Search Results for 'District Motorsport Club'

Bekan man Sean McHugh and co-driver Niall Morley took a respectable 38th place overall on the 2010 Banna Mini Stages Rally in Kerry. The two Mayo and District Motorsport Club members were the sole Mayo competitors to tackle the tough event on the Kerry coast.

James Lannon from Boyle in Co. Roscommon achieved a long-held ambition on Sunday by claiming his maiden victory on Mayo and District Motorsport Club’s final autocross of the year. In doing so he became the fifth winner of the popular loose surface series in as many events, in what has been an enthralling season of motorsport at the challenging 2.7 km circuit at Harrington’s Quarry near Swinford. It was also a successful day for local hero James McGreal whose third place finish was enough to ensure he retained the Frank Harrington trophy for overall autocross champion for the second successive year.

An extraordinarily close finish saw Walter Burke from Williamstown take victory at the Mayo and District Motorsport Club’s loose surface autocross event on Sunday. The Ford Escort driver defeated James McGreal from Foxford by the smallest possible of margins — a mere one hundredth of a second.

Foxford’s James McGreal returned to winning form at Harrington’s Quarry in the third round of the Mayo and District Motorsport Club loose surface autocross. It was the penultimate round of the 2009 championship, when McGreal last won. Since then he has been pipped to the post by Eamon Mimnagh twice and Mark Donnelly once but there was nothing that Mimnagh could do to reel in the Mayo man. McGreal took the event by a convincing two second margin to his nearest rival. That rival was Damian O'Hagan from Omagh in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6. O’Hagan set consistent second fastest times all day, netting him second place overall. Next up was Andrew Mackarel in his older Mitsubishi Evo 5 gaining the last place on the podium by a scant 0.6 of a second from Mimnagh.

Mayo and District Motorsport Club will hold an Introduction To Motorsport evening this Friday, May 14 2010 at the McWilliam Park Hotel in Claremorris commencing at 8pm. It is open to anyone who may be interested in getting involved in motorsport but doesn’t know where or how to start. The evening will include advice and practical tips on topics such as getting the necessary licences and paperwork, what equipment is needed, and preparing a car for competition. Particular focus will be placed on getting started in autocross, this being a particularly cost-effective and accessible form of the sport.

Carrowmore-Lacken native Paul McGee is well on his way to clinching the prestigious 2010 Kick Energy Fiesta SportTrophy (FST) Ireland Championship. It follows another successful event for the co-driver on this week-end’s Killarney International Rally. Navigating for Monaghan’s Stephen Wright, the duo took a dominant series victory in Kerry, their third successive win from the three rounds in the FST championship to date. With five rounds from six counting towards the title, Wright and McGee are now in a very strong championship position ahead of June’s Donegal International Rally. The winners of the FST Championship will get a Ford works supported drive in the 2010 Condroz Rally, the final round of the Belgian Rally Championship.

The smiles at the rally finish said it all. After months of preparation, sheer hard graft, and endless enthusiasm, the 2010 McWilliam Park Hotel Mayo Stages Rally had proven to be a resounding success. The sense of satisfaction, tinged no doubt with a hint of relief, was palpable.

Mayo and District Motorsport Club member Aaron MacHale finished in a strong third overall on the Safety First Galway International Rally at the weekend. The Ford Focus WRC driver overcame a puncture early in the event to overhaul the Mitsubishi of Alistair Fisher for the final podium position on the last stage.

The 2010 rally season kicks off in earnest this weekend with the Safety Direct Galway International Rally, the opening round of the Citroen Tarmac Rally Championship. The traditional season-opener has received a near capacity entry, and promises plenty of exciting action over the two day event. The recent announcement that Citroen is to be the title sponsor of the Tarmac Championship for 2010 is a major boost for Ireland’s popular international rally series. The French car manufacturer is synonymous with rallying at world level, and currently holds the FIA World Rally Championship title for manufacturers, while Citroen driver Sebastian Loeb has won the driver’s title for the past six years. Based in Oranmore, the Safety Direct Galway International Rally will get under way with a ceremonial start in the village on Friday evening, before competitors tackle nine stages on Saturday followed by another six stages on Sunday.

With the motorsport season drawing to a close for another year, Mayo and District Motorsport Club members have once again upheld local honours, winning overall and class awards on some of the major international and national rally championships. On the international scene, Kiltimagh’s John Higgins has been competing on the Tesco 99 Octane British Rally Championship. With one round of the series still to run, John, who co-drives for Cork’s Brian O’Mahony in a Renault Clio Super 1600, holds a comfortable class lead in the rally three category, while the pair are also featuring strongly in the overall championship table.