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Sylvie Mullins in his 600HP Judd V8 powered Gould

Wexford Motor Club were again given the honour of starting the Connaught Competition Engines Hillclimb and sprint championship and as the Hillclimb and Sprint season got started for 2012, few could have believed what a cracking weekend was ahead.

Saturday began in a new venue Ballyhouge. This course was very fast with two chicanes and due to the absence of the Celtic Tiger, a bumpy surface. It presented a challenge to tame the fastest machinery in the country on good old Irish tarmac, surely even Sylvie Mullins doing his first event outside of Ballyvaughan in years in his 600bhp v8 Gould single seater would struggle to stay ahead of more seasoned campaigners such as Simon McKinley, John Byrne and returning Paul O’Connell?

Simon McKinley, defending Champion in his Connaught powered Lant

As the day got under way and the practice run over it was Mullins who shot from the traps quickest with a time of 28.96 a mere .12 seconds ahead of McKinley in the Lant. O’Connell was further back on a 30.77. John Byrne was flying in the Jedi but even his use of the force could not stop him hitting the cones in the chicane as he shot through them leaving him without a time recorded until the 3rd run.

As the day went on, Mullins ratcheted up the pressure dropping his times consistently to finish on a 27.53 as McKinley endured some gearbox woes and hit a chicane on his last run and finished 0.92 behind.

Joe Courtney in the OMS

John Byrne managed to rocket the Jedi through the chicanes penalty free on his last two runs and recorded a fantastic time of 29.49 just under 2 seconds behind Mullins. Joe Courtney from Galway was a model of consistency in his OMS Hornet and finished on a 29.91 behind his fellow motorcycle powered competitor Byrne. O’Connell ran into persistent electrical problems with the Pilbeam and failed to score on the last 2 runs leaving him 5th overall. Perhaps the Pilbeam becoming too accustomed to life in the garage over the last 12 months! 6th overall was Rory Stephens in the Turbo Radical. Rory hit the pace early on but struggled to improve the times as the day went on. 7th overall was Neil Anderson in the lime green Ward sports car. Neil showed tremendous pace to live with the single seaters so well. 8th overall was Eanna Carroll from Loughrea in his Turbo Civic. Another tremendous achievement in a self-built front wheel drive car with over 450bhp on tap. 9th overall was the infamous John Mahon in his DJ Hayabusa. John finally seems to be getting some trouble free runs from his car and is getting quicker and quicker the older he gets! 10th overall in his Connaught powered Reynard was Dermot Nolan. The affable Dubliner showed great consistency in what is probably the hardest worked car in Hillclimbing!

The Class winners on Saturday were the lovely Elaine O Reilly in the Mini in Class 1, Class 2 Declan Cundelan in the rapid Ford Escort Mk2. Class 3(a) was won by Ian Quinn in the MiniBusa just ahead of returning Peter Bogan. Class 3(b) was won by Rory Stephens in the Radical Turbo. The fastest class 4 Historic was Mick O’Shea in the MGB. Class 5 was won by Killian Connole in the formula Ford. Class 6 was won by John Byrne in the Jedi just ahead of Joe Courtney. Class 7 was won by Sylvie Mullins in the Gould Judd. Class 8 for 1600 Rallycars was won by James Bradley in the Honda Civic and Class 9 for bigger engined rally cars was won by Niall Fortune in the Ford Escort Mk2.

Paul O'Connell in the Pilbeam

Eddie Power in his beautiful Carolla WRC

Sunday dawned and saw the return of the Barntown Hill on April fool’s day. This was a much smoother surface venue with a paddock kindly provided by C+D providers for the single seaters right at the start line. The day saw a large number of spectators at this easily accessible location who witnessed a titanic battle for overall honours.
Mullins drew first blood on the smoother Barntown course finishing the first run in 39.61 just over four tenths faster than McKinley. O’Connell managed a time well enough for 3rd after a huge effort from half the Paddock to diagnose and fix his electrical problems on Sunday morning including fellow competitors John Byrne, John Mahon, Simon McKinley, Brendan Harpur and more. Indeed John Byrne was smelling blood in the water after the first run with an eye on again beating the big Pilbeam having finished just behind it after the first run.
As the second run unfolded there was a long delay after Killian Connole had an off at the final bend. He was quickly attended to by the Rescue team and Doctor and was taken to Hospital as a precaution. Killian who was travelling with Mullins from Ballyvaughan, Co. Clare will be hoping to be fit in time for his home event in two weeks’ time. Upon the restart McKinley took the lead in the Lant slashing his time to 39.28 a full four tenths faster than Mullins who was failed to improve on his first time. The rest of the field were starting to bunch up with another casualty in the form of Rory Stephens’ gearbox. This put Rory out for the rest of the event.

As the day was drawing to a close there was just time for one last run. McKinley was eager to ratchet up the pressure on Mullins but made a small mistake in the first series of bends and failed to improve. The pressure was indeed on Mullins as he left the line and despite cooler conditions and slightly less grip he improved to snatch back the win from McKinley with a 38.93 run 0.35 ahead of McKinley’s best.

O’Connell improved on his return to Hillclimbing consolidating third with a 42.04 a half second ahead of John Byrne in the Jedi. There remains a bit of set up work to do to the Pilbeam to bring it back to its best after the smash in Donegal. John Byrne finished highest motorcycle engined car although he will be hoping for better in Galway as he bids to return to the podium positions with the nimble Jedi. Joe Courtney had no answer to Byrne in his Hornet this weekend but will surely be out for revenge next time out at his home event. The evergreen John Mahon in his DJ Hayabusa beat Neil Anderson in his Ward to 6th place overall. Eddie Power in a beautiful Toyota Corolla WRC car was highest placed 4wheel drive saloon in 8th overall. Rory Stephens despite only finishing one timed run still managed a time well enough for 9th and a useful haul of points. Dermot Nolan in the Reynard put in a solid days work to round out the top ten.

Class winners on Sunday were in Class 1 Elaine O’Reilly in the Mini who takes a perfect 20 class points from the weekend. Class 2 was won by James Doherty in his potent Toyota Starlet. Class 3(a) was won by Peter Bogan this time beating off the attentions of Ian Quinn’s MiniBusa. Neil Anderson’s heroics in the ward were good enough to win class 3(b). Mick O’Shea was again fastest historic in the MGB. Class 5 was won by Liam Howlett who put in a great performance in a formula Vee. Class 6 was won by John Byrne as consolation for missing out on the overall podium. Class 7 was won again by Sylvie Mullins in the Gould Judd. James Bradley managed to fend off all comers again to win Class 8 in his Honda Civic while in the other rally car class 9 Niall Fortune took the honours in a Mk2 escort.

Ian Quinn in the mighty MiniBusa

An honourable mention must go to Aidan Courtney and Neil Bradbury in the Fiat Cinquecento who were spectacular to watch double driving in the little fiat. Surely one of the cheapest ways to compete in any motor sport!

It’s just 2 weeks now to wait till the next instalment of Connaught Competition Engines Hillclimb action. The circus travels to the other side of the country to Ballyvaughan Co. Clare to the famous Corkscrew and Ballyallaban Hillclimbs. It promises to be a thrilling encounter!

Article by: Paul O’Connell

Final instructions for the Wexford Hillclimb Weekend are available for download. For further details, please see the Wexford Motorclub Website.

The Championship Registrar, Helen O’Grady, will be available in the paddock on both mornings of the Wexford Hillclimb for anybody that wishes to register for the Championship.

Photo shows left to right - Dermot Kelleher (Clare COC), Cillian Connole (Driver), Joan Vaughan (Galway COC), Sylvie Mullins (Driver)

Rounds three & four of the “Connaught Competition Engines Irish Hillclimb & Sprint Championship 2012” will take place near Ballyvaughan in North Clare on April 14th. & 15th.

This year’s 12 round Championship takes place over six weekends taking in some of the most scenic parts of Clare, Galway, Wexford, Wicklow and Donegal and the events bring a much needed boost to the local economy with demand for
accommodation, food and entertainment.

For the second year in succession The Clare Motor Club have teamed up with the Galway Motor Club to co promote one hillclimb weekend. The Clare Club will run the Corkscrew Hill on Saturday under Clerk of the Course Dermot Kelleher from Clarecastle while Sunday’s hill Ballyallaban will be run by the Galway Motor Club under Clerk of the Course Joan Vaughan from Ballyvaughan. This will give competitors a great opportunity to compete on two of the best and most
challenging hills in the Hillclimb Championship series.

“Logue’s Lodge”, Ballyvaughan have again stepped in as the main sponsor of this year’s event and both clubs are very grateful to Alan for his generous sponsorship. A special weekend menu will be available each night over the weekend including prizegiving, video footage of each day’s action and music till late. All the championship contenders are expected to attend including current Hillclimb champion Simon McKinley driving his Lant RT4. There should also be a big turn out in the Rally Car Classes with Clare & Galway Motor Club members fighting for positions in the various classes.

Event secretary for the Clare / Galway event is Aisling Grimes and Aisling can be contacted on 087-7753560 between 6.00pm and 9.00pm.

Optional Mechanical & Documentation Scrutiny will take place at the Ballyvaughan Filling Station, Ballyvaughan on this Friday evening 13TH. April between 6.00 and 8.00pm. There will also be Mechanical & Documentation Scrutiny in the
paddock of both hills between 8.00am and 10.00am.

Prizegiving will take place on Saturday & Sunday Evenings at Logues Lodge, Ballyvaughan and will be followed by music and entertainment. Meals will be available all day in the restaurant.

Entry forms are now available to download from both club websites -
www.claremotorclub.com or www.galwaymotorclub.ie

Dermot Kelleher
Pro Clare Motor Club

Contact details for the Event Seretary for the Clare & Galway Hillclimb have been changed.

Please contact Joan on 086 8902057 for Entries and all other information about the event.

All entries should be mailed to:

Joan Vaughan
Galway Motor Club
Ballyvaughan
Co.Clare

It’s the time of the year again when competitors from all over the country converge on Wexford for the first and second round of The Connaught Competition Engine Hillclimb and Sprint Championship.

This year Wexford has a new hill on Saturday in Ballyhogue and an old favourite in Barntown on Sunday, two very different hills that will be a challenge to all competitors.

With entries still coming in and strong interest coming from past champions it looks like it’s going to be a busy weekend at the top of the field.
With Simon McKinley entered in his Lant and Paul O Connell coming back from his year out and strong interest from Sylvie Mullins in his Gould GR37 looking to do the championship this year it will be tough at the top. There will also be a strong local entry from John (con) Byrne in his Jedi and Peter Dwyer, two drivers who will be waiting for the big machinery to slip up. With other local entries including David James in his insanely powerful Evo and Brendan Harpur in his Delta single seater and Eugene French in his Formula Vee the top ten and class battles will be fierce.

With Simon Mckinley going for his 3rd championship in a row can anyone stop him when the flag drops in Wexford all will be revealed.

Regs and entry form available here:

Article by: Brendan Harpur

EDIT 28/03/2012

The Championship Registrar, Helen O’Grady, will be available in the paddock on both mornings of the Wexford Hillclimb for anybody that wishes to register for the Championship!

The Wexford Motorclub Hillclimb Weekend takes place on 31st March & 1st April 2012. Regulations and Entry Form are now available for download. Saturday’s hill will be in the Ballyhogue area and Sunday’s hill will be in Ballyhine, Barntown.

by Brendan Harpur

It’s the time of the year again when the covers are pulled off car’s and people get to shake the dust off cars and drivers alike in preparation for the start of the Hillclimb and Sprint season.

This year saw a change from the Carlow Car Club who normally run their Sprint in Tynagh Kart track in Portuma to move to Mondello Park.

The morning brought a damp start to Mondello which made the practice run very slippy. It seemed too slippy for John (Con) Byrne who spun off the track, but re-joined to finish his run. On the first time run it was business as usual for Sylvie Mullins in his Gould GR37 setting the fastest time by nearly 4 seconds from Simon McKinley now in Dermot Nolan’s Reynard after a misfire developed in his MK2 escort.

Sylvie set the pace for the day getting quicker and quicker finishing the day over 10 seconds clear of the field to take a clear win from Simon McKinley in second and Peter Dwyer in his Dallara F3 in 3rd.

Class 1 was won by Tom Sheehan in his Nissan Micra followed by Jack Lenihan in his Fiat Uno and Bob Rowe taking 3rd in his Fiat Uno.
Noel O Brien took the Class 2 win in his Peugeot 205 followed closely by Colm Mullin in his Fiesta with William Cecil in his Peugeot 205 taking 3rd.
Class 3a was won by Seamus Hobbs in his Mini from Vincent Deery in his Nova with Norman Fawcett a close 3rd in his Honda.
Rory (Granddad) Stephens took a convincing win in class 3B and 7th  overall in his Radical Turbo with Eddie Power in his Toyota Corolla 2nd and Noel Greene grabbing 3rd in his Evo9, with only 2 entries in Class 4 Wolfgang Schnittger in his Midget took the win over Jack Kingston in his Lotus Elan.

It was a lonely day in Class 5 with only 1 entry in the class; Cillian Connole took the class win in his Ford Whimhurst. Class 6 had 3 entries with Joe Courtney and Adrian McCallon back out after missing last year. Joe Courtney putting his 1400 OMS Hornet to good use by taking the class win with Adrian taking 2nd in his Normandale with John (Con) Byrne bringing up the rear in his 1000cc Jedi. Michael Roche took the Class 7 win in his Dallara from Dermot Nolan in his Reynard before McKinley broke it on him, with Martin Tracey taking a good 3rd in his Evo. Class 9 was won by Pat Delaney in his Sunbeam followed closely by Stephan Delaney in a Sunbeam with Con Mulcahy in his Nova taking 3rd. John Lynch took the win in his Citroen C2 in Class 9a with Thomas Rafferty taking 2nd and Thomas Lynch grabbing 3rd in his Honda Civic. Brendan Donnelly had a lonely day in Class 10 and took the win in his Escort MK2. Class 10a was won by Torsan Smyth in his MK2 with Graham Kelly taking 2nd in another MK2 and Michael Walsh taking 3rd in another MK2.

With the Wexford Hillclimb the 1st round of the Hillclimb and Sprint championship taking place on the 31st of March and the 1st of April only around the corner the dust should be well shook off cars and drivers alike and with McKinley looking for his 3rd championships in a row is there anyone to stop him we may wait and see what Wexford brings.

Billy from caoradubha.com was kind enough to send on a few photos from yesterday’s sprint in Mondello. You can find the full set in the gallery section.

Here is a teaser…

The Bradley family would like to convey their gratitude to all members of the Hillclimb and Motorsport family following the passing of their son Colin. It was of great comfort to the family that such a large number of friends and motorport colleauges attended both the removal and the funeral mass.

The months mind mass for Colin Bradley will be held on January 1st in the church in New Ross at 12.15 and those that wish to join the family afterwards in the family home in Thomastown for Tea and sandwiches are most welcome.

Sad news today that young Colin Bradley son of John and Helen Bradley has lost his brave fight for life today Saturday the 26th November 2011 at 1.20 pm.

Colin had been bravely battling a recurrance of cancer that he beat 5 years ago. His courage, good humour, dignity and friendship will be sorely missed among all the Hillclimb community. Funeral arrangments will be publicised here as they become known. It is suggested that those members of the Hillclimb Community that wish to take part in a guard of honour for Colin to please bring your helmet.

A great, good humoured, kind and brave young man that will be sorely missed in the future.

The Funeral arrangments for the late Colin Bradley Are as follows:
Colin will be reposing at the residence of John and Helen Bradley in Thomastown Co Kilkenny from 6pm Sunday evening.
Removal from the house at 10.30 am Monday for 12 o’clock to the parish church in New Ross. Burial afterwards in St. Stephens Cemetary New Ross.

The Hillclimb and Sprint Championship Prize giving will take place on Saturday November the 12th in the Talbot Hotel Carlow. A top quality dinner and entertainment will be provided. In keeping with the friendly and sociable atmosphere at Hillclimb and Sprint events this is a great chance to meet and socialise with competitors, marshals and club members.

The committee are pleased to announce that the President of Motorsport Ireland Mr Joe Corcoran will be in attendance along with our championship sponsor Phil Price from Connaught Competition Engines. Tickets for this event are limited and are on a first come first served basis. To avoid disappointment contact Rory Stephens on 086 8166016 to book your tickets if you have not already done so.