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December Motorsport News
Finishing off their 2014 season, Abdulaziz AlKuwari and Killian Duffy took part in the Dubai International Rally which was the final round of the Middle East Rally Championships, the pair finished third on the event and third in the championships, also competing was John Higgins who was navigating for Khalid Al Suwaidi. On their first event together, they capped off a great weekend with a fourth place finish. |
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Three members brought their cars along to the recent MEC Rally sprint in Mondello Park, best of the pack was Michael Loughney who won his class in his recently built MK2 Escort, Sean McHugh in his Subaru Impreza and Tony Langdon in his Honda Civic also put in good times during the day.
Photo credit Ray Corkery – Rnc Rally Pics
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At the Dunlop Motorsport Ireland Awards Ceremony held in Dublin on Wednesday, Derek Deane from Williamstown picked up his 2013 National Loose Surface Autocross Award, a series which he dominated in his Buggy, with a run of five overall wins from the opening five rounds. |
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Also at the Dunlop Motorsport Ireland Awards, neighboring Galway Motorclub member Dean Raftery was named the Young Rally Driver of the Year. He was presented with the prestigious Billy Coleman Award and will receive €50,000 worth of support for the 2015 season where he intends to compete in the Fiesta Trophy in the World Rally Championship. Mayo & District Motorsport Club would like to offer him our congratulations and wish him all the best in the coming season. |
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Duffy and Egan take home the Crystal
John Duffy and his navigator John Egan were presented with the overall Class 7 award at the Dunlop National Rally Championship Awards evening in the Sheraton Hotel Athlone on Saturday last. The Crossmolina driver took the title in his Honda Integra following a string of consistent results during the 2014 eight round championship, which kicked off at Mayo Stages Rally back in March. A large contingent from Mayo & District Motorsport Club made the trip to celebrate with the pair. |
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In other motorsport news from the weekend it was heart break for Kiltimagh’s John Higgins who was taking part in the three-day Wales Rally GB. The event which came to a gripping end on Sunday, seen John, who was navigating for former British Junior Champion Marty McCormack retired with mechanical trouble in their Fiesta on the very last stage of the event. Photos by P Collier
Frenchman Sébastien Ogier won the event finishing 37.6 seconds ahead of Finn Mikko Hirvonen.The curtains may now be drawn on the 2014 World Rally Championship but the contenders will be back in action all too quickly, with the famous Rallye Monte-Carlo kicking off the 2015 season on 22 January. |
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Closer to home five Mayo members made the trip to Ballycumber in Offaly for the final round of the National Loose Surface Autocross Championships on Sunday. Best of the locals was Derek Deane who brought his Buggy home in fifth place overall, one place ahead of his brother Mervyn., who was followed by the third Deane brother Adrian. Next best was Foxford’s James McGreal in his Subaru Impreza closely followed by fellow Foxford man Stephen Doherty, who was having his first outing in a four wheel drive car, double driving McGreals Subaru, the pair finished the day in nineteenth and twenty-seventh respectively. Photos by John Delaney |
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Motorsport Club End of Year Awards
With the motorsport year drawing to a close, members of Mayo & District Motorsport Club decided to enjoy a different kind of racing. Swapping horsepower for ‘paw-power’, members and friends gathered at the Galway Greyhound Stadium on Saturday last to celebrate another successful year, and to present club members with awards for their achievements throughout the season.
Among those to be honoured was Noel Murphy from Shrule who retained the Mayo Autocross Young Driver Champion Crown for the second successive year admit stiff opposition from Foxford’s Alan Moran who pushed him all the way to the finishing flag. Designed to encourage young drivers looking to get started in motorsport, the Young Driver Championship has been a huge success, attracting large numbers of local competitors each year from all over the area. Noel also retained the Colin Grewer Memorial Cup as the Young Driver Champion.
A busy 2014 saw the club run the highly successful Mayo Stages Rally in March, as well as four Autocross events between May and August. Held at Harrington’s Quarry near Swinford, Mayo & District Motorsport Club’s Autocross venue is widely regarded as one of the best loose surface circuits in the country, and club Chairperson Matthew Murphy thanked Frank and Brian Harrington and their staff for their ongoing support and use of the facility, also thanked on the night were Hotel Ballina and Kennedy Motors who were the main sponsors of the Stages Rally. Without the help of our co-sponsors and associate sponsors it would not be possible to run an event of its size Murphy added, while also acknowledging that there would be no motorsport event of any kind in the county without the support and goodwill of residents and businesses along the chosen routes and surrounding areas.
Of course it takes a huge amount of work to organise and run these motorsport events, and in recognition of their work behind the scenes two special presentations were made to individuals who had worked tirelessly on behalf of the club all year. Marshal of the Year was awarded to Alan Mcguire from Westport, while the Mayo & District Motorsport Club Person of the Year Award was bestowed to Liam Healy from Achill.
Other awards presented on the night included the Overall Club Frank Harrington Autocross Awards with was won by Foxford’s James McGreal who had a clear winning margin over second place Padraic Mullen from Ballymote, both competing in the championships in similar spec Subaru Imprezas. Mervyn Deane from Williamstown claimed third in his JB Buggy.
The club is already looking forward to 2015 with planning for the Mayo Stages Rally on Sunday March 8th in full progress, while a full Autocross season is also scheduled to be held, commencing in May. Also in the pipeline for 2015 is a return, after a 15 year absence, to forest rallying, with the Club planning to run a counting round of the Valvoline National Forest Championship in October. With so much young talent in the club presently, it was felt there should be a natural progression from loose surface autocross into forest rallying and it was time to encourage members to progress to the next stage of their chosen discipline.
Next date in the motorsport diary is the Clubs AGM which takes place on Sunday December 14th at 3pm in Hotel Ballina. All members are asked to please attend.
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