4x4 Off Road Championship

The day was fresh, the ground was hard, the scene was set for one of the most demanding venues of the year - Red Bog never disappoints.

Each class had their own difficulties with Land Rovers having their share of turning difficulties, some Daihatsu`s spending as much time on their sides as on their wheels and Suzuki`s (especially the older ones!) having difficulty with ground clearance.

The entrance to Test 1 and a mud hole in Test 2 proved to be the bogey in the morning.

By lunch time mechanical gremlins were taking their toll. One driver who shall remain nameless, successfully descended the largest drop of the day without brakes(!) to discover that on the next equally steep climbs you cannot defy gravity and ended up on his roof!.

A certain Landcruiser (not for the first time) threw in the towel near to the top of a large climb very neatly depositing its rear drive shaft on the floor.

At one stage it seemed that wherever one looked there was a jeep on its side.

However full credit must go to the eventual winner Mervyn Colton on 22 marks which was only 1 mark behind eventual "special" winner Ivor Clegg on 21.

Despite the terrain there were only 3 non-finishers from 29 starters.

Many thanks must go to MEC, their marshals and officials and to Roadstone the land owners for a thoroughly challenging day. The results went as follows:
Production Overall:
Place Driver Points
1st Mervyn Colton Landrover 22
2nd Damien Heneghan Suzuki 26
3rd Malcolm Cooper Landrover 28

Class 1 (Suzuki)
Place Driver Points
1st Brian Berkery 33
2nd Richard Lombard 37
3rd Larry Wickham 38

Class 2 (Landrovers, Landcruisers)
Place Driver Points
1st Keith McCoy Landcruiser 43
2nd Karl Colton Landrover 45
3rd Steven Mahon Landrover 45

Class 3 (Daihatsu's)
Place Driver Points
1st Karl McCarthy Jeep 28
2nd Vincent Dorney Daihatsu 36
3rd John Franklin Daihatsu 48

Class 4 (Novice drivers, all production vehicles)
Place Driver Points
1st Jonathan Heneghan Suzuki 38
2nd Diarmuid Drennan Suzuki 40
3rd Gordon Cantwell Landrover 52

Class 5 (Modified vehicles)
Place Driver Points
1st Ivor Clegg 20
2nd Edwin Pratt 21
3rd Paul O'Byrne 35

Our next event is to be held in Lough Fea, Cookstown Co. Tyrone on the 18th of April. Please contact Shane McMeel at 087-2491586 for details.