The quiet hills above Holywood in County Down come alive each spring to the sounds and smells of racing cars and 2023 was no different as the ANICC Motorsport Supplies Hillclimb Championship got underway in April. Here’s how the season unfolded: 15th April – TSCC, Croft Ryan McGimpsey got off to a great start with a maximum points haul at the opening round in his Jedi MkI. His brother, Ricky, hot on his heels finished second, with Phil Dorman picking up third placed points. John Donnelly and Robert McGimpsey finishing the top five respectively. In the categories, Roger Gage was…
Author: Graham Baalham-Curry
Edenmore Golf & Country Club in Magheralin was the venue for the 2023 Motorsport Supplies sponsored Northern Ireland Hillclimb Championship awards ceremony which was held on Saturday 20th January 2024. Around 120 guests filled the room, and these comprised of award winners, their family, and friends, as well as members of the Association of Northern Ireland Car Clubs. The meal was well received, and presentations were made between courses. As usual, there was a fair bit of banter amongst everyone which, as customary, ended with tales of late braking, worn tyres, broken diffs, and outlandish claims from those who have…
This year saw the inaugural ‘Micra Challenge’ take place in Northern Ireland and with fifteen drivers taking part across a busy season of six events hopefully the way in which it started is the way that means to go on. Affordable motorsport exists in many places. Track days in road cars, sprints and hillclimbs in motorsport prepared vehicles, and racing for those in more specialist cars are all examples of motorsport that can be costed within reach of most. Rallying is a little different though and the closest any of us will get to driving this sport is via an…
Finaghy driver Kyle White climbs the rally ladder this season with a new car after winning the British Junior Rally Championship last year. I had the chance to catch up with the 27-year-old just days before the big reveal of his new livery at the Autosport Show held at the NEC in Birmingham. Unveiling his 2016 Hyundai i20 R5 on the British Rally Championship’s stand at this prestigious show this morning, I can confirm that Kyle plans to campaign this championship once again. The season ahead will be a steep learning curve as, having never driven four-wheel-drive in competition before,…
Towards the end of last summer, I embarked on a family adventure in a vehicle that I’d have not looked twice at for the task at hand, but it proved me wrong. Very wrong, in fact. When I received the summer rota for cars in the province, and the dates that I was to drive them, the Suzuki Swace coincided with a camping trip to Wicklow. At first, I recalled being incredibly impressed with the Swace I drove a year previously, but then I remembered that what is essentially a rebranded Toyota Corolla, isn’t exactly huge. A practical estate car…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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’…
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…
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…