Mayo Autocross (LS) - 16 May 10

Event Report - Mimnagh Wins Mayo Autocross Season Opener

Posted: May 17, 2010 11:31 AM

Eamonn Mimnagh from Enniskilen, Co. Fermanagh beat all challengers to claim victory on Mayo & District Motorsport Club’s Loose Surface Autocross on Sunday. Driving a Mitsubishi Evo 5, he had to do it the hard way, coming from behind on the final run to beat local favourite James McGreal.

A strong entry of 51 competitors had gathered at Harrington’s Quarry near Swinford for the first of five autocross events to be held this year. Clerk of the Course Brendan Walsh and his team had once again laid on a superb course, with each competitor getting three runs of two laps over the demanding route.

Mimnagh outlined his intentions from the start, setting a time two seconds faster than the Subaru of James McGreal on the opening run, with another Fermanagh visitor, Francis Fee, a further three seconds back. The tables were firrmly reversed on the second run however, with the Foxford man taking nearly ten seconds off his first attempt to lead the Fermanagh duo by two and three seconds respectively.

With hopes high for a home win, McGreal pulled out all the stops on the final run to improve his time by almost another four seconds. It was not enough though. Eamonn Mimnagh put in a dazzling final run in the white Mitsubishi to take almost eight seconds from his previous best, and record victory by two seconds. Behind the battling duo another local - Walter Burke from Williamstown - also reserved his best for last, not only taking third overall ahead of Francis Fee but also winning class four and finishing highest placed two wheel drive competitor in his Ford Escort.

Away from the leading protagonists, competition was just as fierce in the various classes. Behind Water Burke, Enniskillen pair Neil Harron and Ronnie Coulter took the remaining awards in class 4. Nobody could match Conor Kelly in class 3, but locals Matthew Murphy from Ballinrobe and Allen Higgins from Headford kept the Tyrone man on his toes throughout the day to claim the runner-up positions in the category.

Ciaran McCullagh from Maynooth claimed class 2 ahead of Lauris Zdanovics from Oldcastle, while Castlebar’s Brendan Corcoran recovered well from not setting a time on the opening run to take third in class. Of note was young Brian Lavelle from Achill who put in one of the drives of the day to finish fourth in class in his Toyota Corolla. In class 1 Glen Irwin from Tyrone took victory, with Alan Moran from Foxford and Andy Walsh from Ballinrobe maintaining local honour with second and third respectively.

A dramatic start then to the Mayo Autocross season. Last year, James McGreal took victory on three of the five events and claimed the Frank Harrington Trophy for overall Autocross Champion. The Foxford man clearly has carried that form into 2010, but with a host of challengers lining up to dethrone him, he faces a tough batte to retain his title. Round two awaits on June 13th.

Full Results

Posted: May 17, 2010 9:58 AM

Full Results and Times

Entry List

Posted: May 14, 2010 2:50 PM

CAR NO: COMPETITOR: (CAR:) [CLASS:]
101 Alan Moran (Opel Kadett) [1]
102 Andy Walsh (Ford Focus) [1]
103 Stephen Doherty (Opel Kadett) [1]
104 Glen Irwin (Vauxhall Nova) [1]
105 Tony Landon (Suzuki Swift) [1]

201 Justin Ryan (Honda Civic) [2]
202 John P Ryan (Honda Civic) [2]
203 Jared Gill (Peugeot 205) [2]
204 Shane Gill (Peugeot 205) [2]
205 Liam Healy (Honda Civic) [2]
206 Brendan Corcoran (Honda Civic) [2]
207 Padraic Cawley (Peugeot 205) [2]
208 Gavin Carroll (Vauxhall Nova) [2]
209 Raymond Carroll (Vauxhall Nova) [2]
210 Peter McManamon (Peugeot 205) [2]
211 Brian Lavelle (Toyota Corolla) [2]
212 Jimmy Ronan (Nissan Sunny) [2]
213 Michael Kerrigan (Peugeot 205) [2]
214 Paul Curran (Peugeot 106) [2]
215 David Healy (Nissan Primera) [2]
216 Ciaran McCullagh (Vauxhall Nova) [2]

301 Mathew Murphy (Toyota Corolla) [3]
302 Peter Conroy (Toyota Corolla) [3]
303 Chris Snow (Citreon Saxo) [3]
304 Christopher Snow (Citreon Saxo) [3]
305 Sean Lyons (Toyota Corolla) [3]
306 Aidan Fahy (MK2 Escort) [3]
307 Adrian Fahy (MK2 Escort) [3]
308 Allen Higgins (Toyota Twin Cam) [3]

401 Davy Walsh (Opel Astra) [4]
402 Mervyn Fahy (Opel Astra) [4]
403 Gerard McLoughlin (Opel Manta) [4]
404 Darrell Harron (Ford Escort ) [4]
405 Neil Harron (Ford Escort ) [4]
406 Danny Melanaphy (Ford Focus) [4]
407 Patrick Melanaphy (Ford Focus) [4]
408 Walter Burke (MK2 Escort) [4]

501 Eamonn Mimnagh (Evo 5) [5]
502 Damian O'Hagan (Evo 5) [5]
503 James Lannon (Evo 9) [5]
504 Derek Bolton (Subaru Legacy) [5]
505 Francis Fee (Evo 6) [5]
506 James McGreal (Subaru Impreza) [5]
507 Andrew Mackarel (Evo 4) [5]

601 Joe McHale (Buggy Rage) [6]

Regulations / Entry Form

Posted: April 30, 2010 9:02 PM

Regulations

Entry Form

Club Website

Posted: January 1, 2010 12:01 AM

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