Posts Tagged ‘2010’

The 2010 Connaught Competition Engines Irish Hillclimb and Sprint Championship winner, Simon McKinley, was presented with the Frank Keane Trophy by Joe Corcoran (President of Motorsport Ireland). The presentation took place at the Dunlop Champions or Irish Motorsport Awards Lunch 2010 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Santry, Dublin on Tuesday, December 7th.

The Hillclimb awards night 2010 was a great success with plenty of good natured banter and chat before and after the awards ceremony. The Tullamore Court Hotel in Tullamore put on a lovely meal for all one hundred guests and provided a top class experience for all staying overnight.

The awards ceremony included an address by the chairman of the committee Eugene French in which he thank everyone for their hard work during a sometimes difficult season. He also announced the extension of the title sponsorship deal from Connaught Competition Engines for 2011. And Phil Price the owner and manager of Connaught Competition Engines was on hand to say a few words and present the awards ably assisted by Joan Vaughan and Maria Ni Niadh.
The clubs that have been selected for the championship in 2011 were also announced and they are: Wexford, Galway, Carrick On Suir, Carlow, Clare, MEC and Donegal.

The class and Overall awards were presented by Phil Price, and Senan O’Connor from Vantage Point Video did a fantastic job by playing his footage carefully prepared from throughout the year for each and every award recipient.
The inaugural Interprovincial Cup sponsored by Rory Stephen from National First aid supplies was presented by Rory “Grandad” Stephens to the competitors from Connaught. A special commemorative blazer was also presented to Karen Feeney from Connaught to mark the occasion which anyone at the awards will never forget!

The Tom Prendiville cup for Highest placed competitor who did not already receive an award was John Whitley from class 3(a). The Dick Bailey award for the best run Hillclimb weekend as judged by the Competitors and Stewards was awarded to Wexford Motor club and collected by Tommy Murphy the Wexford Motor club clerk of the course for 2010.

The over all awards were then presented by Phil Price and Simon McKinley was officially crowned champion in 2010. Though unfortunately he declined to comment himself, Phil Price spoke warmly on his behalf about the new champion.
All in all a great night was had by all and after some music and dancing (or what may loosely be termed dancing!) the festivities went on into the wee small hours. A great end to the national championship year and time to look forward now to an even better 2011.

A full gallery of photos has been provided by Billy @ caoradubha.com

The Connaught Competition Engines Hillclimb and Sprint awards dinner will take place this Saturday 16th October. The venue for this event is the Tullamore Court Hotel, Tullamore, Co Offaly.
The latest news is that just under a hundred tickets have been booked to date. There are still a couple of tickets available but pre-booking is essential so contact Paul (087 2055095) if you have not already booked your ticket and would wish to come along.

The Connaught Competition Engines Hillclimb and Sprint Championship awards dinner will be held on Sat October 16th. The venue is the centrally located 4 star Tullamore Court Hotel, Tullamore Co Offaly.

This important night marks the end of the 2010 National championship and there are many awards to be presented on the night. The class awards, the overall awards, the Dick Bailey award for best run Hillclimb, the Tom Prendiville award for best competitor on Handicap and the inaugural Interprovincial cup.

Phil Price the championship sponsor has agreed to come over from England especially for this ceremony and with Irish Hillclimbing being well known for its social side we anticipate a great nights fun for all involved and all are welcome to attend. A limited number of tickets for the event are still available from the secretary Paul O’Connell at 35 euro each.

Contact Paul on 087 2055095 to book your tickets.

Looking forward to seeing you there!!

Senan from Vantage Point Video has just sent us a link to his video report from the Clare Hillclimb weekend at the start of the 2010 season.

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.

Galway Motor Club are pleased to announce details of the forth coming Sprint at Tynagh.
In an effort to encourage early entries and reward competitors Galway Motor Club are offering a fantastic reduction to the winner of the draw which will take place at the Sprint in Tynagh on Sunday 31st October for the forthcoming Safety Direct International Rally 2011.

All Rally Cars entered for the Sprint will be entered into a draw for a €300 discount on the entry fee for the Safety Direct Galway International Rally 2011

For more details contact Kieran on 087 6975175 or cogalwaymc@hotmail.com

For more info go to www.galwaymotorclub.ie

Galway Motorclub October Sprint 2010 Entry Form (84)

Galway Motorclub October Sprint 2010 Regs (93)

By Liam Mac Con Iomaire:

Perhaps one of the most exciting chapters of Irish Motorsport History concluded on the summit of Knockalla Hill Co Donegal. Knockalla would see a new champion crowned King of the Hills. And a Valiant champion fight on until the end. It also bore witness to a camaraderie that is the epitome of the Irish Hillclimb Championship.

It was a year that saw event cancellations; it seemed the recession was beginning to catch up on our motorsport. Even the Phoenix Park races were not immune. And a new numbering system was being tested as well.

Caora Dubha looks back on some of the most exhilarating rounds of the year.

Clare Hillclimb, Rounds 1 & 2

Corkscrew Round 1

Round one got underway on the famous Corkscrew Hill, despite undergoing major cosmetic surgery, Corkscrew had lost none of her charm. A spectators Mecca, nothing prepares the senses for the sound of a V8, howling on the start line.

Over the years many an epic battle was played out on Corkscrew hill, Names such as, Richard Young, Carl Cleary and the Kettle brothers. To name a few, have written themselves into the history books of Irish Motorsport.

Simon McKinley fired the first salvos of this exciting championship, by taking the win on this historic hill; defending Champion Paul O’Connell took second place. Followed by Brendan Keane in third.

The Scalp hill Round 2

Scalphill a newer hill to the championship, has quickly established itself as a flat out powerhill, its one of few hills where single seaters get airborne over bumps! This hill is deceptively quick, but there are hidden traps that can snare the unwary driver. Granit walls wait silently to claim unlucky victims.

Again Simon McKinley racked up maximum points, spectators and competitors alike, were astounded at the pace of these two pugilists’ 0.51 was the winning margin. Rory Stephens followed the lads home in third in his fire breathing Radical.

Galway Motor Club Rounds 3 & 4

Rounds 3 & 4 were based in the picturesque village of Ballyvaughan Co Clare, GMC traditionally run Ballyryan on the Saturday, and Ballyallaban Hill on Sunday.

Ballyryan Hill Round 3

Ballyryan is another flat-out-hell-for-leather Hill, and only the truly brave (or foolish) drivers push the limits of this hill. Would Simon make it three for three? Or would Paul strike his first blow in the championship battle. The answer of course is no, Sylvester Mullins in his Gould GR 37 put in a scorcher of a run, only besting Simon McKinley’s time by a mere 0.01. Followed home in third by Paul O’Connell.

Ballyallaban Hill Round 4

On Sunday the action moved to Ballyallaban hill, at 2.2 miles its one of the longest and most demanding hills  used in Ireland.
It’s off camber bends and bumpy straights lie silently in wait for the over eager competitor, the hard granite  walls have claimed many a driver; these walls still bare the scars of drivers who pushed too hard, or pushed their luck  too far. Only to be stopped by the Granite guardians of the Burren.

From early morning spectators gathered at vantage points along the hill, down in the Paddock the drivers carried out last minute servicing to the cars.

There seemed no let up in the pace at the front, both Paul & Simon set the hill ablaze with their pace, and this was only the practice run. Such was the speed, spectators stepped back in awe, as each car was a mere blur.

Truly the normal laws of the Universe do not seem to apply to these lads, Sylvester Mullins had to contend with mechanical  gremlins. And would get only one proper run at the hill.

On his third run Simon McKinley  broke the hill record, He seems to be able to bend the laws of space and time at will. His time of 95.02 astonished those who witnessed his run .A  flabbergasted  Paul O’Connell pulled into the car park on the way down to check the times. Simon had beaten him by a awe inspiring 0.01, a blink of the eye.

Wexford Rounds 5 &6

Round 5

Simon continued on where he left off as he proved almost unstoppable, Paul was only Just 0.58 behind Simon on Day one. Followed home by Seamus Morris.

Round 6

Round 6 went to Paul O’Connell, his first win of the year, second went to David James. And third to Seamus Morris. The race for the title was under way. But trouble loomed in the championship, as event  cancellations prompted the committee to bring forward the annual forum. In hopes of finding a solution.

Portlaois Pow-Wow

The Hillclimb Forum met to seek possible solutions to the crises, cancellations by Tipperary & Limerick, threw the championship into doubt. The committee tried to secure other events in their place, Tynagh was looked at as a possible event, but proved too costly to run. Efforts to get into Phoenix Park also proved fruitless, the event like others cancelled due to economic reasons.

Eventually, a solution of sorts was found, and the championship moved onwards towards MEC

M.E.C Rounds 11 &12

Held just outside the fair city of Dublin, and after a extended rest, battle was renewed between the two main rivals. Only the smallest of margins separated Simon McKinley & Paul O’Connell. Simon continued his winning ways, with Paul in second, and Seamus Morris in third.

Round twelve also finished the same way, Simon was now in a commanding position, but Paul O’Connell could still catch up on the remaining final rounds in Donegal. The race to the finish had started.

Donegal Rounds 13 & 14

The man who would be King.

Arguably, one of the most spectacular seasons of the Irish Hillclimb championship climaxed in Knockalla Donegal this weekend.  And in the process Simon McKinley wrote himself into the pages of Irish Motorsport history.

Simon took victory both days, and smashed another Hill record in the process; in a driving style reminiscent of the great Alain Prost, Simon, like the Professor (Prost), has the uncanny ability to produce the most spectacular runs out of the blue. And in doing so frustrate his rivals.

The battle between Simon and Paul O’Connell was reminiscent of the great Prost, Senna battles in F1 many years ago.

Victory on Saturday and a new hill record went to Simon, with Paul second and Frank Byrnes third.

On Sunday Simon continued as he left off, setting a blistering pace, Paul suffered a high speed off; though shook, Paul was ok.  On hearing Paul’s misfortune, Simon offered his car to Paul, he decided to continue in his old car.

Strapped into the Delta Paul made one last valiant effort, only to suffer gearbox problems, and so handed the championship to Simon.

Right from the word go this year, it was obvious that Simon was almost unstoppable, even the champion Paul O’Connell must have wondered how Simon could pull these times out almost at will.

Simon put in some amazing times this year, his cat like reflexes seem to defy the laws of physics. It would seem that, E=mc2 does not apply to him.

So then, a worthy Champion, we pay homage to our new King of the Hills Simon McKinley. And say thank you to Simon; Indeed to all the drivers, for the most memorable championship in many years.

Credit: Article and images by Liam Mac Con Iomaire. Liam is a motorsport fanatic who travels the length and breadth of the country following Motorsport. Be sure to check out Liam’s site : caoradubha.com where you will find photos from most of this years championship rounds. Prints are available for purchase on Liam’s site.

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.

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.