Author: Graham Baalham-Curry

Graham is a photojournalist and motoring writer with over 20 varied years of coverage from manufacturer press launches to international motorsport and motoring events throughout the world. Graham is a full member of the Guild of Motoring Writers and Ulster Motor Writers Association.

The fourth generation of the Kia Sorento has been designed and engineered to take on everything life throws at it. A powerful, progressive, and versatile SUV, the Sorento raises the game for other seven-seat family-focused SUVs. The Sorento’s exterior design – sharp lines, high-tech details, and elongated proportions – gives it a confident and mature presence. Inside, its attractive cabin features premium-quality materials, cutting-edge infotainment technologies, and a stunning design. The Sorento was the first vehicle to be based on Kia’s new-generation midsize SUV platform. Paired with a large body to maximise cargo and luggage space, the platform ensures the…

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Saturday 4th November 2023 will be a day that goes down in not just autotesting history, but the history of Northern Ireland Motorsport. A day that saw seventy competitors from all over the British Isles and Southern Ireland competing at both expert and clubman level, travel to Transport Training Services, Nutts Corner to compete at the inaugural Ronnie Trouton Autotest. The event has been the brain child of NI Autotest Championship Co-Ordinator, Mark King, who worked tirelessly to bring the event to fruition alongside Andrew Earney, Ashley Lamont, Colin Earney, George McMillan, James Wilson, John Clarke, Jonathan Millar, Lorraine Simpson,…

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The Honda Jazz has been around our roads for a snip over twenty years now and with the success of small SUVs in recent years Honda decided to add some rugged appeal to its popular city car. With an interior that is much more accommodating than the Jazz’s looks may make you believe, this ‘Crosstar’ model was introduced three years ago, and it features a fantastic hybrid powertrain. The SUV inspired styling of the new Jazz Crosstar e:HEV gives it a unique personality. It’s everything you could ever want from a Jazz, including water-resistant upholstery and roof rails for an…

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The Mazda CX-60 is a new SUV by Mazda that offers both plug-in hybrid and diesel options. It is the first PHEV model by Mazda and it features a range of new technologies and design elements that aim to create a fantastic experience for the driver and their passengers. The PHEV version of the CX-60 has a 2.5-litre petrol engine and an electric motor that work together to deliver a combined power of 327ps. The battery can provide up to 39 miles of pure electric driving when in Normal or EV mode, and it comes with a guarantee of 8…

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WHITFORD WINS MICRA CHALLENGE… Stephen ‘Weavy’ Whitford finally lifted the Micra Challenge winner’s trophy 27 years after his first attempt. At a packed Down Royal venue in late November Whitford took the plaudits, receiving a warm reception from friends and fellow competitors gathered to mark the occasion. Whilst his original efforts were on a highly competitive UK championship and his recent win on the more modest NI based evolution there is something poetic about Whitford finally taking the award. That original competition included such names as Mark Fisher and Geoff Jones as well as Matthew Humphris who sponsored this years’…

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Christmas comes early for 12-year-old driving ace, Rory Armstrong, a pupil at St. Patrick’s Grammar School in Downpatrick, as he becomes World Rotax 125 Mini Max Champion in Bahrain at the start of December. Fending off seventy-one world-class drivers from across the globe at the finals held at the Bahrain International Karting Circuit, Rory’s rise to world champion has been a fairly short but arduous task. A feat which only one other Irish racer has achieved before, when Charlie Eastwood was crowned around a decade ago. Speed is in the veins for the Armstrong family as Rory’s dad, Andrew, has…

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County Down racing driver Tony Greenan takes first ever Formula BOSS Ireland championship after just a few seasons of trying and I caught up with the 44-year-old Hilltown businessman to learn more. “I started racing probably in the year 2000, and that was for the BF Super Sunday Series, which was run by Billy Finnegan, and that was at Nutts Corner and Bishopscourt, and that year I won the Championship, the standard Saloon Championship, in a Honda Civic.” Tony explains. “From there, I took a big break, and I don’t think I done anything for about ten years and then…

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What A Difference A Day Makes! On Thursday 2nd November most of the Kirkistown track was under water. It had been like this for a few days. However, the rain had stopped and the storm drains were shifting water at capacity. The problem was that the land adjacent to Kirkistown was also flooded and that water was coming into the circuit. Both had to clear before it would be possible to run a track day. On Friday 3rd the track was still unusable but the waters had noticeably receded. The call was made, with fingers, toes, arms and legs all…

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Motorsport runs through the veins of many within Northern Ireland and without an army of volunteers at events, alongside those in the background leading up to an event, drivers simply wouldn’t have a sport to compete in. As a thank you to members of The Motorsport Marshalling Partnership (MMP), who recruit and train marshals, timekeepers, radio personnel and rescue crew, to name just a few roles, drivers from a few motorsport disciplines brought their cars to Kirkistown Racing Circuit on Saturday 2 December to take MMP members for many laps in the passenger seat. This thank you was once a…

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Run

After a sabbatical of around five years, Saturday 30 September 2023 saw the return on the ‘Mourne Run’ in what turned out to be a well-supported event, despite the inclement weather. Reignited this year by classic car and rallying enthusiasts, William James and Alistair Gray, this year’s run was opened to a greater selection of vehicles than has been permitted in years gone by. William said, “The Moune Run has been going for about a dozen years now. Originally it was organised by the Irish Escort Owners Club, with Colin Lindsay and Jim Davidson, who are two great fellas, being…

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To say that the weather was inclement at Kirkistown on Saturday 30th September would be an understatement. Qualifying sessions for The Martin Donnelly and Emerson Fittipaldi Trophies race meeting, featuring cars and superkarts, took place in dryness but by Midday, the rain had arrived. By the time the first feature race for The Emerson Fittipaldi Trophy was ready to go, the track surface was wet, with many puddles. The trophy was donated to the Irish Formula Vees by the Ex-F1 World Champion, many years ago. Ronan Doherty, from Dunloy, had made his intentions clear by winning the first Formula Vee race…

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Parliament Buildings on the outskirts of Belfast reverberated to the sound of rallying for the first time in sixteen years for a very special celebration recognising the achievement of local crew William Creighton and Liam Regan. Back in 2007, this picturesque and historic setting was the location for the start of the World Rally Championships Irish round, when this world-class series last visited Northern Ireland. Marcus Gronholm won the opening stage that year, which was a spectator special around Stormont Estate, aboard his Ford Focus RS World Rally Car. As special and memorable as this event was, Thursday 5 October…

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