McGreal The Maestro Of Mayo Autocross
Posted: June 15, 2009 5:02 PM
James McGreal did on Sunday what he has been threatening to do for a while – take overall victory on a round of Mayo & District Motorsport Club’s Loose Surface Autocross.
It marks a significant milestone for the popular Foxford man, a long time competitor and Mayo Motorsport Club stalwart, who counts the 2000 Border Rally Championship title among his many achievements. Only last year he had feared that his days of competing might have been over, after sustaining a back injury following an accident on the Galway International Rally.
Thankfully a full recovery was made, and on Sunday’s event, driving his self-prepared Subaru Impreza, McGreal was on inspired form, setting fastest times on each of the three runs to finish nearly four seconds ahead of his nearest challengers.
The second round of Mayo & District’s 2009 Loose Surface Autocross series was held as usual at Harrington’s Quarry near Swinford, and attracted a strong entry of nearly fifty competitors, including a large contingent from Northern Ireland. The Mayo venue is highly regarded as one of the best autocross tracks in the country, and once again Clerk of the Course Brendan Walsh and his team had laid on a challenging circuit to test drivers to the limit.
With McGreal storming to a highly popular local win, the runner-up spot was taken by Fermanagh visitor Gary McBrien, winner of last month’s opening round at the same venue. Keeping it in the family, Gary’s brother Sean finished in third position, the siblings sharing the same Mitsubishi Evo 6.
Tyrone’s Brian Dunlop was fourth overall and the highest placed runner in class 4 in his Ford Escort. He finished just ahead of the similar car of Walter Burke, the local club member from Williamstown a former winner of the event.
Another multiple former winner was sixth overall, Conor Kelly from Tyrone having to be satisfied this time with class 3 honours in his Nissan Sunny. And demonstrating the popularity of the event, two further visitors made it a worthwhile trip from the east of the country, Maynooth’s Ciaran McCullagh winning class 2 and taking 7th overall ahead of Oldcastle’s Lauris Zdanovcis by a mere 0.6 of a second. Benny Quinn and Mervyn Galbraith rounded out the top ten finishers, while Longford’s Tommy Donlon, a regular visitor to the Mayo track, took another victory in class 1.
Other local competitors to score strong results included Alan Moran from Foxford who finished 3rd in class 1, while in class 3 Peter Conroy from Kilmaine, Headford’s Allen Higgins and Eoin McGreal from Castlebar fought it out to finish second, third and fourth in the category.
But this was undoubtedly James McGreal’s day. Receiving his trophy at the prizegiving he thanked Frank Harrington and his staff for the continued use of their excellent venue. Reminiscing that it was about fifteen years since his last overall success at a Mayo Autocross event, he promised to be back to defend his title on the next round in July. If he can replicate Sunday’s form, few would give odds on another fifteen year wait.
Photos
Posted: June 15, 2009 4:56 PM
Full Results
Posted: June 12, 2009 7:54 PM
1 James McGreal (Impreza) 4m 06.33s,
2 Gary McBrien (Lancer Evo 6) 4m 10.47s,
3 Sean McBrien (Lancer Evo 6) 4m 13.66s,
4 Brian Dunlop (Escort) 4m 14.20s,
5 Walter Burke (Escort) 4m 15.12s,
6 Conor Kelly (Escort) 4m 16.43s.
Class winners:
Tommy Donlon (Peugeot 106) 4m 27.92s,
Ciaran McCullagh (Civic) 4m 18.24s,
Conor Kelly,
Brian Dunlop,
Gary McBrien.
Entry List
Posted: June 12, 2009 7:53 PM
101 Tommy Donlon (Peugeot 106) [1]
104 Glen Irwin (Vauxhall Nova) [1]
103 Derek Bolton (Ford Escort) [1]
104 Alan Moran (Opel Kadett) [1]
105 Barry Gallagher (Suzuki Swift) [1]
201 Conor Kelly (Nissan Sunny) [2]
202 Gavin Carroll (Vauxhall Nova) [2]
203 Jonathon Rice (Honda Civic) [2]
204 Justin Ryan (Honda Civic) [2]
205 Shane Gill (Peugeot 205) [2]
206 Lloyd Moran (Honda Civic) [2]
207 Jimmy Ronan (Nissan Sunny) [2]
208 John P Ryan (Honda Civic) [2]
209 Raymond Carroll (Vauxhall Nova) [2]
210 Jared Gill (Peugeot 205) [2]
211 Paul Curran (Peugeot 106) [2]
212 Pat Needham (Toyota Corolla) [2]
213 Peter Mc Manamon (Peugeot 205) [2]
214 Chris Snow (Honda Civic) [2]
215 Christopher Snow (Honda Civic) [2]
216 Ciaran Mc Cullagh (Vauxhall Nova) [2]
217 Christopher Armstrong (Citreon Saxo) [2]
218 Anthony Masterson (Honda Civic) [2]
219 Lauris Zdanovcis (Honda Civic) [2]
220 Damien Cullen (Peugeot 206) [2]
221 Joe Healy (Honda Civic) [2]
222 Liam Healy (Honda Civic) [2]
223 Andrew Bustard (Vauxhall Corsa) [2]
301 Allen Higgins (Toyota Twin Cam) [3]
302 Peter Conroy (Toyota Corolla) [3]
303 Eoin Mc Greal (Vauxhall Chevette) [3]
304 Sean Lyons (Toyota Corolla) [3]
305 Patsy Curran (Ford Escort) [3]
306 Barry Cuffe (Toyota Corolla) [3]
401 Brian Dunlop (Ford Escort) [4]
402 Mervyn Fahy (Opel Astra) [4]
403 David Walsh (Opel Astra) [4]
404 Thomas Fahy (Opel Astra) [4]
405 Walter Burke (Ford Escort) [4]
406 Brian Farrell (Ford Escort) [4]
407 Bill Evans (Seat Ibiza) [4]
408 Gerry Reilly (Honda Civic) [4]
409 Benny Quinn (Ford Escort) [4]
501 Gary Mc Brien (Mitsubshi Evo 6) [5]
502 Sean Mc Brien (Mitsubshi Evo 6) [5]
503 Sean Mc Hugh (Subaru Impreza) [5]
505 Killian Duffy (Toyota Celica) [5]
506 John Rowland (Subaru Impreza) [5]
507 Conor Mc Kenna (Ford Focus) [5]
508 James Mc Greal (Subarun Impreza) [5]
Event Website / Details
Posted: January 1, 2009 12:01 AM
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