Clare Motor Club Scalp Hillclimb 2003 - 29-30 Mar 03

Posted: March 31, 2003 8:54 AM

Other single seater entries included Michael Roche in the Delta T81, Sylvester Mullins in the Stark, Paul O'Connell in the Delta T80 and Pat Roche in the OMS. The saloon car entries included Ger Dwane in his Falcon Mini, James and Alan Doherty in their RWD Corsa, Dan Mulcahy in his Escort Cosworth and Simon McKinley in his Escort MKII.

The day started bad for Frank Byrnes however as a spin just past the start on the practice run saw him loose the front nose cone. This allowed John McNamara and Michael Roche to get on with it though. Throughout the day they battled it out for overall honours. The only person that got close to the two was Sylvie Mullins in the who had an impressive last run to place him third overall ahead of Paul O'Connell in the Delta. In the saloons it was McKinley in the MKII who led the way. Finishing 6th overall and first in class he was 4 seconds clear of Ger Dwane in the Falcon Mini. The fastest rally car on the day was Dan Mulcahy in the Escort Cosworth.

The battle for overall honours went down to the last run however. McNamara gave it everything but it was not enough to beat Roche in the Delta. Class winners were as follows: (1). Eddie Cogan, (2). Declan Conway, (3). Simon McKinley, (4). John Kingston, (5). Mort O'Loughlan, (6). Sylvie Mullins, (7). John McNamara, (9). Niall McNamara, 10. Justin O'Brien.

The Sunday saw a big change in the number of entries. A large number of rally cars joined the field most notably Christy Carey in the GpN Impreza, Ray Hillard in the GpN Lancer and Ed Synan in the ever competitive Manta 400. The single seaters saw the addition of Peter Dwyer in the ex-championship winning Opel Lotus of Donal Griffin. The big surprise of the day however was that the Saturday winner Michael Roche couldn't drive his Delta having lost 2nd gear. He was instead going to double drive with Peter Dwyer.

Once again the day was dry however a slight bit overcast. Throughout the day it was the single seaters that battled it out for overall honours. Frank Byrnes with a new front wing was hoping to put Saturday's woes behind him. It was not to be however as he finished 5th. Michael Roche in the unfamiliar Opel Lotus finished 4th. The battle for second and for class 6 went on from the start. Sylvie Mullins and Paul O'Connell fought it out all day and in the end it was Mullins who took the honours. O'Connell was happy though as it was his first weekend on a hillclimb with the car. Ed Synan was the quickest rally car on the hill. His Manta 400 proving that its still very competitive. For overall honours however it was John McNamara in the ex-Richard Young, Cougar that got the win. The extremely powerful engine taking him well clear of anyone else.

Class winners were as follows: (1). Roland Doherty, (2). Trevor Morrow, (3). Simon McKinley, (4). John Kingston, (5). Derek Daly, (6). Sylvie Mullins, (7). Michael Roche, (8). Paul Purtil, (9) Niall McNamara, (10). Mick Moloney, (11) Ed Synan.

Well done to the COC Richard Casey and his Clare MC crew for running a fantastic event.

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