Mayo Autocross - 5 Jul 09

McGreal’s Got That Winning Feeling

Posted: July 7, 2009 5:08 PM

They say in sport getting the first win is the hardest, that once that elusive inital victory has been achieved, subsequent success is easier to come by.

James McGreal might not agree about the easy bit, but what is without argument is the fact that having waited nearly fifteen years to achieve success on his local autocross, the Foxford man has now made it two wins from two in quick succession.

Just three weeks ago, McGreal dominated Mayo & District Motorsport Club’s loose surface Autocross at Harrington’s Quarry near Swinford, setting fastest time on each of the three runs. On Sunday however, on the third Autocross event of the season he had to work much harder, coming from behind to clinch victory in his Subaru Impreza on the final run of the day.

Making him work hard for that win was another Mayo competitor, Gerry Ronan from Bekan. The Mitsubishi driver was flying on the early runs, holding a lead of over six seconds ahead of the field going into the final timed test, a lifetime in motorsport terms. McGreal meantime was struggling, failing to set a time on the first run when his car lapsed onto three cylinders, and not happy with his performance on the second test which saw him down in fifth position, over eight seconds off the pace.

On the final run Gerry Ronan took another 1.5 seconds off his previous best time but it was not to be enough for the Bekan driver. Feeling that his chance of victory had gone, McGreal decided to adopt a smooth and tidy approach, eschewing his normal flamboyant style. It proved remarkably effective, the red Impreza scorching to victory by over two seconds.

Fermanagh visitor Gerard Farmer took third in another Mitsubishi, another competitor to put in a strong last run, finishing just 0.13 of a second behind Gerry Ronan, while in fourth was Adrian Donnelly, the Escort driver taking the award for class 4 into the bargain. In fifth was Wexford’s Mark Kennedy in a Kartcross Buggy, the first time for one of these purpose-built specials to compete on a Mayo Autocross.

Conor Kelly from Tyrone took sixth and the class 3 award, while a trio of local competitors were next up. Sean McHugh from Bekan sliped down the order after holding second in his Impreza following the first run, while Williamstown’s Walter Burke took over that position after run two but the Escort driver was unable to improve sufficiently on the final test. In 9th position, Castlebar’s Brendan Corcoran put in one of the drives of the day, not only bringing his Honda Civic into the top ten, but winning the hard fought class 2 in the process. The top ten was rounded out by the Mitsubishi of James Lannon from Boyle, while Noel Lappin scooped the class one award despite only recording one time for the day, the Cavan man beating Foxford’s Alan Moran for the prize.

Photos

Posted: July 7, 2009 5:07 PM

Hassett Motorsport Photography

Results

Posted: July 7, 2009 5:05 PM

1 James McGreal (Subaru Impreza WRX Sti) 4m 10.49s,
2 Gerry Ronan (Mit. Lancer Evo 6) 4m 12.89s,
3 Gerald Farmer (Mit. Lancer Evo 5) 4m 13.02s,
4 Adrian Donnelly (Ford Escort) 4m 15.20s,
5 Mark Kennedy (Special) 4m 17.24s,
6 Conor Kelly (Escort) 4m 17.77s.

Class winners:
Noel Lappin (Escort) 4m 25.19s,
Brendan Corcoran (Civic) 4m 20.44s,
Conor Kelly,
Adrian Donnelly,
Gerry Ronan.

Full Results & Times

Regulations / Details

Posted: January 1, 2009 12:01 AM

• Mayo & District Motorclub