Mayo Loose Surface Autocross – 23 Oct 05

Posted: October 26, 2005 4:37 PM

On the day, a stunning second timed run over 2 ? seconds faster than the nearest opposition was enough to secure a comfortable victory for Tyrone?s Conor Kelly in his Nissan Sunny, with David Leonard from Sligo narrowly fending off local man James McGreal from Foxford for second place.

The concluding rounds of the two club championship being run in 2005 saw Brian Conway take title honours in the Mayo & District Young Driver Championship, while the Frank Harrington Award for overall driver of the year went to three times winner in 2005, Ronnie Coulter.

The early morning slippery conditions negated the advantages of the more powerful machinery expected to head the time-sheets, nevertheless, it was a surprise to see the class 1 1300cc Toyota Starlet of Shane McGirr sitting on top of the leader-board after the first timed run, the Tyrone visitor showing great commitment to lead Conor Kelly and the Nissan Sunny of James McGreal.

With the fog lifting in time for the second run, lap times were to drop substantially, and it was Conor Kelly and David Leonard who were to move to the head of the leader-board, each taking over 10 seconds off their earlier runs, However action was curtailed following an accident involving the Peugeot 205 of Longford?s John Kelly. As a precautionary measure, the driver was brought to Castlebar Hospital for a check-up, where happily he was soon released, returning to the hotel after the event in time for the prize-giving.

As competitive action was unable to be resumed until the ambulance returned, the organisers took the decision to cancel the final scheduled run, as over 20 competitors had yet to tackle the stage for the second time. With many of the top drivers among those competitors, the benchmark time of Conor Kelly was expected to be come under close scrutiny. However one by one, they all fell short of the target time of 3:03.87, and as the chequered flag was waved for the final time, Conor was able to celebrate a well-earned victory. David Leonard held onto second spot just ahead of local man James McGreal with overall championship winner Ronnie Coulter in fourth. Escort driver Derek Deane had an excellent second timed run, moving up the leader-board to claim fifth ahead of Gary Walker and Simon Cafferty.

In the battle for class honours, Shane McGirr won Class 1 and took 8th overall with the Ford Escort of Seamus Cooke just 0.15 seconds behind, and Jimmy Brennan?s Vauxhall Nova in third. Class 2 was once again the preserve of the Deane brothers from Williamstown, Derek finishing ahead of Mervyn on this occasion in their shared Ford Escort, while Michael Sweeney?s Toyota Corolla claimed third.

David Leonard clinched class 3 with second going to Marc McDermott?s Honda Civic, while the Toyota Corolla of Brian Conway finished third in class.

Class 4 went the way of Gary Walker, with the front wheel drive Escort RS2000 of local Simon Cafferty second, and the Mark 2 version of another local club member Walter Burke finishing third. James McGreal took class 5 honours ahead of Ronnie Coulter and Kevin O?Brien. The Ladies prize was won by Emer Cooney, while Andrew Staunton took the Mayo & District Motorsport Club member award.

Prizes Presented By Rory Galligan

At the prize-giving ceremony at the Gateway Hotel Swinford, the awards for the two 2005 club championships were presented to the winners by works Mitsubishi driver Rory Galligan.

The Mayo & District Young Driver Challenge was a hotly contested competition open to young club members, offering the prize of a car and entry to two rounds of next year?s 205 Challenge, as well as a day?s rallying tuition from Rory himself. After a season long battle with his team-mate Andrew Staunton, it was Brian Conway from Kiltimagh who clinched victory on the day, and with it the title of Mayo & District Motorsport Club Young Driver Champion.

The inaugural Frank Harrington Autocross Challenge was open to all competitors taking part on Mayo & District?s four autocross events of 2005, and having taken overall victory on three of the four rounds, Tyrone?s Ronnie Coulter proved to be a popular winner. Prizes were also awarded to the top three competitors in each class with Colin Currid in class 1, Derek Deane in class 2, Michael Shaw in class 3 and Simon Cafferty in class 4 coming on top in their respective categories.

1 Conor Kelly (Sunny) 3m 03.87s,
2 David Leonard (Nova) 3m 06.36s,
3 James McGreal (Sunny GTI-R) 3m 06.97s,
4 Ronnie Coulter (Astra) 3m 07.66s,
5 Derek Deane (Escort) 3m 08.30s,
6 Gary Walker (Escort) 3m 09.67s.
Class winners:
Shane McGirr (Starlet) 3m 10.52s,
Derek Deane,
Dave Leonard,
Gary Walker,
James McGreal.

Full Results:

Mayo & District Motorclub

Photo: Cathal Doyle

---

PRE EVENT NEWS

• Entry List
• Regulations available
• Rory Galligan to present Club Championship Awards

---

19/10/05
Entry List
CAR NAME (Car ) Capacity
101 Colin Currid (Vauxhall Nova) 1400
102 Tommy Donlon (Citroen AXGT) 1360
103 Matthew Murphy (Honda Civic) 1398
104 Shane McGirr (Toyota Starlet) 1300
105 Jimmy Brennan (Vauxhall Nova) 1400
106 Martin Flynn (Opel Kadett) 1400
107 Thomas Maloney (Opel Corsa) 1400
108 Ronan Murphy (Honda Civic) 1398
109 Jason Currid (Talbot Sunbeam) 1299
110 John P Ryan (Honda Civic) 1398
111 Joe O'Connell (Honda Civic) 1300
112 Martin Doherty (Suzuki Swift) 1298
113 Seamus Cooke (Ford Escort) 1300
114 Francis Fox (Vauxhall Nova) 1400
201 Mervyn Deane (Ford Escort) 1600
202 Derek Deane (Ford Escort) 1600
203 Joe Kelly (Ford Escort) 1595
204 James Lannon (Toyota Corolla) 1587
205 Michael Sweeney (Toyota Corolla) 1587
206 Micheal Melly (Toyota Corolla) 1600
207 Padraig McGuinness (Toyota Corolla) 1398
208 Eddie Fullerton (Ford Escort) 1600
209 Gerard Burke (Talbot Avenger) 1600
210 Enda Haran (Ford Escort) 1600
211 Keith Melly (Ford Escort) 1600
212 Emer Cooney (Toyota Corolla) 1587
213 Patsy Curran (Ford Escort) 1600
214 Connie Kirrane (Toyota Corolla) 1600
215 Eddie Mcloughlan (Toyota Corolla) 1600
216 Keith Branley (Ford Escort) 1600
217 Jimmy Ronan (Toyota Corolla) 1600
301 Conor Kelly (Nissan Sunny) 1600
302 David Leonard (Vauxhall Nova) 1598
303 Michael Shaw (Opel Corsa) 1600
304 Brian Conway (Toyota Corolla) 1600
305 Marc McDermott (Honda Civic) 1600
306 Andrew Staunton (Toyota Corolla) 1600
307 Philip Harte ( Nova) 1600
308 Ciaran Walsh (Honda Civic) 1500
309 Ciaran Dwyer (VW Golf) 1588
310 Cormac Lyons (Peugeot 205) 1580
311 Niall Mimnagh (Vauxhall Nova) 1600
312 David Walsh (Honda Civic) 1500
313 Allen Higgins (Honda Civic) 1500
314 Mervyn Fahy (Honda Civic) 1500
315 Johnathan Cassidy (Nissan Sunny) 1596
316 Paul Walsh (Ford Escort) 1600
317 Peter Conroy (Honda Civic) 1500
318 Tony Gibbons (Honda Civic) 1600
319 Niall Morley (Peugeot 205) 1580
320 Paul O Brien (Honda Civic) 1595
321 Michael Lavelle (Toyota Corolla) 1600
322 Brendan Walsh (Ford Escort) 1598
323 Gerard McDonagh (Peugeot 205) 1600
324 Enda O Brien (Toyota Corolla) 1600
325 Brendan Corcoran (Toyota Corolla) 1600
326 Stephen Brady (Vauxhall Nova) 1600
327 Chris McNamara (Peugeot 205) 1580
328 Fergal Conroy (Honda Civic) 1500
329 Gavin Thornton (Honda Civic) 1590
330 Joseph Shinnors (Vauxhall Nova) 1598
331 Sean Lyons (Toyota Corolla) 1600
332 Peter Kelly (Honda Civic) 1600
333 John Higgins (Honda Civic) 1600
401 Simon Cafferty (Ford Escort) 1998
402 Walter Burke (Ford Escort) 2000
403 John Kelly (Peugeot 205) 1905
404 Gary Walker (Ford Escort) 1998
405 John Shaw (Vauxhall Astra) 2000
406 Brian Farrell (Ford Escort) 1998
407 John Rowland (Vauxhall Astra) 2000
408 Sean McHugh (Vauxhall Astra) 1998
409 Eamonn Mcguinness (Ford Escort) 1998
410 Pat McGuinness (Ford Escort) 1998
411 Gerard McTiernan (Ford Escort) 2000
412 Martin Kearns (Talbot Sunbeam) 2000
413 Richard McGaugh (Ford Escort) 2000
414 Gerard Mcloughlan (Opel Manta) 1998
501 Ronnie Coulter (Vauxhall Astra) 2050
502 James McGreal (Nissan Sunny) 2000
503 Kevin O'Brien (Mitsubishi Evo 6) 1998

Mayo & District Motorclub

---

04/10/05 Regulations are now available for Mayo & District Motorsport Club’s final Loose Surface Autocross event of 2005 sponsored by Ballyglass Building Stone, which will be held at Harrington’s Quarry, The Valley, Swinford on Sunday, October 23rd, 2005.

Full details can be found on the club’s website

Mayo & District Motorclub

or by contacting event secretary Michael Jordan on 086 6038441 after 7pm.

Closing date for receipt of entries is October 10, 2005.

The event sees the conclusion of the two championships being run by the club this year, the Frank Harrington Autocross Challenge which is open to all competitors taking part in the club’s four autocross events of 2005, and the Mayo & District Young Driver Championship Challenge which will be awarded to the top up-and-coming young club driver.

Awards for both championships will be presented immediately after the event at the Gateway Hotel Swinford by works Mitsubishi rally driver Rory Galligan.