Megan shines at Kirkistown

Megan shines at Kirkistown

28 July 2021

A COMPACT programme provided spectators with plenty of exciting racing at the Five Hundred Motor Racing Club of Ireland’s July meeting at Kirkistown.

The opening race was a combined affair for Saloons, GTs and Mazda MX5s. Dungiven’s Gerard O’Connell was the only GT and he duly set off at a blistering pace in his RSR Ford Escort, never to be headed. 

In the Saloons, Peter Baxter from Lurgan, took the lead from Banbridge’s Matt Lyness and Donal O’Neill from Nutt’s Corner. 

In the MX5s, Ballymena’s Gregory McMillan, led off the line, just ahead of Derry’s Gavin Kilkey. .

The battle between Lyness and O’Neill continued until lap eight, when the former pushed his Renault Clio Cup car too hard on the exit of Colonial 2 and spun.  

O’Neill managed to squeeze his Seat Cupra past and was away into the lead of the Saloons. 

On lap 13 McMillen, who had now broken the tow from Kilkey, caught and passed Jess for fourth on the road.

The final standings in the Saloons were O’Neill (first) Lyness (second) and Jess (third). In the MX5s it was McMillan (first), Kilkey (second) and Cousins (third).

The second race of the day was for Ginetta Juniors.  These are 14 to 17 year-old drivers and there is usually a broad range of experience. 

Lap one saw a lot of shuffling, with Ben McFall from Bushmills grabbing the lead ahead of Sean McGovern from Sandyford. 

Strangford’s Ethan Campbell was third and Sé Óg Martin, from Ballymena passed Charlotte Fenton on her race debut for fourth.  

On lap ten Martin made a successful play for the lead, only to lose it again a lap later. 

The final standings were McFall in first, Martin second and McGovern in third.

The third race of the day was for Formula Sheanes. First was Philip Sheane second was Derek Roddy and third was Chris Dunne.

Strangford driver Megan Campbell has paid her dues over the past few years and is ready for success.  Her reward arrived in the first Fiesta race but she had to fight for it. She had qualified fourth but by the end of the first lap she was leading. 

The Stewart brothers, Mark and Paul, were hot on her heels. For the first six laps she was leading a five-car group which included Dublin’s Colm Barrable.

In the end, Campbell held her nerve to win by 0.198 seconds from Mark Stewart whilst Paul Stewart shaded Barrable by 0.2 seconds for third.

Twelve cars took the start of the first Roadsports race. A tight race was expected between Jim Larkham from Newtownabbey, and Niall Fitzsimmons from Downpatrick, since both were driving Radical Pro6 machines.  

However, Larkham had a different plan and led from start to end, eventually finishing 33 seconds ahead of Fitzsimmons.   

A lot of interest centered on Banbridge’s Arnie Black, who was driving a Mermik1. 

This car has an interesting history and most spectators had little idea what to expect of it.  Arnie is a great driver with massive experience, so anything could have happened.  

What did happen was that he rose from sixth to third on the first lap before spinning on the third lap and then working his way back up to fourth by the end.  

The first half of the programme was completed by the FF1600s and what a race this turned out to be. 

Jordan Dempsey from Mullingar had qualified on pole. Beside him on the front row was ‘The Randalstown Rocket’ Alan Davidson.  Ballymena’s David McCullough was third beside Brandon McCaughan from Ballycastle. Ballina father and son duo, David and Robbie Parks, filled out the next row.

On lap six ‘The Randalstown Rocket’ took the lead and Dempsey found himself defending from Parks. 

On lap twelve, McCaughan retook fourth from Robbie Parks and on lap fifteen David Parks passed Dempsey for second place.  That was how it finished with Davidson first, David Parks second, Jordan Dempsey third, Brandon McCaughan fourth, Robbie Parks fifth and Kildare’s Robbie Allen sixth.

The first race after the lunch break was the second encounter for Saloons, GTs and Mazda MX5s.  

Once again, Gerard O’Connell disappeared into the distance in his space-frame Escort but not before Donal O’Neill held onto him for a couple of corners, which in turn enabled him to get an important lead over Matt Lyness.  

Effectively barring any setbacks, that was the Saloon race decided. Meanwhile, the MX5s were having fun with a reversed grid.  

At the finish, O’Neill won in the Saloons, from Lyness and Ralph Jess. McMillan won the MX5s from Cousins and Kilkey.

The second Ginetta Junior race was really frantic on the first two laps. Sé Óg Martin went from third to first on lap one. 

Sean McGovern went the opposite way.  However, on lap two he passed Ben McFall for second and went after Martin.

Martin and McGovern tussled for another five laps before McGovern made a move for the lead stick on the final lap.  Martin finished second and McFall was third.

The second Formula Sheane race was frantic in the early laps. Philip Sheane and Derek Roddy were battling hard while, behind them, was a four-way tussle for third between Chris Dunne, Richie Adams, Tom Foley and Mark Keenan. 

On lap twelve, Sheane went out and this moved everyone up a place, where they stayed until the finish.

Race ten was the second Fiesta race and from the start Colm Barrable took the lead. Michael Graham suffered from his inexperience and he plummeted from first to eighth during the first two laps. 

Paul Stewart, Mark Stewart and Neville Anderson all jumped Barrable on lap two and Megan Campbell ped a place to fifth.  Between lap four and lap seven Paul Stewart dropped to fourth, Anderson bulldozed his way into the lead, demoting a bruised Mark Stewart to second and Barrable recovered to third. 

When the race ended and the cars returned to the paddock, Stewart had a heated and slightly physical confrontation with Anderson.  

The result was that he was disqualified for what was effectively bad behaviour and Anderson was disqualified for driving in a manner incompatible with general safety.  

That meant that Barrable was the surprised winner, Paul Stewart inherited second and Campbell got a third to add to her previous win. 

For her results, Megan Campbell was awarded ‘driver of the day’.

The penultimate race was the second Roadsports encounter.  This time Niall Fitzsimmons was determined not to let Jim Larkham escape and he actually had the lead at the end of lap one.  

However, Larkham passed him again on lap two. On lap three Fitzsimmons hit the barriers hard at the Crosslé Chicane. 

Before the safety car was deployed two laps later, both John Benson and Arnie Black got past Larkham and, indeed, Black also passed Benson for the lead. 

After two laps behind the safety car, the broken Radical was removed and racing resumed, with Black leading the pack into Debtor’s Dip and the Colonial Complex.  

Unfortunately, on the exit from Colonial 2, Black missed a gear and buzzed the engine.

The car immediately slowed and he retired at the paddock. 

Larkham was making a comeback and he assumed the lead with Black’s retirement.  Benson finished second and Bernard Foley placed third.

The final contest of the day was the second FF1600 race in which David McCullough finished first, Jordan Dempsey was behind in second, and Alan Davidson was third respectively.

The whole day was run brilliantly by clarks Chris Edwards and Dermot Quigley.  The sun shone and the spectators were rewarded with some wonderful racing.

The next car race event is the Leinster Trophy meeting over August 27 and 28 but before that there is the British Championship Sprint meeting on August 7 and 8.