I caught up with Ireland’s new BTCC driver on the morning the details of his Motorbase deal were announced.

 

Aron, you must be delighted to finally confirm your 2012 deal?

You have no idea how happy I am to get to announce it, it’s been very long winter getting this organised.. Not being able to tell anyone has made it even harder, I felt like a was about to explode!

 

From your taste of BTCC last year, how big of a step is it from Clios- and can you be competitive in 2012?

It’s a big step up, the touring car is a thoroughbred racing car and a bit different to drive. I think the nature of it should be more suited to my driving style. I’ve a proper testing programme ahead of me now so hopefully I can hit the ground running.

 

Tell us a little about your new team & car- and why you chose them?

Well I think the team spoke for themselves with the results from last year and I know the car will be competitive. I can’t tell you how much I love the team, not only are they extremely professional but they’ve already made me feel at home.

 

Will the car have any new developments for 2012 and will you have much pre season testing?

I know the team have been working really hard over the winter gap and yes there’s quite a few developments which will be part of my testing programme. There’s not a lot which needs to be done to car because from what I’ve felt it is already a very well set up chassis.

 

Who do you see as your strongest opposition this year?

That’s a very hard question, to think I’ll be lining up on the grid with drivers who had been racing since before I was born makes it even more exciting. It’s hard to say but I think Matt Jackson did very well last year and without his bad luck would have won the championship so to have him as a team mate will be great.

 

With the Niall Murray and Andy O’Brien joining the BTCC package in their respective Ginetta series, you can expect plenty of vocal Irish support this year, can you give them a win?!

I’d love to think I can!! I’ll be going flat out from day one so hopefully with a bit of luck I can make everyone in Ireland proud! It’s great to have other Irish drivers in the package and I know I’ll be out cheering them on.

 

How can your Irish fans keep up to date with your progress?

Leo’s Blog of course, you’ll know my every movement this season! Also follow me on twitter @aronsmith_ and my website is www.aronsmithracing.com

that’s all this time folks,

Leo

Follow me on Twitter: @topofthetower

Motorsport Ireland Dunlop Young Driver of the Year, Aron Smith, will step up to the British Touring Car Championship this year after signing a deal to race with Motorbase Performance.

The 22 year-old Dublin based Irishman, who ended the 2011 season as Vice Champion in the AirAsia Renault Clio Cup, collecting three wins and nine podiums in the process, is no stranger to the BTCC having gained a top ten finish on his debut in the series at Knockhill last September.

“Its an absolute dream come true,” said Smith. “I have looked upon the BTCC for years, and all that I have ever aspired to be is a British Touring Car Championship driver.”

“To know that I will be lining up on the grid in 2012 is a pretty surreal feeling. I can still hardly believe even now that it has become a reality.”

Smith will be aiming to start the season in perfect style in the Ford Focus that enabled Motorbase to challenge for the 2011 BTCC crown.

The 2012 British Touring Car Championship will get underway at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit on 1st April with live race day coverage on ITV4 and ITV4 HD.

Follow Aron on:

www.aronsmith.com
@Aronsmith_
facebook.com/aronsmithracing

 

Follow me on twitter @topofthetower

Leo

Results for 18/19 February 2012

CARLOW C C RALLYCROSS AT MONDELLO PARK (ROUND 5 OF MOTORSPORT IRELAND NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP):

SUPER FINAL: 1 Ian O’Connell (Lotus Exige) 4m 14.79s,

2 Willie Coyne (Opel Corsa) 4m 21.46s,

3 Dessie Tierney (Opel Tigra) 4m 22.00s,

4 Gavin O’Connell (Ford Fiesta) 4m 28.92s,

5 Pearse Browne (BMW Compact) 4m 29.39s,

6 Padraig Leeson (Vauxhall Corsa) 4m 36.88s.

SUPERCAR A FINAL: 1 George Tracey (Citroen Xsara) 3m 24.69s,

2 John Kelly (Lancer Evo 7) 3m 33.05s.

SOUTHSIDE MOTOR FACTORS MODIFIED A FINAL:

1 Ian O’Connell (Lotus Exige) 3m 33.67s,

2 Willie Coyne (Opel Corsa) 3m 37.41s,

3 Padraig Leeson (Vauxhall Corsa) 3m 43.24s.

4 Gavin O’Connell (Ford Fiesta) 3m 44.56s,

5 Dessie Tierney (Opel Tigra) 3m 45.21s.

6 Pearse Browne (BMW Compact) 3m 48.02s.

SOUTHSIDE MOTOR FACTORS MODIFIED B FINAL:

1 Mark Carroll (Toyota Starlet) 3m 53.17s,

2 George Tohill (BMW Compact) 3m 56.23s,

3 Colm Mullins (Ford Fiesta) 3m 57.71s.

RATHGAR MOTOR FACTORS STOCK HATCH 16 VALVE FINAL:

1 Eddie Peterson (Peugeot 106) 3m 47.43s,

2 Graeme Colfer (Peugeot 106) 3m 50.64s,

3 Aaron Dalton (Peugeot 106) 3m 56.47s,

4 Philip Lawless (Peugeot 106) 4m 00.07s.

RATHGAR MOTOR FACTORS STOCK HATCH 8 VALVE A FINAL:

1 Noel O’Brien (Peugeot 205) 3m 54.56s,

2 Stephen Morrin (Peugeot 205) 3m 58.27s,

3 Mark Halligan (Peugeot 205) 3m 58.68s,

4 Keith Kerrshaawe (Peugeot 205) 4m 00.54s,

5 Peter McGarry (Peugeot 205) 4m 01.20s,

6 Fergal Bowes (Peugeot 205) 4m 02.24s.

RATHGAR MOTOR FACTORS STOCK HATCH 8 VALVE B FINAL:

1 Keith Kerrshaawe (Peugeot 205) 4m 02.51s,

2 Tom Murphy (Peugeot 205) 4m 02.75s,

3 Paul Nolan (Peugeot 205) 4m 06.25s.

JUNIOR A FINAL: 1 James Fleming (Toyota Starlet) 4m 01.68s,

2 Sophie Byrne (Nissan Micra) 4m 07.92s,

3 Andrew Clarke (Nissan Micra) 4m 08.43s,

4 Eamon Horan (Nissan Micra) 4m 08.89s,

5 Dylan Curley (Toyota Starlet) 4m 13.00s,

6 James Huddleston (Suzuki Swift) 4m 15.64s.

RALLY CAR A FINAL: 1 Noel Greene (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) 3m 32.83s,

2 Des Ryan (Opel Corsa) 3m 35.99s,

3 Patrick Donoghue (Peugeot 205) 3m 38.27s,

4 Mick Curtis (Vauxhall Corsa) 3m 39.54s,

5 Thomas O’Rafferty (Opel Corsa) 3m 52.67s,

6 Mark Greene (Peugeot 205) 3m 54.34s.

RALLY CAR B FINAL: 1 Peter O’Brien (Peugeot 205) 4m 07.57s,

2 William Tutty (Peugeot 205) 4m 08.39s.

CO MONAGHAN M C AUTOTEST AT SWANS CROSS, CO MONAGHAN (ROUND 11 OF HEWISON TROPHY CHAMPIONSHIP):

1 Steven Ferguson (Mini Special) 641.8s,

2 Sam Bowden (Mini) 648.2s,

3 David Thompson (Nova) 678.8s,

4 Robin Lyons (Mini Special) 678.8s,

5 Guy Foster (Mini) 681.1s,

6 Mark King (Nova) 682.4s,

7 Paddy Power (Mini Special) 685.0s,

8 Norman Ferguson (Mini) 702.9s,

9 Paul Phelan (Mini Special) 729.2s,

10 Trevor Ferguson (Striker) 730.9s,

11 Andrew O’Donohoe (Westfield) 738.8s,

12 Darren Quille (Westfield) 756.5s.

Class winners: Sam Bowden, Robin Lyons, Trevor Ferguson, David Thompson.

Novice awards: Timmy Lynch (Westfield) 787.1s, Jamie McMillan (Nova) 847.0s.

Club members’ Class: 1 Andy Mackarel (Starlet Special) 376.6s, 2 Daniel McKenna 379.3s, 3 Richard Cassidy (Micra) 395.7s.

ALMC ENDURANCE TRIAL AT LUTTRELLSTOWN, DUBLIN:

1 Daniel Byrne/Kevin Fagan (Toyota Starlet) 11m 58s,

2 Robert Barrable/John Rowan (Toyota Starlet) 15m 34s,

3 Willie Fenton/Dave McAulay (Toyota Starlet) 18m 30s,

4 Simon McKinley/Deirdre Delaney (Fiat Cinquecento) 19m 01s,

5 Damien Doran/Anthony O’Neill (Toyota Starlet) 19m 32s,

6 Mark O’Connor/Simon Quinn (Hyundai Accent) 25m 02s.

Navigation Cars:

1 Robert Woodside Jnr/Dean Beckett (Mazda MX5) 10m 47s,

2 Richard Meeke/Philip O’Reilly (Opel Corsa) 14m 26s,

3 Stephen Free/Clifford Auld (Proton Satria) 15m 21s.

Class winners: Richard Meeke/Philip O’Reilly, Robert Woodside Jnr/Dean Beckett.

Retrospective Cars:

1 Dermot Carnegie/Paul Bosdet (Ford Escort) 13m 17s,

2 Kevin Fitzgerald/Vincent Fagan (Ford Escort) 15m 35s,

3 David Hayes/James Casey (Toyota Starlet) 15m 44s.

Class winners: David Hayes/James Casey, Dermot Carnegie/Paul Bosdet.

LEINSTER MOTOR CLUB LINCOLN & NOLAN CUP SPORTING TRIAL AT MONEYSTOWN, ASHFORD, CO WICKLOW:

1 Fergil Gregory (Erskine-Yamaha) 4 marks,

2 Paddy Cahill (Erskine-VW) 5m,

3 Joe McCann (JMcVW) 5m,

4 John O’Reilly (Erskine-Kawasaki) 6m,

5 Ollie Peden (VW) 6m,

6 Philip Erskine (Erskine-Yamaha) 6m,

7 Christopher Evans (ETE-Yamaha) 6m,

8 Alan Watkins (Watkins-Yamaha) 6m,

9 Alan Kilkenny (Kilkenny-Yamaha) 7m,

10 Aidan Kehoe (Sheane VW) 7m,

11 Gordon Watkins (Watkins-Yamaha) 7m,

12 Brian Conlon (Erskine-Honda) 7m.

Grade winners: John O’Reilly, Paddy Cahill, David Slevin (Kilkenny VW) 10m, David Pain (Kilkenny VW) 20m.

DATE: 18.2.12

CLUB: ALMC

EVENT: Endurance Trial

VENUE: HQ: Luttrellstown Castle Resort, Castleknock, Dublin 15

START TIME: 11.00

Event Secretary: Clara Healy ph: 086-3366186

DATE: 18/19.2.12

CLUB: Cork MC

EVENT: 4×4 Trial

VENUE: Rockgrove, Coachford, Co Cork

START TIME: 11.00

Event Secretary: Michael O’Shea ph: 086-8308250

DATE: 18.2.12

CLUB: Leinster MC

EVENT: Sporting Trial

VENUE: Moneystown, Ashford, Co Wicklow

START TIME: 11.30

Event Secretary: Dave Smyth ph: 087-0528466

DATE: 18/19.2.12

CLUB: Donegal MC

EVENT: Navigation Trial

VENUE: The Rock, Churchill, Co Donegal

START TIME: 21.00

Event Secretary: Gary McElhinney ph: 087-6717393

DATE: 19.2.12

CLUB: Carlow CC

EVENT: Rallycross (RX)

VENUE: Mondello Park, Donore, Naas, Co Kildare

START TIME: 10.15

Event Secretary: Fiona Cullen ph: 086-8905657

DATE: 19.2.12

CLUB: Skibbereen & District CC

EVENT: Autocross (LS)

VENUE: Campbell’s Pit, Grancore, Clonakilty, Co Cork

START TIME: 10.30

Event Secretary: Susan Beamish ph: 087-2020487

DATE: 19.2.12

CLUB: Co Monaghan MC

EVENT: Autotest (H)

VENUE: Wright’s Quarry, Swans Cross, Co Monaghan

START TIME: 11.30

Event Secretary: Cora Maguire ph: 086-3627000

Dunlop Sexton Trophy to support Ireland’s young motorsport talent

Motorsport Ireland today announced details of an overhaul of the Dunlop Sexton Trophy for the Young Racing Driver of the Year, which will see an Irish driver funded to compete for a full racing season from 2013.

The award, which was established in 2000 to reward excellence in young Irish racing, was a contribution of €50,000 to the winner to help them compete the following season. The 2012 winner of the Dunlop Sexton Trophy will now receive a full season of racing in Formula Ford culminating in the World Cup at Brands Hatch and the Walter Hayes Trophy at Silverstone in 2013.

The car, which will be provided by Motorsport Ireland with backing from Dunlop and the Irish Sports Council, will be run by professional racing team Bernard Dolan Racing. The winner will also be mentored for the year by Mick Merrigan, a name synonymous with Formula Ford and the management of young drivers.

Merrigan sees this as a big boost to racing in Ireland; “I feel that the change in the rules for this Award will encourage more young Irish drivers to compete in a variety of racing classes. Hence, it will improve the grids across Motorsport Ireland’s Championships for 2012. I would like to commend Motorsport Ireland, Dunlop and the Irish Sports Council for this amazing Award which hopefully will help a young Irish driver advance his career in International Motorsport.”

The winner, who must be under 23 and competing nationally, will be chosen from the six drivers selected as the Dunlop Sexton Young Racing Driver of the Month from April through to September. The top three will then be announced prior to the Dunlop Motorsport Ireland Awards for 2012 with the winner announced on the day.

Alex Sinclair, Chief Executive of Motorsport Ireland, said; “Racing in Ireland has been suffering over the last few years due to the recession and the financial difficulties facing everyone. This is an opportune time to refocus attention on the home racing scene and give one talented young racing driver a great chance to succeed in 2013.”

For more information on the Dunlop Sexton Young Racing Driver of the Year log on to www.motorsportireland.com

follow me on twitter: @topofthetower

Leo

The Leinster Motor Club have just released a list of classes who will race at their Bishopscourt race meeting on 12/13 May. They are as follows:
ITCC
Formula Vee
Formula Sheane
Global GT Lights
Dunlop Abarth Cup
Strykers
Uno/Punto
Legends
NI Sevens
FF1600
Historics

The club describes this list as being “non exhaustive” as they are in discussions with additional classes who are keen to attend. They have also announced a partnership with the BARC in relation to the running of the event. Entries are £250 regardless of class but competitors who enter before Monday 16th April can avail of a discounted entry fee of £230. Their latest communication also says that they will be releasing interesting details of the sponsorship of the event shortly. Watch this space….
As we have mentioned previously, the Phoenix Park circuit is currently enjoying a spot of resurfacing, the main straight being almost finished as I type. I went up for a looksee at the weekend and the place looks great. The surface on the main straight has needed to be sorted for a few years now, (as I am sure Dan Daly can testify after a spectacular off there in 09!) and the section from Mountjoy corner all the way down to the old Monument has just been finished. The surface down at the Furry Glen is

also pretty much as new so we should see some lap records tumbling when we all return there in August! The big news is of course that the UK Historic FF2000 series are coming to visit and will race for the Dublin Grand Prix trophy.  From what I believe,  a few former Irish FF2000 drivers are furiously searching for suitable chassis to take on the visitors. Joey Greenan claims to still have an ex Martin Donnelly chassis and has vowed to return for this meeting and I would not be surprised if Dan Daly’s name appears on the entry list too. All we need now is Brendan McKenna to come back out of retirement and it will be like the good old days again!

The first Mondello test day is today,  so some of the various new car/driver combinations should be out on track. Sean Doyle and Jake Byrne should both be out in Globals to get some more miles under their belts before they challenge the class regulars this season.

I was in Mondello on Sunday for round four of the Rallycross series. Unfortunately, Rallycross seems to be in a bit of bother at the moment. Grids are little short of miniscule and there does not seem to be too much change on the horizon either unfortunately. Regardless of this, the racing was superb in all classes last Sunday and thankfully damage was also minimal. James Fleming took a fine win in Juniors in his Starlet but mas pushed every inch of the way by Jake Byrne’s Micra with sister Sophie climbing to third from fifth on the grid. Sophie’s performance was particularly impressive as she had a monumental shunt at the previous round, rolling her ABR Micra heavily. Noel “Mad Dog” O’Brien took the honours in 8v stockhatch as normal but this time he had to work slightly harder as

the ever improving “Clane Mafia” closed the gap considerably. Ciaran “Bugle” Murphy was best of the rest with Mark Halligan and Stephen Morrin next up. 16v Stockhatch has been fascinating this season with all the cars and drivers being really closely matched. Graeme Colfer came out on top this time but only just as Eddie Peterson was alongside on the charge to the line.  Ian O’Connell’s Lotus Exige took modified honours, well ahead of the Opel mounted pairing of Willie Coyne and Dessie Tierney.

George Treacy took his usual Supercar win, with just two in the class but John Kelly and the Sportchip.ie crew have obviously been fiddling with the ex rally Evo over the winter break as he was far closer to George’s Xsara than ever before.  They are convinced that there is more to come too so maybe we will soon see a proper battle at the front of the Superfinal for the first time in a long time! Reigning champion Tommy Graham has not come out to defend his title and his Fiesta would appear to be for sale so perhaps someone will grab a good deal and make George work a bit harder for the silverware…. The current rallycross clubs and drivers need to sit down together though, and put together a plan to promote the sport.  Derek Tohill has flown the tricolour in the ERC to incredibly good effect in recent years but it would now appear he is the only one doing any

promotion for the sport back here too. He is supplying awards, through his partsforcars.ie business, has set up a website (www.irishrallycross.ie) and also sends out most of the information to drivers and press. That one man should be doing all that is just wrong so if you think you can help, in any capacity, please contact  him, or  leave a comment below.  Alternatively, you can rent or buy Stockhatch cars extremely cheaply if you want to join in the action, you certainly won’t be disappointed!

That’s about it for this time but if you have any other news don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Until the next time…

Leo

Follow me on twitter: @topofthetower

 

Looks like the season is kicking off guys and gals. A Night Navigation, a Mudplug, The Galway Rally and a Rallycross at Mondello all take place this weekend!

DATE: 4.2.12

CLUB: Motor Enthusiasts’ Club

EVENT: Sporting Trial

VENUE: Hogg’s Farm, Greenan, Co Wicklow

START TIME: 11.30

Event Secretary: Roy Stewart ph: 087-2574406

 

DATE: 4/5.2.12

CLUB: Skibbereen & District CC

EVENT: Navigation Trial (NT)

VENUE: HQ: Harrington Inn, Timoleague, Co Cork

START TIME: TBA

Event Secretary: Eoghan Duggan ph: 086-1019449

 

DATE: 5.2.12

CLUB: Galway MC

EVENT: International Stages Rally (TROA)

VENUE: HQ: Clayton Hotel, Ballybrit, Galway

START TIME: 09.30

Event Secretary: Joan Vaughan ph: 086-8902057

 

DATE: 5.2.12

CLUB: Carlow CC

EVENT: Rallycross (RX)

VENUE: Mondello Park, Donore, Naas, Co Kildare

START TIME: 10.15

Event Secretary: Fiona Cullen ph: 086-8905657

The MEC recently organised “An Evening with Michael Roe” with Robin Rhodes as MC and Stephen and Michael Doyle hosting the event in the Glen of The Downs Golf Club. Predictably, Robin was superb, his rapier wit having lost none of its edge since I last met him when he visited us in the Phoenix Park commentary box in 2009! The audience was almost like a “Who’s Who” of Irish Motorsport with ex racers such as Des Cullen, Larry Mooney, Peter Lynch and Mike Armstrong rubbing shoulders with club officials and a plethora of current racers. Even young Ginetta Junior race winner Sean Doyle was there, ensuring that we had all generations of the sport represented.
Robin kicked off  with Michael discussing his dominant 1984 title winning Can-Am season,  eloquently explaining tech specs and even the complexities of running one of the cars.

This was followed with a film show of Michael’s Can-Am season complete with a wonderfully enthusiastic Paul Phelan lookalike presenter! This showed the extent of Michael’s dominance of the series, with his VDS-Chevy often qualifying almost two seconds clear of the pursuing pack. In fact such was the Irishman’s pace, that he qualified on pole for each of the ten championship races and won seven, with Jim Crawford picking up the pieces in the remaining three, only when Roe hit trouble. An interesting part of this story was that when the Can Am series shared the Dallas track with the F1 championship, Roe’s fastest lap was over a second quicker than the best of the F1s, Nikki Lauda. Also, that weekend, Michael recalled, Martin Brundle crashed his Tyrrell and broke his ankle. Ken Tyrrell offered the Irishman the drive for the following Australian Grand Prix. Initially he accepted, rang Wilfie Fitzsimmons in the RIAC (nowadays Motorsport Ireland), who organised the necessary superlicence, and began organising his trip. Team owner Don Walker was against this however and told Michael to stay put, and they would launch an Indycar team the following year. “I have no doubt that had we done so, we would have won plenty of Indycar races because we had a super team”,  he says wistfully, but unfortunately Walker ended up in prison for various reasons and the dream came to naught!

When the film was over, Robin and Michael returned to the microphone for some chat about Michael’s racing in Ireland in the early days. Robin’s initial question being “Did you learn much at Mondello or more when you went to the UK?” Michael immediately answered “I learnt everything in Mondello”  He paid tribute to John Murphy, who he said had incredible knowledge when Michael began racing FF1600 (John is retired and lives near Mondello now and his two sons race Formula Vee!) and then Ralph Firman when he moved to the UK. He said the Irish drivers were successful because they often lived with team owners  during the season even and bartered expected prize money against entry fees on occasion. He also said there was always someone back home who would offer you “the odd hundred quid” to keep you going! (Don Kissane receiving an honourable mention at this point!) One of the best stories of the night was when discussing his Formula Ford campaign in 1978. The works Van Diemen was not handling 100% and after a lot of work, Michael and the (works) team came to the conclusion that the chassis was stressing the engine block unduly. They took the car back to the workshop and cut off the engine mounts and welded in new ones. after a few laps, Michael says the car was perfect so he came in. He was back home in Naas the next week and his father asked him how he was going to do in the next big race,( this being the Formula Ford Festival.) “I’m going to win it” replied Michael.  Michael’s father then suggested that his son should buy a suit for the prizegiving, so off he went down the main street in Naas to a shop “that sold pitchforks and wellies” and bought a new suit for the princely sum of £17.50! The suit was duly packed into the bag, Michael flew through the heats, semis and quarters and won the final, and wore the suit to the prizegiving! The infamous story of Michael driving back from Dun Laoghaire ferry port to Naas….. in his Formula Ford…. when his lift didn’t arrive, did not come out as unfortunately time ran out but I have no doubt that we only saw the tip of the iceberg in terms of Michael’s stories!

Well done to the MEC for putting together such an enjoyable evening (free of charge by the way!) and to the Doyles for their usual superb hospitality. A quick chat with MEC President Robin Taylor during the night revealed that they intend to run some more of these events, possibly even going bi-monthly. When the word spreads about the first one, I have a feeling they will be inundated with enquiries about the next! They are also looking for new members, specifically younger ones, to ensure the future of their historic club. Further information can be found on www.mec.ie

that’s all for this time,

Leo

follow me on Twitter: @topofthetower

 

 

 

It seems there is a positive feeling about the Irish racing scene already this year. Despite the current economic climate,

there have already been a few announcements about the plans for various classes. Dunlop Abarths were first out of the blocks with their impressive initiative and predictably, Bill Griffin’s car sold imediately after the announcement, with one or two more apparently being dug out of hibernation to join the grids. Names being mentioned in connection with the series include former Punto 1400 champion Barry Travers as well as Barry Hallion, who intends to move up from 1400s too. Formula Sheane also had their first 2012 test at Mondello Park recently, with RTE’s John Kenny being one of the people who took to the track in the 160bhp single seaters. Three cars have changed hands over the winter months and the class looks set to enjoy a bumper season in 2012. As most of you are probably aware, I am involved with Formula Sheane this year and I am hoping to attract some younger drivers to the class. The reason for this is twofold; firstly the guys at the front would provide a great yardstick with which to judge some of our young talent but secondly I think the class is a superb platform for a young driver to shine and perhaps even challenge for the Dunlop Sexton Trophy- watch this space!

ITCC announced in the last few days the details of their partnership with Yokohama and followed it up with some exciting incentives, best of all being the chance of drivers in both classes winning a trip to Estoril in Portugal to see the WTCC in action! This class has been a wonderful addition to Irish motor racing in the last two years bringing not only new drivers and teams, but also new spectators, to the Kildare venue. As you will have read in the last week, The Leinster Motor Club have confirmed that Bishopscourt returns to the motor racing calendar for the first time in many many years. ITCC, Abarths and just recently Formula Sheane, have announced that they will be amongst the other regular classes heading North to enjoy this weekend. With Mondello’s two layoujts, we now effectively have four permanent circuits on the island, which can only be a good thing for motorsport. As if all this news wasn’t enough, Anne Stevens tells me that plans for The Phoenix Park 2012 are coming along nicely. Remember, vouchers towards race entries are still available and are a perfect prezzie for the significant petrolhead in your life!  More info on http://www.phoenixparkmotorraces.ie/

As Ginetta Champion Andy O’Brien moves to the UK to take up his prize drive, and Niall Murray prepares for his second season in UK Ginettas, we can expect an influx of young racers to take their places in Ginetta Junior Ireland.  Andrew Watson intends to join Murray in UK Juniors whilst Sean Doyle and Jake Byrne have gone the Global route as they have turned 17 and can no longer compete in the junior class. James Fleming improved immensely towards the end of last season showing flashes of race winning pace and cannot be discounted. Andrew Clarke also made good progress and Megan Kessie and Sophie Byrne (bouyed by her maiden Junior Rallycross victory recently) should also show well. I am surprised there have not been more new drivers in this class as parents can expect vastly reduced running costs compared to top line karting and the young drivers also learn a lot about presentation and PR from the class. Allied to this, I hear both Murray Motorsport and ABR have good deals on used cars for the 2012 season.

The Carsport Yearbook has just hit the shelves and includes a season review by yours truly, an interesting piece by Michael O’Carroll on his involvement in the Queen and Obama visiting these shores (I jest you not!) and lots of other motorsport news….

thats all for now,

Leo

follow me on Twitter @topofthetower

Having just announced their new alliance with Yokohama Tyres, the ITCC have unveiled some impressive details of their 2012 championship.
Firstly, Yokohama will have technical support at all rounds of the series as well as on selected test days, The class will have a hospitality area with refreshments at all Mondello Park rounds of the series, new trophys, (including a perpetual trophy for the Touring class) and cash prizes. The most impressive announcement though, is that when the class visit Bishopscourt for rounds three and four on May12th/13th, the top points scorer in both Touring and Super Touring over the weekend will receive an all expenses paid trip to Estoril in Portugal to see the World Touring Car Championship on June 2nd and 3rd. This prize comes from the alliance with Yokohama and should ensure that the ITCC racing at Bishopscourt will be even closer than normal!

With  all of the regulars coming back for more, and some new cars being built, we can expect some great tin top racing from the class. Martin Treacy will of course be back to defend his crown for the second time but Johnny Whelan,  Phil Brennan, Ciaran Timmons and a host of others will be doing their best to ensure he doesn’t! (Not forgetting series organisers Philip Burdock & Brian Sexton both who had tough seasons in 2011 but showed plenty of pace late on.)  There is a first official ITCC test day on Friday the 16th of March at Mondello Park and we will be there, stopwatch in hand,to find out who we need to keep an eye on in 2012! Read all about it on Leo’s Blog!

follow me on twitter: @topofthetower

Leo