LOCAL CREW SECURE SENSATIONAL JUNIOR WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP DEBUT WIN IN SWEDEN… Creighton, 25 from Moira in Co. Down was the star of the field, setting fastest time on an unrivalled nine stages during the event. His pace would see him build a lead of over 40 seconds against his nearest rivals, before his Fiesta bonnet flew up and blocked his view, losing almost a minute in the process. Starting the final day of the event, Creighton and Belfast co-driver Liam Regan found themselves 19 seconds away from the leader and in a truly fascinating masterclass of top-level driving, Creighton…
Author: Graham Baalham-Curry
Saturday 21 January 2023 was the date of the 2022 SW Adair Tyres Northern Ireland Sprint Championship prize giving and Night of Champions in Edenmore Golf club. This was a new venue which had not been used before, but it saw a fabulous evening’s craic and some outstanding food. It was also one of the best supported speed championship awards dinners of recent times, with 144 people in attendance to collect prizes from the SW Adair Tyres Northern Ireland Sprint Championship and the Millers Oils Hillclimb Championship. As usual, there was a fair bit of banter amongst everyone which, as…
The Motorsport Marshalling Partnership (MMP) is most grateful to Alan Cassells and David Evans, for facilitating the Partnership to hold its annual Prize giving at the ANICC SW Adair Tyres Sprint and Jem Oils Hillclimb Awards 2023 in the Edenmore Country Club, Magheralin on Saturday, 21st January 2023 – a night where all the attendees enjoyed superb food, terrific service, convivial company and well received awards presentations. It was a truly memorable night. The MMP, now nearly a quarter of a century in existence, continues to Recruit, Train, Mentor and Reward volunteer Marshals who give freely of their time to…
Our annual championship awards night took place on Saturday 21st January at Edenmore Golf Club. With over 140 people in attendance representing both speed championships, the MMP, and members from ANICC, this was quite an increase in numbers compared to the previous year. The new venue was a hit with everyone, providing great food and service on the night. A change to previous years, there was also a DJ in attendance, for those who stayed after for a dance and celebrations, although they wouldn’t have made it into strictly come dancing with some of the moves! The overall 2022 champion,…
Saturday 5th March 2022 seen the resumption of the McMillan Specialist Cars NI Autotest Championship after its winter recess. The lay-off hadn’t blunted Steven Ferguson’s edge at all and he pretty much picked up his winning ways where he left off in September, coming out top of the timesheets at eight of the ten rounds of the championship, securing the Stewartstown man his eight overall championship win. Nowadays, the “specials” don’t necessarily have it all their own way, and at two rounds it was David Thompson in his “Large Saloon” (Class D) Vauxhall Nova who pushed Steven off the top…
The Millbrook Lodge Hotel in Ballynahinch was the venue for the ANICC McGrady Insurance Motorsport UK Northern Ireland Rally Championship and Northern Ireland Forest Rally Challenge awards on Saturday 28 January 2023. Not content with having just two championship winners present on the evening, Ballynahinch and District Motor Club attracted fifteen former Northern Ireland rally champions to the ceremony which was attended by around two hundred guests. Easily accessible records show that since the late 1970’s a total of twenty-one drivers have won the championship. So to have this many champions in attendance is nothing short of commendable. It is…
As the automotive industry moves towards a greater use of renewable energy Ford offer mild hybrid, hybrid, and plug-in hybrid technology globally on six models within their range. With one additional vehicle offering full electrification, which is priced just shy of £51,000 the Ford Mustang Mach-E has raised the eyebrows of purists of the Blue Oval. To most, the picture of a sleek sports car with a throbbing V8 engine up front and questionable handling is what they would see when the words Mustang and Ford are mentioned together. What Ford give us with their new Mustang Mach-E however is…
When it comes to electric vehicles I have always struggled to get excited about them that is until I drove the Honda e. Right up until spending a week with this quirky little Honda, I have never found an EV that I would actually wish to own. Many that I have experienced all carry merits in various areas, but none of them drove particularly well. Living semi-rural, I feel that the extra weight carried in these vehicles, thanks to their batteries, isn’t absorbed pleasantly via the chassis nor through the suspension on our rural roads network. They often feel very…
Electrification is said to be the future of motoring and there is one electric vehicle that has been gathering accolades throughout the UK since its launch last year. Korean manufacturer Kia has quite a large family, with something in the region of ten models on offer. A few of these models have a different body styles available, adding to the family size, and a large percentage are available as hybrid. In regards to electric vehicles, the award-winning Kia EV6 is the brands first dedicated one. Built upon the new E-GMP platform, it is the first of eleven all-new BEV’s to…
The 500 Motor Racing Club of Ireland, who own and operate Kirkistown Racing Circuit in County Down, held their annual awards party in The Beechlawn Hotel in Dunmurry on Saturday 7th January. After an excellent meal, Circuit Manager, Donal O’Neill began the prize giving procedure with the 1995 World Formula E (now known as 250cc Superkarts) Champion, Trevor Roberts, presenting the awards. First up were125cc Superkarts. Donal recalled that Hillsborough driver, Noel Lindsay, was racing motorbikes at the same time as himself, too many years ago! Noel collected the third place trophy while Millisle driver, Ross Witherow, took the Prince…
Last summer I spent a week with the Suzuki S-Cross which coincided with a camping trip and I was shocked at how well it coped with carrying people and luggage. My first experience of this model came at the launch of the full hybrid Suzuki Vitara, when a couple of S-Cross models were entrusted to do the airport transfers for some of us journalists attending the event. The drive from Manchester Airport to Carden Park Estate took something in the region of 75 minutes, during which time the S-Cross proved to be much more comfortable and accommodating than expected when…
First launched in 1999 the Honda HR-V looked like the offspring of a hearse and an off-road vehicle after a one night stand, especially in three-door guise. Despite looking like it could take on a plateau whilst delivering bread, ground clearance wasn’t anything worth talking about. Self named by Honda as the ‘Joy Machine’ it soon became a rival to the Land Rover Freelander, Toyota RAV4 and Suzuki Jimny. It was well built and reliable, available in two or four-wheel-drive, and still looks pretty funky today. A neighbour of mine actually has one, and it always catches my eye. The…