2007 was an extremely busy year for the Clare Motor Club The Club Launched the Year back in January with an Open Day / Motorshow It was the first Motorsport event of 2007 and it proved to be a major success. The Motorshow took Place in the WEST COUNTY INN HOTEL on Sunday January 7th. A huge turnout with numbers estimated in the region of 1100 people turned up to see what the club had planned for the year ahead. The Motorshow was a show case for Clare Motor Club and it allowed the public and non members to meet the clubs committee and get some details of the various disiciplines of the sport. It was also a day to promote the club and to generate new members.
Clare Motor Club would like to take this opportunity to thank all the people involved in putting the show together, to the Trade Stands for their excellent displays and also of course to the owners of the cars who came from not only Clare, but also from much farther afield, without their attendance the show would not have been possible. A special mention must also go to the Subaru Owners Club who came from all parts of the country to showcase their members cars and had over 15 cars on display.
Cars to mention at the show ranged from the early Vintage and Classic Cars to Autocross, Autotest, Hillclimb and Rally cars including The Donnelly Brothers infamous Toyota Corolla WRC (Double Championship winning car), Denis Cronin's Ex Bertie Fisher BMW M3, Frank Byrnes 2006 National Hillclimb Championship Winning Car, the Lancia 037 and Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 Group B Homologation Cars and of course the Club Members Rally cars.
The Official Opening of Show was performed at 2.00pm by Charlie Donnelly (2006 Dunlop National Rally Champion) Charlie kindly stayed for the afternoon and was available to the fans for autographs and photos throughout the afternoon. In association with Clare Motor Club, Charlie also officially launched the New Dougie Hughes P.A. Van - (Dougie Hughes is an Honorary member of Clare Motor Club and is a Legend in Irish Motor Sport circles who has been commentating for 55 years. Dougie is well known as the "Voice of Irish MotorSport".
The following Saturday night jan. 13th. The clare motor club hosted the Premier Machine Tools National Hillclimb Championship 06 awards night also in the west county inn hotel.
The first competitive event run by the club was the Loose Surface Autocross which took place In Bobby OíConnellís Quarry in Ardnacrusha on Sunday May 20th. The event was won by seventeen year old Ian Stanley from Skibbereen driving a Honda Civic.This was Ian's first outright win. He started driving at the age of twelve and has been competing in various autocross and autograss events around the country since he got his competition licence. Weather conditions on the day were bright and sunny which made for very high speed competitive driving. Under clerk of the course Christy Carey each driver got a practice followed by four timed†runs.
Class winners included Ger Lynch (starlet) who won class one
James Lehane (honda civic) Class Two winner.
JJ Carroll won Class Three in his Two Litre Astra.
Class Four was won by Clare Motor Club member John Lernihan from Inagh driving a Mitsubishi Evo.Another Clare Member Martin Kelly finished second in Class Two driving a Toyota Corolla.
First in the Juniors Class went to Sean Kerrins (Honda Starlet) and Hazel O'Callaghan won the Ladies Award.
One week later the club were back in action again at Ryanís Quarry at Toonagh where a large turn out of competitors arrived for Rounds 4 & 5 of The Premier Autoparts Autotest championship. The overall winner for both days was Paddy Power from Bandon driving his Mini Special.
June 9th. & 10th. saw the club run a very successful Hillclimb Weekend. The event was sponsored by the local Mitsubishi Motors Dealer for Clare - Hayes Of Ennis
The Premier Machine Tools Hillclimb and Sprint Championship reached its mid point with two rounds hosted by Clare Motor Club near Ballyvaughan. Sundays Scalp Hillclimb brought to an end a tough week for competitors who contested the Carlow Sprints just a week before completing four days motorsport in just eight days. Such a grueling timetable was always going to push drivers and their cars to the maximum and was sure to rattle out some problems.
It was tough at the top for championship leader Paul OíConnell who blew his engine holding off multiple champion Frank Byrnes in Carlow. Class 6 competitor Darryl Ramsay lent OíConnell his OMS single seater for the Clare weekend and the young Limerick man scored some useful points on Saturdays Corkscrew Hillclimb with 3rd place overall. On Sunday however the massive grip on the warm tarmac and the trigger sensitive clutch proved to be a nasty combination and a driveshaft broke on the start line of the first run, ending Paulís points gathering mission.
With Paul O'Connell out of contention the big battle of the weekend was between Galwayís Frank Byrnes and local Clare driver Sylvie Mullins. Frank, enjoying a power surge in his Pilbeam, he dumped the 4.5 litre TVR V8 in favor of a 5 litre Rover V8 recently, tamed the beast on the torturous Corkscrew hill. He set his fastest time on run 2 with a best of 57.81. Sylvie chased him all the way recording his best time on the final third run a 58.99.
The sun was literally splitting the stones on Sunday. New sections of tar along the Scalp began to melt at midday and the slick tyres of the racing cars were pulling the stones out of it. For the leaders the best times were actually set on the first run. Neither Frank Byrnes nor Sylvie Mullins could improve on Run 2 or 3. Sylvie dashed the first run to win by a full 1.34 seconds from Byrnes. That margin was enough to make him fastest man of the weekend on aggregate. The Ballyvaughan driver was delighted with his home victory. Paul OíConnell eventually won the 07 championship while Frank Byrnes won the Northern Ireland Hillclimb Championship and was the first southern Ireland driver to win the Northern Championship.
The Clare Motor Clubs premier event The Lynch Hotels Clare Stages Rally took place over the weekend 15th. & 16th. September Taking the lead on the third stage, Tim McNulty/Eugene O'Donnell (Subaru) won the Lynch Hotels Clare Rally, the penultimate round of the Dunlop National Rally Championship. At the end of the eight stage Ennis based event, they finished 22 seconds ahead of newly crowned Dunlop champion, Aaron MacHale (Ford Focus WRC) and his co-driver, Killian Duffy, who clinched the Noel Smith Award as the top co-driver in the ten round series. The Subaru of Patrick Elliott/Paul Goodman was third - eleven seconds further behind.
The Pattersonís RallyNews Group N award was won by Michael Curran./Fabian McShane (Mitsubishi). Curran's only rival for the title, Seamus Leonard (Mitsubishi) withdrew from the rally on Saturday afternoon for family reasons. Curran was fortunate to finish when the clutch expired at the start line of the final stage and he had to nurse his Mitsubishi through the stage and into the final control. The top two wheel drive crew were Brian O'Mahony/John Higgins (Renault Clio), they were tenth overall and won Class 6 to clinch the category in the Dunlop series. Anthony OíHalloran/Charlie McEnery (Opel Manta) were the top local crew.
Anthony OíHalloran has rallied the length and breadth of the country this year from Cavan and Monaghan to West Cork and everywhere in between during this years Dunlop National Rally Championship and the Top Part West Coast Rally Championship. With Class wins on the Birr Stages Rally and 8th Overall, Circuit of Munster and 7th overall, Galway Summer Rally, Clare Stages, Fastnet Skibbereen Rally, and a fantastic 3rd overall on the Birr Mini Stages Rally not to mention strong results in Cavan and Monaghan, it has been a really great season netting Anthony his 3rd Dunlop National Championship this time in class 14, and also a fantastic 2nd overall in the Top Part West Coast Rally Championship, all at the wheel of his Opel Manta 400.
Anthony would like to thank Larry OíHalloran who navigated for the first part of the season when the challenge was squarely laid at the feet of local man. Charlie McEnery who took over co-driver duties on the circuit of Munster and since then has done a great job of directing OíHalloran between the ditches. Also many thanks go to the service crew of Denis, Mini, Marty, Adrian, Dermot and all those who have helped in one way or another throughout the season!!
Next season is a mere three months away and as such a Group N Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX is being built for the Dunlop National Championship and West Coast Championship this will bring the team right up to date in terms of car technology so there is great anticipation for the season ahead!
Other Clare Motor Club Competitors who were successful during the year included Edward Cogan who finished second in Class 13 while his navigator Tony Shannon who won Class 13 in the Top Part West Coast Rally Championship driving a Peugeot 205. Christy Carey / Richard Talbot won Class 8 in their Subaru Impreza in the Top Part Championship
The Club members traveled the length and breath of the country helping out with marshalling and official duties in various Rallies, starting with The Galway International Rally back in February but the Clare Club spirit really shone through
When 110 marshalls and officials travelled from Clare to Sligo to help out in the running of a very successful Rally Ireland recently. Well done to Club members Gerry OíBrien who co-ordinated the marshals for the event which was a massive task, Jim & Richard Casey who ran the Shakedown Stage and all the other members who were involved.
For me as PRO and a founder member of the club back in 1980 is was a dream come through to see a world class event staged in Ireland and ran in some small way by the Clare Motor Club.
Hereís to the next 27 years. |