This Saturday 25th August sees a seventeen race programme presented by the Five Hundred Motor Racing Club of Ireland Ltd. Stars of the show will be two Formula 5000 single seater racing cars. These were the type of cars that took on and sometimes beat their more famous contemporary cousins in Formula 1, back in the seventies. Swiss drivers Gislain Genecand and Alain Girardet will be racing in the BOSS Ireland race (Big Open Single Seaters). Genecand will be driving a 5.0l Surtees TS5A and Girardet will be driving a 5.0l McLaren M10B. Both cars are powered by Chevy V8…
Author: Donal O'Neill
Sunday 14th May was a day of two extremes at Kirkistown. Following only three weeks after the last Trackskills track day and landing on the North West weekend, numbers were somewhat lower than usual. However, from an activity point of view, the planned arrival of the Jacob’s Supercars cavalcade was a great success. Spectators arrived in hundreds and the queue at the café was right out the door for over an hour. Back to things on track. Tom Gaughran came up in his Clio Cup van that he sprints, very successfully, in England. He was using this event as a…
The final event of the Trackskills season took place on Sunday 13th November and it was obvious that we had run out of sacrificial virgins, as the rain never really stopped all day. It was never a genuine downpour but it was always at least a fine drizzle. With the ever-present Kirkistown wind during the early part of the day, slicks would still have been a brave option as there was no standing water and the track was greasy. However, just before lunch, the rain got heavier and a BMW dumped its oil liberally round the whole circuit. Driving became…
Once again our sacrificial virgin proved her worth. The weather for the great majority of the day was absolutely perfect. It was only at 5:20pm that the heavens opened and the few cars that were left at that time decided to call it a day. It had been interesting event. The age range of drivers spans six decades. Youngest was Jack Weir at seventeen in a 2.5 Sierra and Joe McArdle was at the other end of the spectrum, in his latter seventies and driving a Nissan 350Z. Joe was joined by seventy two year old Ron Birch in a…
Having had a Race School cancelled the previous day due to the bad weather, our sacrificial virgin proved her worth and we had great weather on Sunday until 4:50pm, when the drizzle began as a precursor to a downpour. The first car on track was Ryan Weir in his well-finished BMW 320. Justin Duff was back for two in a row in his BMW and we welcomed Nicholas Wood back in his “Princess”, a Honda engine Lotus Elise. These cars motored quickly and trouble-free all day. Damien Moran had a nice V5 Golf, in place of his trusty Elise, this…
On Sunday 17th July we had one of our best days ever at Kirkistown Circuit. The weather was very good, as were most of the driving standards. There was a great turn out of cars and to cap it all, our caterers from The Quays, raised a ton of money for a local girl who needs life saving cancer treatment in America! Fel McIlroy, our Chief Marshal, summed our track day up on Facebook. “Was brill day all round ..the sun ..the cars ..what more could we have asked for?” Gareth Blaine brought 330 race car out for the first…
Sunday 17th April was a day blessed with wonderful weather and a great selection of cars and drivers arrived at Kirkistown to enjoy trackskills. This event clashed with the BTCC at Donnington so we had some new faces on the marshal’s posts. The selection of cars was eclectic, particularly among those attending a Trackskills event for the first time. It was arguable as to which was the more beautiful between the Mk 1 Escort of Brian McIlmurry and the Alfa GTV of Bryan Pearson. Both were a joy to watch and hear. Ross Hompstead ventured out for the first time…
The first Trackskills track day of the 2016 season was fairly uneventful. Numbers were okay and as would be expected during what is still the Winter, there were no Locaterfields, although Allen Hume did go with just a soft top on his MX5. For once, the weather forecast was accurate. It was dry but cold until 3:00pm and then the rain came. Donna Anderson continued to learn in her black MX5 and Liam O’Flagherty learned that brakes are a necessity on his, having the pedal go to the floor in the first session! Alastair Whitten and Gareth Johnston lapped quickly,…
It was Sunday 20th September and against all predictions, bar that of the virgin, the sun was shining! However, we were still wary that the weather may change (She was thirty!) and so a special effort was made to get off the mark sharpish. The first group were experienced drivers in quiet cars. David Marshal led away in his Ford Ka. Luciano Saia is now classed as experienced and he went very quickly in his BMW M5. James Smart was back is his aging but quick Golf. Brendan McIlvanna was the first driver in the family Astra. Tom Gaughran brought…
Wow! What an event! The Trackskills track day on Sunday 24th May had a marvellous turn-out of cars and drivers. All enjoyed near perfect weather conditions. The first two cars into the paddock were Sean Turner’s beautiful Crosslé 9S and Jim Hutcheson’s equally gorgeous RSR Escort Mk1. Both drivers used the day to bed in brakes and check other set up parameters. While Sean’s day ran perfectly, Jim got most of what he wanted done before being thwarted by an electrical gremlin. Miller McIlrea returned, after some years, in a Mitsubishi Evo 6 that he had just got on the…
As track days go, our April one on Sunday 19th was a classic. It had everything, great cars, great drivers, great weather, great track and great, enthusiastic spectators! The scene was set when, upon arrival, I saw that the Breezemount Motorsport race truck was already in place at the paddock garages. That meant that Philip Shields had brought more than one car. In fact, he had brought one of his 458 Ferraris and his ex-BTCC Vauxhall Vectra. To cap that, Philip arrived in his LaFerrari, the only one in Ireland and it remained on display, beside the truck, all day.…
Yet again, the participants at Kirkistown on Sunday 22nd March were blessed with almost perfect weather. Yes, it was cold, as expected in March, but the sun shone all day. The health of this branch of motor sport can be judged by the number of newcomers sampling the joys of driving fast and safely on a closed circuit. Jonny Firkin was new to the Mazda MX5 ranks and he went well on his first day. A man who also joined the growing MX5 Brigade was experienced wheel man, Malcolm Bruce, who in the past has pedalled a Subaru Impreza at…