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First round report by Mervyn Colton
The first round of the Irish Championship got off to a great start. We have some new keen faces, as well as the old and battered ones. 5 new drivers joined in to the fray this round, with 3 more expected for the next round, on the 11th of October.
The event was held in a disused sandpit outside Tullow in Co. Carlow. It might as well have been the costa del sol on Sunday, as the sun was splitting the stones. No one seemed to interested in swimming in the mud holes.The event got underway following a close scrutiny by Ivor McClintock. All the machines were carefully prepared for a new year of events. The Pratt/Clegg special came for close attention as Ivor could easily see more of it’s workings than any other vehicle due to the lack of bodywork!. Roll on the specials.
Robin Lyons had obviously worked hard preparing the ex Brian Daly Daihatsu. It was welded, straightened, welded, re-inforced, welded, tuned and welded again. To top all that it was turned out in a lovely new purple colour which lasted on the left side for 3 sections into the event, and on the right for a further 3 sections. It looks better now Robin!
Our new comers learned the ropes very quickly. Some excellent scores were achieved by the first timers, with Malcom Cooper winning Class 2, and Johnathan “Stop telling me what to do” Hennagan winning class 4. Johnathan would soon have brother Damien in his sights.
Of the old timers, Trevor Lyons was heard to complain about stiff springs. It has not been confirmed wheather he was talking about his suzuki or himself!. Still he turned out a good result, just allowing Tom “Guess how I did in the hillrally” Twomey to scrape by with 2 points to take 2nd place in the production overall’s. Carl McCarthy proved the worth of his American Metal, his beloved CJ5. In production trim, he won the production overall, and matched the 6 points score of the modified winner Edwin Pratt.
Paul O’Byrne gave an impressive display of how to get well and truly stuck. Many drivers didn’t make it up the 1 in 1 hill for the zero gate at the end of test 4 by getting stuck half way up, however Paul manages to not get up or down the hill. He wedged his Bald Eagle half way up the hill, and managed to get it to sit on the rear bumper. Paul was kind enough to give this demonstration to all the newcomers, in the hope they will never be involved in such an embarrassing spectacle. I’m sure that other drivers look forward to more lessons like this from Paul throughout the year.
Our next event is to be held on the 18th of October. Please contact Shane McMeel at 087-2491586 for details.
The results went as follows:
Production Overall:
Place Driver Points
1st Carl McCarthy 6
2nd Tom Twomey 19
3rd Trevor Lyons 21
Class 1 (Suzuki)
Place Driver Points
1st Declan O’Mahoney 30
2nd Damien Hennagan 37
3rd Diarmuid Drennan 38
Class 2 (Landrovers, Landcruisers)
Place Driver Points
1st Malcom Cooper 33
2nd Mervyn Colton 41
3rd Keith McCoy 50
Class 3 (Daihatsu’s)
Place Driver Points
1st Mick O’Shea 35
2nd John Franklin 35
3rd Gerry Desmond 39
Class 4 (Novice drivers, all production vehicles)
Place Driver Points
1st Johnathan Hennagan 47
2nd Gordon Cantwell 63
3rd Karl Colton 65
Class 5 (Modified vehicles)
Place Driver Points
1st Edwin Pratt 6
2nd Ivor Clegg 22
3rd Paul O’Byrne 44