Archive for ‘2010’

The End of season prize giving dinner and awards ceremony will take place on Saturday October the 16th. The venue chosen is the centrally located Tullamore Court Hotel in Tullamore, Co. Offaly. This is a lovely modern 4 star Hotel with many modern facilities such as a leisure centre, complimentary broadband, a leisure centre with swimming pool and 104 beautifully appointed rooms. Tickets for the awards dinner and ceremony are priced at €35 and will include a lovely 3 course meal from their award winning restaurant.

Tickets are available by ringing Paul O’Connell on 087 2055095 and by posting the required sum to Paul O’ Connell, The Cottage, Crecora, Co Limerick. There are a limited number of spaces available so they will be allocated on a first come first served basis.

Rooms in the Tullamore Court Hotel are normally €75 but a limited number are available at a discounted rate of €60 euro per person sharing Bed and Breakfast or €50 per person room only rate. Ring the Tullamore Court Hotel on 057 9346666 for booking details. Looking forward to seeing you all there for a night of fun and festivities!

Tickets for the prize giving dinner will be available for sale in Donegal on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets will be available in the paddock on both mornings before the start of the event from Ciara Browne at Paul O’Connell’s silver trailer. (Its the one with www.irishhillclimb.com) on the side of it. Tickets are priced at €35 per ticket.

The sad news has come that a former hillclimber Brendan Gleeson has passed away yesterday Tuesday the 7th September. Brendan had competed on the hills in class 2 in a Honda Civic for a few years and will be sadly missed. A good competitor and a genuinely nice man. May he rest in peace. His funeral arrangements are as follows. Removal from his house this evening to Bohernabreena Church in Dublin. His remains will go to Newlands Crematorium following Mass in Bohernabreena church at 1.30 on thursday the 9th September.

The Connaught Competition Engines Hillclimb Championship Season draws to a close and what a thrilling finale we had in Donegal. With so many class positions to be settled and the overall result in the balance a large number of hillclimb regular competitors made the annual pilgrimage to Knockalla in Donegal.

On Saturday the day started off wet and windy, but got progressively drier. The famous Knockalla hillclimb was in great condition and all looked set for a great day.

The overall battle was poised to be electric and dramatic and boy did it deliver! Paul O’Connell needed two 2nd place finishes both days to secure the championship for a record breaking 4th time, while Simon McKinley needed to win both days and hope that another competitor would beat O’Connell.

As the day went on McKinley was on a mission, he shattered the previous record held by the late John Leinster not once but twice on Saturday. O’Connell played the waiting game and finished 2nd over a second adrift. Seamus Morris who could do McKinley a favor by beating O’Connell ran into clutch problems that saw his car sidelined for the day. He eventually took up the offer of a double drive in O’Connell’s old car the Delta Warrior to record a points scoring position.

Sunday morning came and in overcast conditions practice started. O’Connell was one of the first single seaters to go up and clearly in fighting form looking for an elusive win. He recorded a time in practice only 3 tenths slower than his previous day’s best. Disaster struck for O’Connell after the finish as he tried to slow the Pilbeam down, the car becoming unsettled and spun on the road and the ensuing damage taking 3 corners off the car. All credit to the Donegal club and the emergency services that were on the scene very quickly and driver emerged in one piece a testimony to these modern single seaters.

This left O’Connell with his trusty Delta to compete in for the day but for once the trusty Delta left him down stripping third gear and putting paid to any title challenge for this year.

Simon McKinley went on to again shatter his previous record in the Warrior engined Lant to 37.97 seconds and took the deserved spoils becoming the Irish Hillclimb champion for 2010. A dramatic end to the championship year and a deserving Champion in Simon McKinley.

Class 1 was won by the ever mad Nigel Bryson in his Uno, followed by Elaine O’Reilly in her Mini. Trish Daly made the epic trip from Castletownbere Co. Cork to take points home for third position.

Class 2 was won by the sole participant Michael Melia in his trusty Escort both days. After a long layoff with a back injury it was great to see Michael back behind the wheel.

Class 3a was won by Ian Quinn both days with Stephen Gillis taking 2nd on Saturday before returning home for Sunday. Michael Feeney in his MG finished 3rd on Saturday took points for 2nd on Sunday on his first trip to Knockalla. The ever present John Whitley took the points for the win on Sunday as Quinn is unregistered this year.

Class 3b was won by “Grandad” Rory Stephens on Saturday in his turbocharged Radical. Unfortunately he encountered gearbox trouble and was sidelined for Sunday. Alan Kessie in his Gryphon and Eanna Carroll in his Turbo Civic continued to fight tooth and nail, with Alan Kessie coming away with the spoils on both days.

Class 4 was won by Matt Dunne both days in his Midget, followed by the legendary Frank Nuttall in his Graham.

Class 5 was won by Scott Milligan both days, but Colm Dunphy who is unregistered this year is set to return next year in his Laser Formula Ford, along with Ger O’Connor and a few more. Scott will have his hands full next year!

Class 6 was won both days by Joe Courtney in his OMS Hornet. Edwin Ryanhart was 2nd both days while John Mahon had another tortuous weekend with engine trouble. True to the spirit of Hillclimbing though Robert Bell was brave enough to let John double drive his car and john took the points for third in the class.

Class 7 was won by Paul O’Connell in his Pilbeam on Saturday but after his troubles on Sunday he could only manage 4th. Brendan Keane was 2nd in class on Saturday and slipped to third on Sunday. Seamus Morris displacing Keane on Sunday for 2nd behind the improving Dermot Nolan who took the win on Sunday.

Class 8 was won again by Karen Feeney, The Galway girl fresh from running a marathon the week before made the marathon trip to Donegal and took home maximum points again in her Rover.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLHBRK0m5CY]
Irish Hillclimb & Sprint TV by: Vantage Point Video

If you like this footage, DVDs can be bought from Vantage Point Video with full coverage of each event.

Thanks to Jim @ Onsite Event Photography for sending us some more photos of the action in Donegal on Saturday.

If you would like to purchase one of these photos, you can do so at onsite-eventphotography.com.

Billy from Caoradubha.com has kindly sent us photos of all the action on Saturday in Donegal.

Update: Billy has sent on a few more photos which you can view here or at Caoradubha.com

If you would like to purchase one of these photos, you can do so at caoradubha.com.

Thanks to Billy for braving the elements to take these fantastic shots.

After the action last weekend in the MEC where a great time was had by all at two super venues. The climax of the 2010 Connaught Competition Engines Hillclimb and Sprint Championship is in sight.

Donegal Motor Club will once again play host to the final rounds of the championship and what better place to battle it out than the famous Knockalla Hillclimb. With beautiful sandy beaches and stunning ocean views this hill provides an amazing backdrop to Ireland’s fastest form of motorsport. The course is also hugely popular with the drivers with some straights, some demanding corners, a chicane and a section with a steep climb that will test the heart of any car.

Prize giving will be on it the Milford Inn in Milford and a great atmosphere is expected as the end of season stress is unleashed! Accommodation is available in local B&Bs and holiday homes – but book soon to avoid disappointment.

Remember this one of your last chances to get a run in your car this season. While the journey may be long for some,but anyone who has been to Knockalla will tell you that it is worth the journey!

This is going to be a popular event, so please get your entry in as fast as possible. See you there!

There was a welcome return to action at the MEC Hillclimb this weekend as the Connaught Competition Engines Hillclimb and Sprint Championship resumed after a long layoff. The MEC motor club provided two great venues, a super Hillclimb in The Naul and a great sprint near Lusk. Entries were very strong with over 50 entries both days. Despite some delays getting started on Saturday competitors got a practice and 3 timed runs on Saturday and 4 timed runs on Sunday. Championship Sponsor Phil Price made a welcome visit and showed that even after 5 years out of Hillclimb single seaters he still has the competitive edge.

The events both days were won by local man Simon McKinley in the Lant rt2 Warrior. He was followed both days by reigning champion Paul O’Connell in his Pilbeam MP58 Hart. The consistency followed through both days with Seamus Morris finishing 3rd overall despite getting progressively closer to the front as his first season in single seaters draws to a close. John Byrne put in a giant killing performance in his 1000cc Jedi finishing 4th overall. Another returning name two time champion Donal Griffin worried quite a few regulars with his ever improving pace over the weekend, driving Paul O’Connell’s trusty old Delta Warrior he finished 5th overall both days.

The Class winners on Saturday were on Saturday in Class 1 Nigel Bryson in his Fiat Uno, followed by Garry Bradley and Elaine O’Reilly. Sunday saw Elaine take the win ahead of Nigel and new hillclimber Ben O’Brien in third.

Class 2 the evergreen John Bradley in his Corsa followed by his son Colin on Saturday. Sunday saw John have an off in practice forcing him to share his sons car. Colin took the honours winning the class followed by his proud father in 2nd.

Class 3a was unusually not a clean sweep for Stephen Gillis in his Westfield. Ian Quinn in his new Mini Busa managed to get ahead of Stephen on Sunday despite finishing behind him on Saturday. Michael Feeney took third both days to consolidate his position in the championship.

Class 3b was dominated by locals again with Rory “Grandad” Stephens winning in his turbocharged Radical, followed by Alan Kessie in his Gryphon. Galway’s Eanna Carroll could not quite quench the  420bhp Civic Turbo’s appetite for tyres this time and finished third both days.

The Historic class wins were shared with Dermot Quigley and Gerry Freeman. Ironic as they share driving the same car “Angela the Anglia”. Dermot won on Saturday and Gerry won on Sunday. They were followed home both days by Matt Dunne in his Midget.

Class 5 was won by event organiser Scott Milligan in his Formula Vee both days.

Class 6 was won by Joe Courtney as John Byrne is not registered for the championship this year. “Joe 90″ driving his OMS hornet is showing real pace as the season rolls on. John Mahon entertained the crowd with his noisy antics in the DJ Busa till engine problems forced an end on Saturday. In the spirit of hillclimbing John Byrne let John double drive the Jedi on Sunday. Despite having trouble adapting to the different gear change he managed to secure 2nd in class ahead of Edwin Ryanhart in his immaculate Delta.

Class 7 was won by Pilbeam of Paul O’Connell both days followed by Seamus Morris in his similar machine and Brendan “anxious “Keane in his Swallow.

Class 8 was won by Karen Feeney in her Rover 25/ The Mondello Grid Search girl is looking on course for championship victory in Donegal.

Class 9 was won by Limericks Peter Cummins. Driving a beautiful 2 litre Darrian he won the class both days.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36APvUVGgYQ]
Irish Hillclimb & Sprint TV by: Vantage Point Video

All in all a good weekends Motorsport had by all, the club should be commended for finding  2 fantastic venues in North County Dublin. The next event is Donegal in 2 weeks time on September the 4th and 5th on the famous Knockalla Hillclimb. Entries Regs are available on this site. See you there!!

The prize giving followed by a meal will be held in the Seamus Ennis Centre which is opposite Kilians pub in Naul. The MEC have organised for a 3 course meal for €20 a head. We also have a local taxi man on call for those who found getting local accommodation difficult, his number is 087 9622770. Looking forward to another cracking weekend’s motorsport.

It is with great regret that we learnt of the passing of Lionel Régal over the weekend. Lionel Régal was a 5 times French Hillclimb Champion and a European Hillclimb Champion in 2008. He died instantly when his Formula Nippon car hit a tree at a hillclimb in Switzerland. The hillclimb world will mourn the passing of a great driver and a great man. A minutes silence will be held at the next Irish Hillclimb event the MEC hillclimb.

After an enforced long layoff in competition, the hillclimbers of Ireland are dusting off their cars, taking the race suits out of the washing machine, pumping the tyres of transporters and getting ready for the resumption of the Connaught Competition Engines Irish Hillclimb and sprint championship 2010.

The venue for the latest instalment of the championship is North County Dublin just beyond Dublin Airport. The MEC have defied the odds and have organised 2 great and different venues in Dublin. The Saturday event is based in The Naul village and Sunday’s venue is near the village of Lusk. What an exciting prospect of competing with Irelands fastest cars in the most populated county in Ireland! Entries have been very strong to date and it would not surprise if a near capacity field was attained both days.

Both venues are reputed to be challenging and the surface is smooth tarmac with ample paddock facilities, including a parc ferme Friday and Saturday night. Being so close to a major city there will be plenty of spectators to be entertained!

Entry regs and Accommodation lists are available in the downloads section of the site so if you are coming hillclimbing get in gear!!