the Walter Hayes Trophy at Silverstone. It has previously been a favourite stomping ground for Boyd, who won the prestigious single seater trophy in 2014. While overall victory didn’t happen this time, Boyd still impressed by winning his heat.

Not bad for someone who had not been strapped into a single seater for 12 months.

“I have always loved driving in Formula Ford,” when Boyd speaks you can sense his passion for single seater racing, “we have a good relationship with Medina Sport as they are really good friends of ours and always put out an immaculate car. Unfortunately, the final didn’t go quite to plan but it was still a really enjoyable weekend!”

running pace in the Walter Hayes Trophy allowed Boyd to finish his racing on a high heading into the winter break.

So what does the future hold for the versatile racer? Boyd does not hide the direction he would like to take his racing career.

“I learnt a lot this year so it would be nice to put it all into practice next year,” he admits, “I have nothing sorted just yet but it would be brilliant to be back with United Autosports in a LMP3 car.

If we have a run of some good luck, I think we would have a shot at the championship!

“We have some exciting sponsorship opportunities for next year too. We have the chances to be on live TV with hospitality at the races and it is all geared to ensure I don’t have to spend another year on the sidelines!”

United Autosports recently announced the purchase of an Ligier LMP2 car, which they will be competing with at the 2017 Le Mans 24 Hours race. While driver plans for the famous endurance assault have yet to be confirmed, Boyd cannot help but confess that he would love to be involved with United Autosport’s LMP2 project: “It would be unbelievable to do Le Mans,” he admits, “it would be a dream come true. I will say my prayers and we will see what happens!”

Two podiums in the final two ELMS rounds, a second place in the Prototype Cup and some front

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Q&A with Chris Smiley

Name: Chris Smiley Date of birth: 6/4/1992 (24) From: Carrickfergus Racing profile: 2016 British Touring Car Championship, 2016 Renault Clio Cup 2014 VW Motorsport Driver Germany 2010-2013 MINI Challenge UK 2000-2009 Karting at a National Level Racing honours: 2006 BRDC Stars Of Tomorrow, British Championship Karting MINI Max 3rd Overall, Four Time Irish Kart GP Champion, All Ireland Golden Helmet Karting Champion 2006, Irish 0 Plate Champion. 2013 MINI Challenge JCW Champion and Driver off the year, Ginetta Junior Scholarship winner 2007, 2014 European VW Sirocco R Cup 4th Overall.

Off track: Occupation: Car Salesman at Eden Car Sales Carrickfergus Favourite way to relax: Going to the gym Training: I do a lot of Cardio and Mixed upper body workouts Favourite food: Anything Italian Favourite film: Catch Me If You Can Favourite music: Dance Favourite road car: Dear Santa... Lamborghini Huracan Favourite race car: V8 Supercar Racing hero: Valentino Rossi Describe your ideal road

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trip: From Belfast to Marbella in something very substantial If you could have a race in any city where would it be and why: Belfast because we have the most enthusiastic supporters in the world Twitter name: @ChrisSmiley22 On track: What age did you start racing: When I was seven I started racing mountain bikes and I was under eight Irish champion. I then moved into karting at the age of eight.

How did you get into racing: My Dad (Charlie Smiley) had a Motorbike racing team and won five North West 200’s and was British Champion with Woolsey Coulter in 1997. I wasn’t encouraged into the bikes and Dad opted for me to have a go on four wheels instead of two.

Earliest racing memory: Watching the North West 200 as a kid.

Most embarrassing racing moment: Would actually be this year at Snetterton at my first round in the Clio Cup. After qualifying 4th, I spun on the warm up lap on cold tyres but still managed to make my starting position thankfully!

What was your best ever race?: Winning The BTCC Support race (Mini Cooper Cup) at Knockhill in 2011. It was very special as it was the first race that I ever won that was broadcast live on TV! Favourite track: Spa in Belgium.

Best car you’ve driven: Porsche 911 Turbo S.

Should Northern Ireland have a BTCC race?: Of course we should!

We have a few circuits here that are more than capable of hosting an event of that size and I think it is sad that the motorsport fans of Ireland are very much deprived of a great touring car event.

What can you say about your 2017 plans: We are planning at the moment as to what we will do.

As everyone knows getting sponsorship on-board is the hardest and most frustrating part of motorsport. I have very loyal supporters and sponsors and we are aiming to be back in the BTCC Paddock next year in

a competitive package. We are working day and night to make this happen, the off season is the busiest and most stressful time of the year, it’s almost like a full time job.

T

he moment Daniel Harper crossed the finish line in first place at Donington Park was the moment the young Northern Irish schoolboy announced himself to the British racing scene.

“Winning at Donington was a massive shock to me and I’m sure for a few others too,” Harper admits, “I really did not think I could win in such a competitive championship so early. We had two solid podiums at Donington in the first two races, so heading into the final race I was confident that we could get a good result.

That win at Donington really boosted my confidence for the rest of the season.”

Talking to Harper, you can sense that confidence is key for the youngster. He by no means struggles if his confidence is low, however that extra sense of

belief can make him the fastest and most exciting driver in the championship.

the scholarship, there was only one thing on Harper’s mind, “My only focus was on the rookie

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championship! I had to really put up a fight for it throughout the year!”

One year ago, where he put his grasp on the Ginetta Junior Scholarship, was the beginning of a dream for Harper.

Competing on the prestigious TOCA package alongside the British Touring Car Championship, he had the opportunity make his mark on the British racing map.

After capturing

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Kicking off his motorsport journey by moving from quad bike racing to karts, Harper

relished the chance to take another step forward, “The Ginetta is a completely different

ball game than karting. There are so many more things to concentrate on. I really had to get

used to gears, mirrors, weight of the car! My first few tests were interesting with a few scary moments!”

With the early win at Donington putting the wind in his sails, Harper began his march towards the Rookie Cup title.

He began collecting Rookie podiums throughout the year, building a healthy margin over his rivals.

Harper’s biggest challenge was his first main setback in the series. “I would say the lowest point of the season was Oulton Park,” he recalls, “after testing and in the buildup to the weekend we were very confident of getting some strong results.”

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was a super result for the team!”

While the next few rounds were underwhelming for Harper, he rallied in style and was again standing on the top step of the overall podium at Snetterton.

“The win at Snetterton didn’t feel just as special as the first, but it was just as important,” he admits, “we had a couple of difficult rounds heading up to Snetterton, but the results there really kicked my confidence up again.”

In such a competitive one make series, becoming the top rookie is no mean feat. While other rookies charged at his crown in the last few races, Harper’s grasp on the Rookie Cup was too strong. He had achieved what he had set out to do.

Northern Ireland’s latest racing star had arrived.

Although overall wins may have dried up as the season progressed, Harper continued his march towards the Rookie Cup. “I did start feeling the pressure towards the end of the season,” he says, however Harper was able to prepare for the final rounds of the season in the best possible way, “my personal trainer, Emma McQuaid, was a massive help. She kept me focused and prepared for each weekend which was crucial.”

Harper finally managed to get over the line and become Rookie Champion with a ninth place finish in a tense season finale at Brands Hatch. It was testament to the driver that he had developed into as the year had progressed.

His ability to dig deep and grind out the results when it mattered ultimately brought him the championship that he craved.

Alongside his rookie crown, he also finished fifth in the overall championship which capped off an exceptional season.

The calibre of driver in the 2016 Ginetta Junior series highlights the impact that Harper has made on the Ginetta paddock. Despite having to battle off the attentions of his rivals, Harper finished on the Rookie podium 15 times throughout the season, an incredible effort from the County Down driver.

Alongside winning two races and collecting the rookie title, Harper has one more standout moment from his debut season, “Following my team mate, Stuart Middleton, home to a 1-2 finish at Croft was a real highlight. It

“My rival drivers congratulated me after winning the rookie championship,” says Harper, a move which highlights the camaraderie among the grid of young talents, “Everyone in the 2016 championship were brilliant guys and it was a pleasure competing against them.”

He embarked on the Ginetta Junior Winter Series at Brands Hatch, again under the Douglas Motorsport banner. Going into the event as one of the favourites, Harper flew to pole position in treacherous conditions. Wheel spin off the line dropped him down to third, however he underlined his pace by powering back to the front.

However, contact from a rival ruined his race as he was spun down to seventh. Not one to throw in the towel, he took two places in two laps to finish fifth.

A penalty would promote him to fourth. In the second race of the day he recovered from another poor start to cross the line in third.

Despite being the quickest driver, he missed out on a second pole position by a marginal 0.184 seconds. He was out-dragged to the line in the first race of the day, having to settle for second, before a third place finish rounded out his weekend. While third place in the Winter Series may not have been the target, he underlined that he will be the man to beat in 2017 with some scintillating pace.

Harper isn’t afraid to hide his ambitions for the 2017 season, “After a strong year in 2016, my mind is set on the Ginetta Junior title. I will be fitter and more prepared than ever to try and secure the championship 2017.”

The Ginetta paddock has been warned, Harper is on a mission. If he can continue the remarkable progress that he made throughout the season, 2017 could be a very exciting year indeed.

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Watson Joins McLaren

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he last Northern Irish driver to burst onto the Ginetta scene was Andrew Watson back in 2011.

It was after progressing into the Ginetta GT4 series where Watson really started to shine. After impressing in the paddock, he was picked up by motorsport giants McLaren, as well as being invited to join the prestigious British Racing Drivers’ Club Rising Star scheme.

Watson finished a credible 15th in his maiden season with McLaren in the 2015 British GT championship. He also won his maiden GT3 race in Malaysia at the end of 2015, not a bad way to end the year.

Watson was then selected for the McLaren GT Young Driver Programme for 2016.

Racing in the Blancpain Endurance Series, he continued to make his mark in the GT paddock, so much so, he was called up by McLaren to race in the Blancpain Sprint Series at the Circuit de Catalunya.

The talented 21-year-old talks to CarSport about his season: “Since this time last year I’ve been to Malaysia, Australia and all over Europe. Looking back, I just feel very lucky to be able to travel the world. I’ve seen some incredible things, I’ve had a lot of laughs with some great people and best of all I’ve got to drive a McLaren GT3 car!

“The season highlight for me has to be racing at the Bathurst 12-hour race in February. It’s the best track in the world without a doubt, mess up and you’re in the wall.

It isn’t like a lot of tracks today.

By Andy Gray

Although he was often running at the front, Harper’s ‘never say die’ attitude to racing would sometimes do him more harm than good. Despite the optimism from Harper and his Douglas Motorsport team, the weekend at Oulton did not go to plan. Two retirements in the three races were a hit in his challenge for the Rookie Cup.

It might sound weird, but they can get boring after a while.

You can’t rest for a split second in Bathurst.

“I had really strong pace all weekend. We qualified fifth, got up to third then my team mate, Rob Bell, was taken out which meant we lost a few laps in the garage. We still finished eighth and without the Bentley smashing us up I think we would of been on for a podium!

“The low point was probably the last Blancpain Endurance round at the Nurburgring.

It was wet but drying out throughout qualifying. I decided to go to slicks early and was making it work but I got traffic on my best lap. We should have started eighth which would have been nice, but a wandering Ferrari meant we started down in 22nd place.

“I made a good start, we had worked our way up to inside the top 20 and we even moved past my team mates who were in full factory car. I ran wide and a wheel touched the AstroTurf and before I even thought about correcting it I snapped head on into the wall at about 90mph. It was a huge impact and I can definitely tell you concrete walls don’t move.

“My goal for next year is to get into the full factory car and go for the Blancpain series title. Other than that I want to go back to winning some races. This year hasn’t been filled with silverware by any stretch of the imagination, so I want to go back to standing on the podium and collecting trophies again!”

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By Angus Frazer

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Ekstrom has the X Factor!

Photos: Lukas Stelmaszyk

World RX Champion Mattias Ekstrom

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eet Sweden’s Mattias Ekström, the newly crowned 2016 FIA World Rallycross Champion. Ekström is also an accomplished rally driver, but he came to prominence by winning the Swedish Touring Car Championship in 1999 in an Audi A4. Driving the Audi S1 EKS RX quattro on the world’s rallycross circuits isn’t even his day job. He also competes in the DTM, the world’s fastest touring car series, which he won with Audi in 2004 and 2007 and is a three times winner of the Race of Champions.

‘My father used to compete in rallycross in the 1980s. I remember when he finished on the podium and I had a little sip of his celebration drink. As it was

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Sweden it wasn’t champagne, but some sort of health drink.’ ‘ When I was 11 my cousin and I learnt to drive in an old car around a field near our house.

It was good in the countryside – not so many policemen. I started go-kart racing in 1993, a very low category, just a try out to see, but that was the beginning of the journewy and the big step was winning the Swedish Touring Car Championship with Audi back in 1999.’

‘EKS is my own rallycross team and it allows me to live my dream, to have the best possible car with a lot of power. Audi allowed me to do it and I had some support from Audi Sport. But it is not an

Audi operation.’

‘The good old days when guys like Stig Blomqvist, and Walter Röhrl drove the Group B Audi S1 rally car – that is where my passion comes from. I have been fortunate enough to drive the original S1, which had similar power to my S1 EKS RX quattro rallycross car. But with my car the handling is obviously light years ahead.’

‘Being able to drive both in the DTM and Rallycross is incredible because I have the best of two of the highest level motorsports in the world. There is a big difference in driving styles, but each helps the other.

On the track I try to treat everybody the way I get treated.

Sometimes when you are on the last lap you have to decide how you want to win, but I prefer to win the hard and the fair way so that the competitors should congratulate me as well as the spectators. In the early days I was bit more rough but I feel that I am becoming more and more an aggressive gentleman than a crazy youngster. It is all about is trying to keep your respect for your competitors.

I always feel pressure because I build it upon myself and it doesn’t matter if it’s a qualifier or a final.

But when it’s crunch time, I’m completely focused. I learned how to conquer nervousness from Colin McRae. I met him at

By Angus Frazer

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Ekstrom faced ooposition from Sebastian Loeb in his Pougeot 208 Rally Sweden and he explained to me how to handle it. That Colin McRae trick makes me look boringly calm, but be sure that it has made a big different inside.

I will never forget Michael Schumacher’s words when we went to the press conference, after I took the victory for the first time against him in the 2007 Race of Champions. He told me that you have to know when you deserve to win and when you deserve to lose. Today, he added, you have beaten me fair and square. I had goose bumps for a really long time, but today I know what he meant, because you don’t want to win without anybody clapping his hands.

When I crossed the line to win the World Rallycross Championship and the guys were screaming on the radio that we did it, I couldn’t believe it, because I thought my drive wasn’t enough. But then the pit lane

reporter Neil Cole came with his microphone to do the interview with me and I realized what had happened. It took maybe 5 or 10 seconds and it felt like electricity in my whole body. I turned from an adrenaline over-pumped guy

to a sentimental little boy. That was a weird feeling, in a way I never felt before. But half an hour later, I started to enjoy it.

I’m not that big a party boy.

My plan was to have some good

food, drink two shandies and go to bed. But it didn’t go as planned. We celebrated until 3.30 a.m. and yes, I had my shandy, but also red wine, Gin & Tonic, beer … When I went to bed, my head was spinning.

Mattias Ekstorm in Action

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PLEASED TO SPONSOR ROBIN LYONS IN THE WINNING TEAM CarSport

NI team wins 2016 Ken Wharton Team Trophy

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by raymond donaldson Photo: Trevor Foster

Mark King on the start line

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he Ken Wharton Memorial International Autotest is organised each year by the Hagley and District Light Car Club. Teams representing England, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Scotland and

Wales are invited to compete.

The event, again based at the Arrow Mill Hotel, Alcester in Warwickshire, followed the now traditional format of one test site with only one car competing at a time.

The running order is decided by a draw and this year England led from Scotland, N.Ireland, Republic of Ireland and Wales.

The first test saw a close contest with NI emerging 0.9 seconds ahead of ROI, with England a

further 6.8 seconds in arrears followed by Scotland and Wales.

The ROI team took the advantage in the second test to lead NI by 2.1 seconds with the remaining places unchanged. Test 3 saw the ROI lead trimmed to just 1.3

The NI team celebrating victory

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Paul Blair seconds as the test layout was changed for tests 4 and 5.

NI suffered a 5 second penalty on test 4 allowing ROI to finish that test with a 3.3 second lead.

Scotland had taken advantage of a failed test by England to move into third, England dropped to fourth and Wales remained fifth.

It was the ROI team’s turn to suffer a penalty in test 5 and again in test 6, leaving NI going into the final test with a 4.7 second lead. With penalties for line faults and cones attracting a 5 second penalty each, tensions were high and the result could

still go any way.

With NI running ahead of the ROI team the ROI competitors could study the NI performance.

The first car to run was the Mini Saloon of Robin Lyons, followed

by Eamonn Byrne. The clocks showed an ROI advantage of 0.5 seconds, the advantage now reduced to 4.2 seconds. Next to run was Mark King with David Thompson in hot pursuit, Thompson reducing the NI lead to 1.1 seconds. Next up was Paul Blair and Timmy Lynch and this test was to decide the event result. Timmy suffered cruel

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02/12/2016 17:12

Paul Mooney luck when his gear lever broke in the middle of the test and because he was unable to finish

Timmy had driven the best event of his Autotest career and kept his team in with a winning chance.

Robin Lyons in the Geoghegan sponsored Mini the test had to take a 20second penalty. Unless NI suffered a similar fate the result was decided in NI favour.

The record book will show the NI team, Robin Lyons, Mark King, Paul Blair and Paul Mooney won by 20.3 seconds but really this result could have gone either way.

England had regained third place with Scotland and Wales fourth and fifth consecutively.

The Driver of the Day had to be Timmy Lynch. Before his unfortunate mechanical failure

Although there is no award for FTD Peter Grimes had the honour of finishing first overall ahead of the best drivers in the UK and Ireland.

This was probably one of, if not the closest battle for many years.

Congratulations to the NI team for their fifth consecutive victory, continuing the NI domination of this prestigious event.

Commiserations to the ROI team, Eamonn Byrne, David Thompson, Timmy Lynch and Guy Foster after such a well driven event.

2016 ANICC AUTOTEST CHAMPIONSHIP Autotesting has seen some dramatic changes in the last few years. Developments in cars and in particular tyre technology has allowed the Rear wheel drive Stryker and Westfield Sports Cars to compete with the Mini Specials which have dominated the sport for so many years.

Many competitors and observers were of the opinion that the Mini Special reign had come to an end with the unavailability of competitive tyres one of the main difficulties. But the continuing development in the sport has produced what most see as the next generation of cars, a Mini Special with Vauxhall engine and transmission, raise the level yet again. The first of these cars has been built and developed by Paul Mooney, his car ready for the first round of the championship, and by mid season multiple champion Steven Ferguson had added his version to the entry list.

The 2017 championship was sponsored by Sam Bowden Garage Services, Sam one of the most successful drivers ever to compete in the sport.

Ten events counted toward the championship with competitors able to drop their two lowest scores.

The season opener organised by the Autotest Drivers Club at Craigavon saw Paul Blair in his Stryker continue his winning ways with Peter Grimes Mini Special a close second. David Thompson brought his Nova into third overall ahead of some stiff opposition, undoubtedly winning the Driver of the Day award for his efforts.

Paul Mooney didn’t have the start he expected in his Vauxhall Mini Special, and a series of mechanical woes and penalties left him in tenth place.

Steven Ferguson, who had missed the first round, won the second at Dungannon but with Paul Blair and Peter Grimes taking the next two places no one was edging ahead in the championship. The third round, at MG Car Club saw yet another different winner with Ashley Lamont bringing his Cosworth Westfield in first ahead of Paul Mooney and Robin Lyons in his Mini Saloon.

The Ulster Automobile Club organised the fourth round and a win here, followed by wins at Enniskillen and Coleraine was to see Mooney’s points tally improve dramatically, but Paul Blair and Peter Grimes were snapping at his heels with consistent results.

Peter Grimes narrowed the gap with a fine win at Omagh ahead of Paul Mooney and Robin Lyons who continues to keep the Specials on their toes in his Mini Saloon. Steven Ferguson brought is Vauxhall Mini Special out for

the first time but some teething problems saw him well down from his usual placings.

Blair and Ferguson won the Larne and the second Coleraine events to leave a thrilling end to the season with Paul Blair and Paul Mooney both able to win the title, Blair needing a win but if Mooney was second overall the title would be his.

And what a finale!! Mooney failed the first test and then had a penalty on the third. He was in 16th place and trailed first place by over 25 seconds and second place by 21seconds. On the second lap after six tests Mooney had made some progress but was still 21 seconds behind Blair and 17 away from Steven Ferguson in second. The third lap saw a change in fortunes with penalties and mechanical failures for Ashley Lamont, Peter Grimes and Robin Lyons allowing Mooney to finish the ninth test still 21 seconds behind Blair but only 3.2 seconds behind Peter Grimes in second.

Blair’s advantage over Mooney was over 21 seconds after 9 tests but Mooney’s focus was on getting into second. Test 10 reduced the margin to second place to 1.9 seconds and this was further reduced to 1.1 after the eleventh! The season and the championship came down to the last test at the last event. It can’t get any closer. In the end second place and the championship was decided when Peter Grimes shaved a pylon when reversing and the resulting 5 second penalty meant Mooney slipped into second overall and won the 2017 NI Autotest Championship.

While all the action went on for overall honours during the year there were also many class battles. Paul Mooney’s win meant he won Class A, with Peter Grimes and Steven Ferguson in second and third. Paul Blair won Class B for Sports Cars, ahead of Ashley Lamont and Tom Devaney who continues to climb the leader board. Robin Lyons again took Class C honours ahead of veteran Norman Ferguson and the ever improving James Mansfield. David Thompson added another Large Saloon title to his list of successes by winning Class D with Mark King, recovering from a serious illness, taking second and Jamie McMillan taking third and his best championship result to date.

For the statisticians, there were five different winners this season, four of the events were won by rear wheel drive cars, and six by front wheel drive. However only two of the front wheel drive wins came from the traditional Mini Specials with four from the Vauxhall version!

The organising clubs would like to thank the marshals and drivers for making 2016 a successful year and Sam Bowden Garage Services for sponsoring the Championship.

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Karting Report and Photos by James McCann

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he 2016 NI and Ulster Karting Championships provided yet another exciting season’s racing, further improving from the hugely exciting 2015 campaign. With various classes showing an increase in numbers, and with more and more drivers opting to complete every round of each series, it was certainly a year which was action packed from beginning to end.

The Ulster Karting Championship stuck to its traditional one circuit format for the 2016 season, running solely out of its home track at Nutts Corner in County Antrim.

The NI Championship however took a different approach to its series this season and streamlined the calendar, opting to run less rounds than in 2015 across the various circuits throughout Northern Ireland, hosting meetings at Bishopscourt in Downpatrick, County Down’s Kirkistown Circuit, as well as Nutts Corner. With many drivers competing in both the NI and Ulster Championships through the year, it was becoming more and more difficult for drivers to afford to compete in both, with many drivers in the past choosing at the mid way point of the season to focus solely on one series, which

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affected the number of entries at each round.

The shorter NI calendar this year however, gave drivers the opportunity to continue racing in both championships, but also made it more affordable for them to do so. This in turn kept the entries up for both championships, and helped each series to continue running throughout the year, and continue to provide some top class action for the spectators who attended.

With the introduction of the Bambino class for the 2016 season, it was yet another series of entertaining racing, with a number of the drivers battling for the top spot at each meeting of the campaign. Run using a time trial format, the young drivers had plenty of time out on the circuit to find some clear track and show the spectators

their skills.

It is a great way to get kids interested in the sport of Karting, and no doubt will continue to grow over the course of the next few years. The Cadet class was once again separated into the IAME and Honda classes, to once again reward the drivers of each Kart with their respected championships. In the IAME Cadet class TJ McDonnell, who teamed up with the CRG Kart Ireland team, put in an excellent performance over the course

of the season to retain his title from 2015, and became the only driver in 2016 to keep hold of the crown from the previous year.

However it wasn’t without competition, as Pearse Murtagh and Peadar O’Boyle put up a brave fight in trying to stop McDonnell, however it wasn’t to be as McDonnell took the title by sixty-eight points in the end. However, it was a close batter between Murtagh and O’Boyle for the second spot on the championship podium, with

just seven points separating the two at the end of the campaign, with Murtagh coming out on top.

off an impressive campaign by claiming second position in the Ulster standings to go

TJ McDonnell made it a double in 2016, not only lifting the NI title, but also claiming the Ulster

alongside his second position in the NI series. Zack Rodgers impressed during the Ulster

crown, capping off a fantastic year for the young driver.

Pearse Murtagh also capped

championship this season, racking up a consistent run of podium finishes to secure the final step

on the championship podium, finishing the season in third position. The Honda Cadet class was a slightly closer affair, but it was an impressive season for young Nicholas Wilkinson who took home the title. Doing so he followed in the wheel-tracks of both his father and grandfather in becoming a NI Karting Champion. This achievement was also made extra special for the Wilkinson family because it was also the first time ever in the history of the championship that three generations of the same family could call themselves NI Champions. Again however he wasn’t without his challengers, with Lewis Duff capping off a solid season, finishing just 37 points behind Wilkinson in the chase for the title. Robert Orr completed the championship podium by taking third place, holding off young Gavin Dewart, who had an extremely impressive debut season in the class.

Robert Orr went two positions better in this season’s Ulster championship, improving on his third position in the NI series to take the Ulster crown, getting the better of the NI champion of this year, Nicholas Wilkinson, who capped off a very impressive season, completing a 1-2 in the two championships he competed in this year.

Young Gavin Dewart also completed a great debut season in the Cadet class claiming the third step of the championship podium, adding some silverware to his collection, and no doubt setting himself up for a title challenge in 2017. After a difficult year in 2015, the Rotax Mini-Max class came back rejuvenated in 2016, with a large field of drivers, and some hugely competitive racing throughout the campaign.

Despite the larger entry in the class, nobody was able to catch young Nathan Glenn, who dominated the class from the first round of the season. Claiming the maximum number of points possible throughout the course of the campaign, to take the title by a comfortable one hundred and twelve point margin.

The battle for second in the championship however went right down the wire, with just four points separating Philip Patton and Yahya Houston, with Patton coming out the victor, to take second in the standings.

Nathan Glenn continued his fantastic run of form from the NI championship into the Ulster series, and claimed his second title of the year, capping off a brilliant season for the young driver from

Dungannon. Karl O’Brien capped off a solid season in the Ulster series, claiming second position in the championship, holding off the attack of Philip Patton who finished third in the overall standings.

The Rotax Senior-Max class also provided some top class racing as always over the course of the campaign, and it was Jack McConnell who came out on top, capping off a fantastic season that saw him lay claim to not only the NI title, but also the coveted “O Plate”, Motorsport Ireland title, as well as the Irish GP crown. With an impressive tally of 380 points, he finished the year comfortably on top ahead of Jack McGaughey in second on 334, with Mark McSwiggan rounding out the top three on 245 points, just 23 points ahead of David Irvine in fourth, who put up a good battle in trying to claim third spot.

The experienced Derek Wilson added even more silverware to his already impressive collection by claiming the top spot in the 2016 Ulster Senior Rotax Max series, holding off some top competition throughout the campaign. Jack McGaughey had a seriously impressive year having stepped up to the Senior class for the 2016 season, claiming second position in the championship standings, holding off Team Kart Sport’s Mark McSwiggan who claimed the final spot on the championship podium, in what was yet another fantastic years racing in the fastest of the nongearbox classes. Paul Prentice proved once again this year that he is the man to beat in the World Formula class, adding the 2016 NI tittle to his growing list of honours.

After a tough season long battle with Marc Vasey, Prentice finished the season on 385 points to take the title by a 39 point margin from Vasey in second.

Ten points was all that separated Neville Bell and Stefan Blakely in their battle for third, with Bell coming out on top to complete the championship podium. Neville Bell improved on his third place finish in the NI championship to take the Ulster crown this season, holding off the attack of Robert Devenney and Paul Prentice, who claimed second and third, respectively, in what was one of the most competitive classes throughout the entire field.

In the always impressive, and always competitive 125 Superkart championship, James Irvine was the man who came out on top, adding

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yet another title to his collection in what was the closest championship of the year, going right down to the final race of the year, with any of the top four drivers in with a shot of taking title. But it was Irvine who was able to close out the year on top and take the championship from Noel Lindsay in second, and Jonathan Bell rounding off the podium in what was a fantastic years racing.

James Irvine also came out on

racing throughout the year, as it always does, and this year it was Charles Craven came out on top, becoming the first driver from outside of the Island of Ireland to claim an NI title. It was an impressive season from the Englishman, beating 2015 champion Liam Fox to the crown, with Fox finishing in second, ahead of 250 regular Richard Dewart who also showed some great form at times during the season.

top in the Ulster championship this year, capping off a fantastic season for the experienced driver. Noel Lindsay also matched his position from the NI series, by claiming second position in the Ulster championship, with Brian Jones rounding out the championship podium in third position.

The 250 Superkart series also provided some fantastic

Alan Witherow claimed the Ulster title in the ultra competitive 250 Superkart class, getting the better of the experienced Richard Dewart, who provided some serious competition throughout the year, and was very unlucky not to claim the title himself. Rounding off the championship podium was Colin Menary who had a very solid season, getting the better of some

top class drivers along the way.

All in all it was yet another brilliant season of Karting action in both the NI and Ulster Karting Championships, and will no doubt be plenty more to come in

2017, as hopefully the entries will continue to rise, and even more spectators continue to attend the races, and support the clubs who continue to keep Karting alive throughout Ulster and NI.

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“Top of the World Ma !”

Photos: Trevor Foster / Harry Wilson

Johnathan Rea Celebrates another world title

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Double World Champion’.

‘One of the most complete riders in the world.’ ‘Best motorbike racer to come out of Ireland’.

“It’s going to take time to sink in” was Jonathan Rea’s typically understated response to the string of superlatives greeting him in the Qatar pitlane, the morning after he wrapped up the 2016 World Superbike title with one race still to run.

“Honestly it is more important than last year. We really had to work hard for it.”

The 29 year old Isle of Man based Ulsterman was referring of course to the fact that this year Kawasaki provided him with a brand new ZX10R design, with a new engine and chassis, and in so doing wiped away two seasons of factory racing data from thirteen racing circuits around the world, all gleaned from Rea’s 2015 championship winning machine. Winter testing had hinted at the potential of the new 2016 machine in Johnny’s hands, however the team faced a series of development issues right up to the mid-point of the season which hampered their championship assault.

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The 2015 and 2016 championship statistics perhaps tell the story best, with Rea winning just nine of this season’s 26 races compared to 14 last year. It is however a measure of his quality as a rider that he equalled his 2015 season tally of 23 podiums, while ‘riding around’ those early development issues and that’s what ultimately won him the title for the second year in a row.

For Rea it appears that World Championships are a bit like buses, for having spent sixloyal years at Honda building experience, speed and his reputation in the paddock, it was only with a reluctant move to Kawasaki for the 2015 season that his true potential has been realised in securing those back to back World Superbike titles.

Former team mate in the Honda years, Australian Andrew Pitt, reckons Rea’s Kawasaki move has proven “ he is now one of the most complete riders in the world”.

Jonathan’s achievement is more noteworthy when you consider he joined the Kawasaki set up in 2015 to partner Englishman

Tom Sykes, who had finished 1st & 2nd in the previous years’ championships on the factory Kawasaki bike and was chief development rider for the new 2016 machine.

With his double world titles Jonathan joins a long list of successful Irish motorbike riders, including his TT winning and multiple Irish championship winning father. On a world stage though his name now sits alongside 5 times World Champion Joey Dunlop and double World Champion Brian Reid, both of whom gained their reputations in road racing.

When pressed in an interview to declare Jonathan Rea as the greatest Northern Ireland motorbike racer of all time, Phillip McCallen responded “Joey is the greatest

rider on the roads and Jonathan our greatest rider on the circuits”.

Michael Dunlop

Michael Dunlop at NW 200

Jonathan Rea

Hutchinson and Dunlop racing hard at the Ulster GP

Hutchinson, Anstey and Dunlop at the Ulster GP

Away from the world’s racing circuits, the road racing scene has delivered another emotional rollercoaster of a year. The loss of young Malachi Mitchell Thomas and the dramatic images of Ryan Farquhar’s accident at the North West 200 prompted much uneducated commentary from casual obeservers outside of the sport, while strengthening resolve within it to continually review safety and medical support and respecting freedom of choice among competitors.

Our number one rider Michael Dunlop continues to grow in stature in this discipline, delivering key victories again at the Isle of Man TT in the face of possibly his strongest competition of recent seasons, namely Englishman Ian Hutchinson.

2015 gave us the first hint of a resurgent Hutchinson when he swept to TT victory on the lighter 600cc machines as he continued his lengthy recovery from injury.

12 months on and he has clearly benefitted from seat time and growing physical strength, as he and Dunlop left many of us speechless going mano a mano around the 37.7 mile circuit and smashing records at will in every class of racing.

Global television coverage and record numbers of European spectators have elevated TT race results to the ultimate benchmark of success for a motorcycle road racer’s season. With an encouraging North West 200 campaign in May aboard his favoured BMW 1000cc machinery, 27 year old Dunlop arrived on the island declaring “I’m here to win any race I’m in”. Actions speak louder than words though and when he smashed the outright lap record on lap 1 race 1 (the opening Superbike race), all memories of the 2015 Milwaukee Yamaha disaster were immediately erased.

Hutchinson bounced back with 3 victories in a row including both 600cc races which, when added to some verbal sparring between the pair as race week continued, had the hedgerows bristling with excitement for the blue riband Senior TT which wraps up race week. Michael couldn’t resist one final jibe on race morning, pointing out to all the media who would listen that it might be difficult for him on a privateer BMW machine to take on the factory supported BMW bike that Hutchinson was riding. A few hours later and Dunlop crossed the finish line 30 seconds clear of Hutchinson to clinch another race victory and in so doing record an average speed of 133.962 mph to become the fastest man ever around the 37.73 mile circuit.

“I wanted to show the other boys what I was made of today” was Michael’s comment before heading to the podium to collect his 13th TT trophy. He currently lies 6th in the overall tally of lifetime TT wins and just 1 victory behind Ian Hutchinson…for now. Roll on 2017 !

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While racing commentators around the world contemplate a Rea hat-trick and consider just how many titles he can amass before retirement, one man is already plotting his downfall.

Monaco based Ulsterman Eugene Laverty has spent the last 2 seasons sharing the Moto GP starting grid with Valentino Rossi, Marc Marquez and Jorge Lorenzo.

A 4th overall in Argentina this season, quickly followed by a 6th overall in Brno, showed the 30 year old Toomebridge man had every right to be there.

While Jonathan Rea’s Kawasaki ZX10R bears some resemblance to the showroom bikes of the same name, Moto GP bikes are pure development specials.

They are designed by the most creative engineers of the world’s major 2 wheel manufacturers to perform violently and to do so only on a racetrack. Laverty has spent the last 2 years at the Aspar Racing Team, initially with Honda machinery at his disposal before the team switched to Ducati for this season. His 77 points haul and championship 12th overall at the time of writing compares well to the 9 points amassed in his rookie season. However faced with the prospect of contesting a 2017 Moto GP season on the same Ducati ( read ‘out of date’) Eugene has set up a delicious prospect for local motorbike fans next season by switching to the same World Superbike series as Rea, riding a factory supported Aprilia RSV4.

Those of you with a good memory will recall that Eugene has been here before, recording 33 World Superbike victories between 2011 – 2014, culminating in the runner-up spot in the 2013 series while also on a factory Aprilia.

When quizzed on his decision to move Eugene’s response was simply “ During my 2 years in Moto GP I have learned a lot, I have improved as a rider. I’m returning (to World Superbikes) with one objective : to be world champion”

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That was 2016...

Photos: Roy Dempster / Trevor Foster / Fergal Kelly

January

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he Autosport Show got the year off to a glitzy start and Rob Duggan was announced as one of the Vauxhall Junior Drivers for 2016 at the show in the NEC, Birmingham. Colin Turkington also launched his BTCC campaign with the news that he would drive a Subaru

Sebastien Loeb and Daniel Elana finished ninth while Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz then took over the lead with just four days to go before they retired near the end of the event.

Kenny McKinstry and Kenny Hull got the year off to a great start by winning the Mid Antrim Motor Club’s Ice Breaker rally in

had a thrilling battle for two days of the Monte Carlo Rally. The lead changed hands a number of times with the pair pulling clear of the rest of the field. Meeke was forced to retire after a large rock came loose from the road and ripped off his sumpguard and damaged his gearbox leaving Ogier to cruise home to a fourth Monte victory. Ogier admitted the rally was effectively over once Meeke had retired.

Jonathan Pringle and Alan Keena won the Clanyre Hotel Donegal Mini Stages in their Escort with Ryan Loughran and James Carville second in a similar car.

The ANICC Motor Sport Award was presented to Kris Meeke at the annual prizegiving at the Armagh City Hotel. He received it in recognition of his 2015 Rally Argentina victory.

FEBRUARY Levorg in the championship.

Peugeot won the Dakar Rally on just its second participation in the South American event.

Exactly 25 years since his first victory (on a bike), StĂŠphane Peterhansel sealed his 12th Dakar success (six on a bike, and six in a car together with co-driver Jean-Paul Cottret.) Early leaders

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their S14 Impreza WRC. The New Year Stages at Kirkistown was won by Derek McGarrity and Keiron Graffin in a Fiesta WRC with Desi Henry / Liam Moynihan second in an R5 Fabia.

The stars of the rally were Kyle White and Sean Topping who were third in a Citroen C2R2.

Sebastien Ogier and Kris Meeke

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arry Jennings and Rory Kennedy won the Corrib Oil Galway Rally, leading from start to finish in the very wet conditions. Keith Cronin and Mikey Galvin were second in a Citroen DS3 R5 and took maximum Tarmac Championship points with Alastair Fisher / Gordon Noble third overall in their R5 Fiesta. Wesley Patterson won the Modified Class after a rally long battle with the BMW M1 of Eugene Meegan. Tim McNulty (Mini WRC), Declan Boyle (Fiesta WRC) and Declan Gallagher (Impreza WRC) all crashed out in the mucky conditions.

Driving for Bentley, Jonny Kane finished third overall in the Bathurst 12 Hours race in Australia.

Rally Sweden was all too reminiscent of Monte Carlo.

Ogier and Meeke battled for the lead of the rally until Kris hit a stone breaking his front

Stages in his R5 Fiesta, Patrick O’Brien was second in his Group N Mitsubishi Evo.

March

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suspension. Eventual winner Ogier, on the other hand, got away with a massive moment that saw him getting away with just a broken wheel. On day two of the rally, returning under SupeRally, Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle set the fastest overall times on the leg. Craig Breen made his Abu Dhabi Citroen WRC debut and he finished an impressive 8th, setting top three times in the process.

Chris Patterson partnered Khalid Al Qassimi to 19th overall and Eamon Boland and Micky Joe Morrissey also completed the rally shortened due to mild weather.

Haydon Paddon finished second for Hyundai.

Kenny McKinstry won the first round of the NI Rally Championship at Kirkistown.

McKinstry (S14 Impreza WRC) and Derek McGarrity were tied going into the last stage, but McGarrity’s Fiesta WRC developed a misfire on the stage allowing Kenny through to take victory.

Peadar Hurson was third in his S10 Impreza WRC. Sam Moffett won the W Loughman Memorial Forestry

he new R5 British Rally Championship kicked off with the Mid Wales Stages. Local hero Elfyn Evans won the rally in his Fiesta after a good battle with Fredrik Ahlin. Josh Moffett was top Irish finisher in sixth (Fiesta R5) with Jonny Greer eighth (DS3 R5), Keith Cronin ninth (DS3 R5) and the Skoda Fabia R5 of Desi Henry finished tenth overall.

Rally Mexico was another VW 1-2, only this time JariMatti Latvala won the event thanks mainly to his road position. Ogier, running first on the

road, was second overall with the Fiesta of Mads Ostberg third after Dani Sordo’s Hyundai was given a two minute penalty for using one tyre too many...

The first round of the Triton National Rally Championship was won by Garry Jennings and Rory Kennedy in their S12 Impreza.

Paedar Hurson was second and Niall Maguire third.

Donagh Kelly scored a hat trick of victories on the West Cork Rally. Partnered this time

by Conor Foley, the Focus WRC team led from start to finish.

Garry Jennings was their closest challenger, but he eventually finished third. Keith Cronin finished second and took maximum Tarmac Championship points after rival Alastair Fisher crashed out. David Guest won Group N, while Brian Brogan won the National Rally, Philip Wylie won the Historic Class and Fergus Hurley won the Juniors.

April

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he Circuit of Kerry was won

by Declan and Brian Boyle in their Fiesta WRC with Roy White and James O’Brien second in a similar car. Peadar Hurson

was third in his Impreza. Paul Barrett won Group N and Ryan Loughrey was top in the Modified Class.

Craig Breen and Scott Martin scored a back to back victory on the Circuit of Ireland driving a DGM prepared Citroen DS3 R5.

The rally was led initially by Elfyn Evans who retired his Fiesta when it shed a belt. Alastair Fisher and Gordon Noble took top Tarmac Championship points and Josh Moffett and John Rowan claimed top British Championship points.

The BTCC kicked off with Colin Turkington giving the new Subaru Levorg its debut. Despite the car only being finished a few days before, Colin scored points on the car’s debut.

Charlie Eastwood also made his debut in the Porsche Carrera Cup, winning the Rookie Class at Brands Hatch and just missing out on an overall podium place.

Haydon Paddon scored his debut WRC victory at Rally Argentina, giving Hyundai their second WRC victory. The rally ended in a thrilling battle between the Kiwi and Ogier, with Paddon taking the victory by 14 seconds on the last stage.

The Moffett brothers cleaned up at the Monaghan Rally, with Josh Moffett and Jason McKenna taking the win, with brother Sam, partnered

by James Fulton in the runners-up spot.

Jonathan Pringle was top Escort driver and Shane Maguire won Group N. Slyvie Mullins won the two rounds of the Irish Hillclimb Championship in Galway in his Gould GR37 Judd.

Donagh Kelly won the Killarney Rally of the Lakes.

Driving his Focus WRC and partnered by Conor Foley, he took the lead of the rally after Garry Jennings crashed out.

Alastair Fisher and Gordon Noble finished second, taking

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maximum Tarmac Championship points in the process. Sam Moffett was third and Stephen Wright fourth.

Eugene Meegan and Sara Whelan won the National event in their BMW M1 while David Guest won Group N. The Pirelli Carlisle Rally was won by Swede Fredrik Ahlin with Matt Wilson second. Early leader Elfyn Evans was third after he lost time with a puncture while Marty McCormack, Jonny Greer and Desi Henry took fifth, sixth and seventh spots. Rob Duggan won the Junior category in his Vauxhall Adam R2.

May

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ico Rosberg scored his fourth victory of the season at the Russian Grand Prix at Sochi. Lewis

Hamilton fought back from tenth on the grid to finish

second. Sebastien Vettel had two accidents with local hero Danil Kvyatt which prompted an expletive filled response from the Ferrari driver.

Marty McCormack won the McGeehan Motorsport Tour of the Sperrins in his S2000 Skoda

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Fabia with Derek McGeehan second. The event returned to forests again and on a wet day the slippery conditions caught out quite a few drivers including early leader Desi Henry (R5 Skoda) and Robert Moffett in his WRC Fiesta.

Former winner Derek McGarrity was penalised 10 minutes after his Fiesta WRC stopped at the SS1 start control.

A thrilling Spanish GP was won by 18 year old Max Verstappen who became the youngest ever winner of an F1 race. This was Max’s first race for Red Bull having been promoted to the team following Danil Kvyatt’s demotion to Torro Rosso after the Russian GP. He was greatly helped when Mercedes teammates Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg took each other out on the second corner. The Ferraris of Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastien Vettel

filled the podium places.

The Cavan Stages Rally was won by Monaghan’s Sam Moffett and his Bailieborough co-driver James Fulton (Ford Fiesta R5). They finished the nine stage rally 29.5 seconds ahead of the Clonmel/Cork pairing of Roy White/James O’Brien (Ford Fiesta WRC), who have extended their lead in the series to 15 points.

Monaghan’s Josh Moffett and his Antrim co-driver John Rowan (Ford Fiesta R5) were 46.1 seconds further behind in third.

Gary McPhillips/Paul Sheridan (Escort) were the top two-wheel drive crew. The Group N category was won by Aidan Wray/Kieran

McGrath (Mitsubishi). Early leader Declan Boyle retired his Fiesta WRC with alternator problems.

Lewis Hamilton came from third place on the grid to win a wet Monaco GP. Poleman Daniel Ricciardo was leading the race but lost 11 seconds in the pits waiting for his team to take the tyres out of the tyrewarmers...

June

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ortadown’s Colin Turkington gave Subaru their first ever BTCC victory when he put his Levorg on pole position and won race one at Oulton Park.

An eventful Donegal Rally was won by Manus Kelly/Donall Barrett (Subaru Impreza WRC) with Keith Cronin/Mikie Galvin (Citroen DS3 R5) just half a second behind.

Sam Moffett/Karl Atkinson (Ford Fiesta R5) were fourth and Josh Moffett/John Rowan (Ford Fiesta R5) fifth. David Bogie / Enda Sherry won the National Rally while Seamus O’Connell and Sean Magee won the Historics.

Garry Jennings was an early retirement with engine problems, while both Declan Boyle and Donagh Kelly led the event only to retire also.

The run of different winners of each round of the WRC continued

at Rally Italia in Sardinia where Belgian Thierry Neuville won the event in his Hyundai i20 WRC, beating Sebastien Ogier into second place.

Toyota Racing were leading the Le Mans 24 Hour race until the last lap when the car suddenly lost power allowing the second placed Porsche through to take victory.

Elfyn Evans won the Scottish Rally in his Dmack Tyres backed

and top placings in the BTCC in his Subaru Levorg while in the Porsche Supercup Charlie Eastwood took two second places at Snetterton while Daniel Harper also scored convincing victories in the Ginetta races.

JULY

AUGUST

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ewis Hamilton scored another victory at a wet and stormy British Grand Prix.

Elfyn Evans won the Nicky Grist

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lan McGeehan won the Dogleap Stages, leading home a McGeehan

second with Seamus O’Connell and Sean Magee third in their Escort.

Roy White clinched the Triton Showers National Rally Championship with second placed championship points at the Tipperary Stages Rally. Roy was co-driven by James O’Brien who now has won every major rally championship in Ireland.

The rally was won by Declan and Brian Boyle with Alastair Fisher

overall.

Elfyn Evans won the John Mulholland Motors Ulster Rally and with it, the British Rally Championship. The Welsh driver faced stiff opposition from the Modern Tyre Services Fiesta of Alistair Fisher and Gordon Noble as well as the Citroen DS3 of Keith Cronin and Mikie Galvin.

The Lakeland Stages Rally finished on tie break between the two Moffett brothers with Sam winning on the tie break. Josh was classified second with Mark Donnelly third in an Impreza WRC. Nico Rosberg won the Italian GP after polesitter Lewis Hamilton made a poor start but eventually finished second with the Ferrari of Sebastien Vettel third.

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R5 Fiesta with Tom Cave second. Desi Henry / Liam Moynihan brought their Skoda Fabia home in third with Jonny Greer/Kirsty Riddick fourth and fifth was Josh Moffett and John Rowan.

SEPTEMBER

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Stages.

Derek McGarrity and Diarmuld Falvey won the Tyrone Stages held over new roads around Benone beach. McGarrity took his Fiesta WRC to victory on the event which finished on the back at Benone ahead of Brendan Cumiskey in his R5 Fiesta and Emma McKinstry was third in her S14 Impreza WRC. Nico Rosberg faltered at the start of the German GP allowing Lewis Hamilton through to take another victory and a major lead in the F1 World Championship going into the summer break.

Daniel Ricciardo was second with Rosberg demoted to fourth having been deemed to have forced third placed Max Verstappen off the track.

History was made at Rally Finland when Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle won the rally, the first British or Irish team to do so. They produced a world class performance, leading from start to finish and were joined on the podium by Craig Breen and Scott Martin who finished third, also in a Citroen DS3.

To mark a memorable weekend for Irish motor sport, Colin Turkington scored a victory

Rallyhire Mini WRC 1-2.

Partnered by Niall Magee, Alan led from start to finish. Alan Carmichael and Ivor Lamont were

and Gordon Noble, testing for the Ulster, second. Josh Moffett and John Rowan were third while White / O’Brien finished fourth

he new British Rally Champion Elfyn Evans produced another strong drive to win Rally Isle of Man. Mark Higgins was second with Tom Cave third while Desi Henry and Liam Moynihan were an impressive fourth overall.

Rob Duggan won the Junior Championship.

Nico Rosberg won the Singapore GP to retake the lead of the F1 world championship.

Kris Meeke was right on Ogier’s tail on Day One of the Tour de Corse until a puncture dropped him back and then a wrong pacenote saw him clip a tree on Day Two. The Dungannon driver put in some fantastic times and won the Power Stage, while Ogier won the rally with Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville second.

Craig Breen finished fifth for Citroen, setting some top three times in the process.

Niall Murray won the Martin Donnelly Trophy at Kirkistown.

The Cork 20 Rally brought the Irish Tarmac Championship to an exciting finish with a three was battle for Championship honours. A fierce battle ensued between Alastair Fisher and Keith Cronin, but Fisher hit some mud and

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Donegal Harvest Stages in their Fiesta WRC. Camillis Bradley won the Down Rally in his Escort but third place was enough for Derek McGarrity to win a record seventh NI Rally Championship.

Sebastien Ogier won Rally Spain in dominant style and clinched his fourth World Rally Championship.

Lewis Hamilton won the US and Mexican Grand Prix to keep his title hopes alive.

Sebastien Ogier won Rally GB with Ott Tanak second. Kris Meeke was fifth and Craig Breen rolled out of the rally.

Shortly after the event came the

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put his R5 Fiesta into a field and out of the rally. Cronin won the Tarmac Championship while brothers Josh and Sam Moffett came home 1-2.

In the Singapore GP, Lewis Hamilton retired from the lead with a blown engine, leaving

third to extend his lead in the championship.

At the final round of the BTCC, Colin Turkington did all he could to try and win the Championship again and won two of the three races, but Honda’s ‘Flash’ Gordon Sheddon took the title. bombshell news that VW were to pull out of the World Rally Championship at the end of 2016, leaving Ogier, Mikkelsen and Latvala without drives for 2017…

Daniel Cronin, Keith’s younger brother, won the Fastnet Rally in a Mitsubishi Evo.

NOVEMBER

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the Red Bulls of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen to finish 1-2. After a first corner collision with Vettel, Nico Rosberg finished

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Porsche Supercup rookie Champion Charlie Eastwood won two of the three races outright, his first outright wins of the

season.

OCTOBER Declan and Brian Boyle won the Martin Howley Memorial

esi Henry and Liam Henry won the Glens of Antrim Rally in their Skoda Fabia R5 and with it the Valvoline Irish Forestry Championship. Early opposition came from Sam and Josh Moffett who both put their Fiestas off the road. Adrian Hetherington was second in his Toyota Corolla WRC and Ger Lucey was third.

R2 Fiesta series launched for 2017 Tarmac Championship

M

-Sport, in collaboration with the organisers of the Irish Tarmac Championship, will launch a one-make series in Ireland for the newly released regional specification Ford Fiesta R2.

Following on from the launch of the French Junior Rally Championship as well as a similar series in Belgium and further regions soon to follow, the concept is to offer drivers in Ireland a chance to pitch their driving skills head-to-head in identical cars over the course of the Clonakilty Blackpudding supported series.

The series will consist of six rounds of which the four best scorings will count towards championship points which are allocated as follows: 17 / 14 / 12 / 10 / 8 / 7 / 6 / 5 / 4 / 3. As the car is homologated, points can also be scored in class 2 of the ITRC 1 in accordance with regulations.

The technical specification of the car will be set by M-Sport and this will follow the newly launched Ford Fiesta R2 built specifically for regional championships.

The car kit – which is marketed under the name ‘R2 National’ – is based on the one-litre Ecoboost Ford Fiesta R2, but with standard engine and simpler Bilstein

suspension.

The regional specification Fiesta produces 155hp with 230Nm of torque. The kit uses the same chassis modification, Sadev sequential gearbox and Alcon brakes front and rear as the international specification, but is £9,000 cheaper at £20,998 + VAT (€24,475 EUR).

The regional kit is homologated into the R2 class and can easily be updated to full international specification at a cost of approximately £10,000 should it be required at a later date.

The ITRC Fiesta Sport Trophy will use a control tyre and the tyre specification and number of tyres available for each round will be determined by bulletin prior to the first round of the series.

M-Sport is in the process of developing the prize structure which will incorporate incentives for each round of the series.

Including a mixture of products and vouchers, further details will also be confirmed via bulletin.

M-Sport will be supporting each round and have a parts truck with essential spares and technical support available for both R2 and R5 customers to ensure each team achieves the best possible result from each event.

The overall prize will see the winner given a wild card entry to

contest the FST Shootout at M-Sport. Prize winners from all regional series will be invited to come to M-Sport where they will be tested on their driving skills, media savvy and physical fitness before being interviewed by M-Sport management.

The winner will then be given an opportunity to drive a round of the WRC in the Ford Fiesta R2 as part of the M-Sport team.

Fiesta R2 conversion kits are available now from M-Sport’s base in Krakow, Poland and anybody interested in this vehicle should contact Krzysztof Zuchowicz by telephone on +48 125 686 2005 or by e-mail on kzuchowicz@m-sport.co.uk M-Sport will also be at Autosport International in January where the Ford Fiesta R2 will be on display and look forward to the opening round at the Galway Rally to enjoy more closely-fought competition.

Malcolm Wilson OBE, M-Sport Managing Director, said: “It is great to be back in the Irish Tarmac series with a onemake series. The Ford Fiesta R2 is the ideal way for drivers to pitch themselves head-to-head in an equal car that is quick and reliable

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Malcolm Wilson without being difficult to build or maintain.

“With series planned in France, Belgium and other locations to be confirmed, we are confident that this will be a popular option as we move forward.

“In conjunction with our support for the Junior series in Ireland – and the offer of an R5 drive in a round of the British Rally Championship if the winner of the ITRC series is in a Fiesta R5 – we look forward to seeing the series grow even further.”

David Gray, Chairman of the Championship Organisers, commented; ‘’I am delighted that M-Sport have chosen to come to the ITRC with this brave new concept. This announcement will undoubtedly set the standard for competitors seeking to register for the championship at entry level’’

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DRIVER’S SEAT INTERVIEW: Juha Kankkunen Photos: Trevor Foster

AGE: 57 LIVES: MONACO AND FINLAND

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uha Kankkunen is one of rallying’s legends and one of the ‘Flying Finns’. He won the WRC Drivers’ title four times and to date is the only person to have become World Champion with three different manufacturers. He also won the legendary Safari Rally at his first attempt!

Juha began driving as a child and made his rally debut in 1978 at just 19-years-old. One year later he took in his first WRC event, the Rally of 1000 Lakes in his native Finland, where he finished 14th overall in a Ford Escort RS 2000.

During a long and illustrious career spanning more than two decades, he enjoyed spells with Toyota, Peugeot, Lancia, Ford, Subaru and finally Hyundai, taking titles in 1986, 1987, 1991 and 1993. He also made a one-off return in 2010 with the Stobart M-Sport WRT and despite now being 51 finished an impressive eighth overall.

In total he did just over 160 WRC events, taking 23 victories, 75 podiums and notching up over 650 stage wins.

WHAT WAS THE BEST MOMENT IN YOUR MOTORSPORT CAREER? There were many of them, but to say which is number one is difficult. It is also difficult to put

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any championship better than the other, but normally the first one is the best. But let’s say to win the Safari in 1985 with the Toyota Celica is still maybe the turning point, which I will remember all of my life because then I knew what I was going to do when I got ‘big’. Before that nobody really knew who the hell I was. I hadn’t had any important results before and suddenly just to win in Kenya, it was the most difficult rally in the championship, and so my name came straight up. That was the beginning of it and the rest is history.

WHAT WAS THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY? Probably Monte Carlo. I never won there. I was leading it five times and once I was leading it up to 200 metres before the end of the last stage and I had to stop and let Miki Biasion go and win.

It would have been nice to take victory there, but it doesn’t always happen.

WHAT WAS THE WORST MOMENT? I did some mistakes and rolled cars, but the turbo thing in 1995 in Catalunya when Toyota was disqualified was a bad thing. Not driving was a tough penalty because I was leading the Drivers’ Championship and Toyota was leading the Manufacturers and there were over 300 people working at the factory. I understand if one rally is cancelled, but it all stopped.

It would be the same today if you took Ferrari or Mercedes out

of Formula One. It would affect thousands of people and lives.

As drivers we knew we could get something to do and some work but if you think about the whole team it was a tough penalty for the mechanics and the engineers and their families.

WHICH EVENT DO YOU LOOK FORWARD TO? I just do some little things these days. I will go to San Marino with Lancia in the Delta for the Rallylegend event and of course when you go to rallies you try to do your best and win and so that is what we will try and do.

Then we start, at the beginning of January, repairing our driving school, which is in the northern part of Finland. We have Bentley there and then Audi again and 600 people. We are fully booked for two months, so that is a bit of work to do.

WHAT IS YOUR MOST EFFECTIVE OR PERSONAL ASSET? I’m quite cool and concentrated compared to say the Latin drivers, who are always shouting and emotional. The cool Finnish boys are always thinking about what they are doing and doing it just the way how it should be done and concentrating very hard. I have always been a sportsman since I was a little boy.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU OFFER THE ASPIRING DRIVER? You should do a lot of different

rallies - if you have enough money - and do driving in the winter and in bad conditions. I was always practising and driving at night and in bad conditions, when it was raining or snowing.

I always went out then because to drive a rally in those conditions you need to trust something and learn something. It is easy to drive when the sun is shining and there is grip, but when the weather turns up then it becomes quite a lot more difficult. So these kinds of things you should do more. It is easy to do when the conditions are good.

WHO HAS BEEN YOUR GREATEST MOTORING INSPIRATION? Timo Mäkinen and Hannu Mikkola - those two guys in Finland were my heroes. They were good guys.

TELL US SOMETHING SURPRISING ABOUT YOURSELF? What can I say about myself?

I’ve just been lucky to be born at the right time. Okay, to be good in any sport basically you have to have a talent for it. You can with practice, money and driving get to a certain point but to get to the top you have to have a little bit of talent. If I compare myself to my little brother, who is one year younger than me, he can hardly drive a car in normal traffic.

He is a hopeless driver compared to me. So, I got the talent to drive the car and he didn’t, but he is good at some other things.

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