May 11th Autocross Report
May 11th Autocross Report:
Results
DEANE DOMINATES AGAIN
The first Mayo & District Motorsport Club Autocross of 2014 took place on Sunday in Harrington’s Quarry, Kilkelly with a capacity entry for the first time in a number of years.
Derek Deane from Williamstown won the event, continuing his amazing record on his home event, and proving that’s it’s the man and not the machine as his one week old JCR Rally Kart made its debut on the loose surface track. Second home, Martin Tynan from Clones was the early leader, making use of the abolition of the 4 Wheel Drive Penalty for 2014 in his Mitsubishi Evo, but in the end he had to settle for second behind Deane. There were three members of the Deane family in the top 4, as Derek’s brothers Mervyn and Adrian were third and fourth respectively in their JB Buggies.
Next up was James McGreal from Foxford who finished fifth overall and claimed second in class 4 for 4WD cars. Other locals to fare well were Colin Loughney from Hollymount who came home second in class 3 in his Ford Escort. Foxford’s Alan Moran put in a blindingly quick last run in a Peugeot 206 to claim second in the highly competitive class 2 and gain valuable Mayo Young Driver Championship Points. David Carney from Westport fresh from a podium on the last round of the British Rally Championship won the Mayo & District Club Award using the event to get further seat time in his Citroen DS3-R3T. Club stalwart Padraic Roche was fourth in Class 3 while Club Chairman Matthew Murphy was sixth in class 2. Sean McHugh from Bekan was seventh in class 4 in his Group A like sounding Subaru Impreza. Last year’s Mayo Young Driver’s Champion Noel Murphy from Shrule began the defence of his title with a fourth place finish in class 2. David Jordan from Westport finished seventh in that class in his Corolla, with Alan McGuire also from Westport in ninth in a Peugeot 205. Liam and Joe Healy from Achill double drove their Civic and had a great battle with Liam just coming out on top.
MAYO AUTOCROSS 2014 PREVIEW
Always popular with competitors, once again, Mayo & District Motorsport Club will be running two championships as part of its Autocross season. The Frank Harrington Challenge trophy is awarded to the overall champion driver and all competitors are automatically eligible, with points awarded on overall finishing positions. Driver’s best three scores from the four events count towards final championship totals. Derek Deane from Williamstown is aiming for an unprecedented three titles in a row in his family run JB Buggy. He won’t have it all his own way, however, with last year’s runner up Mickey Conlon from Monaghan a real contender having switched to a buggy. The 4Wheel-Drive Penalty has been abolished for 2014, so the likes of Peter McCullagh, James Lannon and James McGreal could be back in contention with their selection of powerful Subaru’s and Evo’s.
Additionally, the Mayo Young Driver Challenge will return in 2014. This competition is open to Mayo & District Motorsport Club members under the age of 30 on the first of January 2014, and has seen some highly competitive driving from up and coming competitors over the years. Champion from last year Noel Murphy from Shrule will be back to defend his title with his main competition sure to be from previous two-time Champion Foxford’s Alan Moran and fellow Foxford man Stephen Doherty. There is also a possibility of former Champion Justin Ryan from Headford making a return after two years out of Autocross action but he will miss the first round due to injury.
Held at the popular Harrington’s Quarry near Swinford, Mayo & District Motorsport Cub’s autocross track is recognised as one of the best venues in the country, regularly attracting entries from all corners of Ireland, as well as overseas.
The first of the four rounds rev’s into action on this Sunday May 11th, followed by Round 2 on June 8th, Round 3 July 27th and the final Round on August 24th.