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Runner up spot for Kalinecki on first visit to Knockhill!

Posted on 21 May 2013

Grzegorz Kalinecki and his Irish based Sportchip.ie team made the trip to Knockhill in Scotland for the second round of the UK Retro Rallycross championship. Extreme weather conditions made it a difficult weekend for all competitors but the trusty Integrale performed admirably all day, evening surviving a clash with a Porsche in the third heat. Conditions were worse than ever for the final but the team were confident of challenging for the win. Unfortuantely, the windscreen fogged up on the Lancia, preventing Grzegorz from challenging for the lead and instead forcing him to defend his second position. This he did perfectly, crossing the line to take runner up spot and with it a healthy dose of championship points. All this would not be possible without their sponsors and Grzegorz Kalinecki and his Sportchip Team would like to thank them for their support: - Polish food shops in Ireland “MROZ” (www.mrozdublin.ie) - www.Turbo-Tech.ie - www.TKCCC.ie - www.Mactronic.ie - www.MBCProject.co.uk Continue Reading

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Return of the Mojo- with Jamie Masterson

Posted on 21 May 2013

Finally starting to make progress on my new Suzuki after many weekends struggling to even break that magic minute! After many a sleepless nite and head melting weeks of doing laps of Mondello Park in my head trying to find out where I was going so wrong. I’d be the first person to put up my hand and say I was riding crap but I knew I wasn’t going that bad as I was literally near killing myself to do even a minute flat. I had kind of nearly accepted the fact that maybe I had lost my mojo as the past few months have been tough on my wallet but even more so my mind!! It’s very frustrating after spending heaps of dosh to have actually thundered backwards, I was expecting to be a bit slower at the start but not as bad as this! But happily after a quick map from Jog Tuning on the Saturday test day, I knocked 2 seconds off my lap straight away in my first session out!! Now I know I still got it!! Wahoooo!! Confidence in myself restored! But it wasn’t all rosy on Sunday, as in race 1 I only managed 3 laps as I got tangled up with Mr Madden on the exit of Dunlop corner which spelled the end of my weekend as the bike took some small damage and we couldn’t have it ready for Race 2.. Nevertheless we drove away a bit battered and bruised and with my pride and joy of a race bike in the back in pieces but yet still smiling and saying how good of a weekend it was!! Just chuffed we’re back on the pipe and back enjoying racing at top level! Can’t wait till the next Adelaide Mondello Masters in June. Thanks to all my followers and supporters- especially during my tough times!! Over and out from a chuffed flash!! #flashisback Till next month. Jamie#22 Continue Reading

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Bishopscourt Blog- with Barry Rabbitt

Posted on 20 May 2013

Rounds 2 and 3 of the MicksGarage.com Formula Sheane championship took place at the recently rejuvenated Bishopscourt Race Track near Downpatrick in Co Down. With car racing only returning to the circuit in 2012 I was yet to sample the delights of this fast flowing track which was held in such high regard by all those who sampled it last year. After round 1 at Kirkistown I took the GoldenPages.ie car to Fahys Garage in Oranmore, Galway for a comprehensive alignment check up. Many things were put right and we headed towards Bishopscourt with a sense of optimism, however I was keenly aware that the combination of a wet weather forecast, my lack of track knowledge and only two ten minute test sessions were going to make it a difficult weekend. By the time qualifying came around on Saturday evening I had yet to complete a dry lap of the circuit. The timetable for the event was very tight so our class was mixed with the Formula Vees for testing which impeded both classes terribly. Conditions for qualifying were damp but drying and I made sure to be on circuit at the end when the track was at its best. My second last lap was good enough for P3 but the data on the car showed that on my last lap I was on for a lap some 6 tenths quicker but I lost time overtaking a car. In the end I would line up P3 for race 1 and pole position for race 2 as my second fastest lap was the quickest of all drivers. Carnage on the way to turn one! Race one was a thoroughly wet affair, my first ever wet single seater race! I made a reasonable start but on the run to turn one I was tagged by the rear wheel of another car which spun me at 90 degrees to the oncoming traffic. A few swirls of the wheel and luckily I could point the car back towards turn one but I was down to almost last position. I put my head down and worked my way back through the field to P3. At turn two on lap 8 as I slowed for a yellow flag zone I was unceremoniously punted out of the race and into retirement on the grass. Race two was a much drier affair and I lined the FCR Media Racing car on pole position. I got a reasonable start but Kevin Sheane made a better one from the row behind and took the lead on the run to turn one. The balance in my car was very good and I had the confidence to push hard on the cold tyres and retook the position around the outside of the 4th gear left hander. Unfortunately it wasn’t to be for long as on turn 3 I made a driving error and ran wide, demoting myself to 7th position and in the process thumping the steering wheel in frustration! Again I had to work myself back up the order and once again got as far as 3rd place. By now the rain had returned and the safety car was deployed to collect a stranded car. Now right on the gearbox of the leading two cars I was ready for a win or bin final lap or two but twice the safety car turned its lights off only to turn them back on and in the end we never got a dash to the flag, much to my frustration. All told it was not a positive weekend, we had the pace but not the luck. I’m looking forward to returning to Mondello Park for the 45 year anniversary meeting in June where hopefully we can get our championship aspirations back on track! Continue Reading

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Disappointing return to the stages- with Tonya Fortune

Posted on 19 May 2013

Sunday 12th May saw my return to the stages, on the Carlow Stages Rally, on the back roads around Tullow. Myself and Dan arrived at the rally hoping for a good result, following all the work that had been put into improving the car over the course of the last few months. The morning saw us greeted by rain as we prepared to head out onto the first loop of three stages, and this coupled with new tyres led to an interesting outlook for the day! We headed onto stage one, Sherwood, feeling confident, where we were met by extremely greasy and slippery conditions, on what was already a tough stage. This was further proven by the amount of casualties that were taken on the stage, and although fortunate enough to get to the end, we still had a small amount of drama of our own. We lost a lot of time on the stage, with hitting a bank on a square left, and then a further overshoot on a square right about mid way around the stage. We did however exit the stage happy to be lying 5th overall in the Junior section, and 1st in class 16. Following the cancellation of stage two, it was on to the much faster stage three, Bohermore. After the near misses on the first stage, I was possibly a little too cautious in places, but exited the stage holding onto 5th, and 1st in class. As we headed to service we were feeling optimistic about the loop of stages to follow, especially as the rain had eased, and the roads were beginning to somewhat dry up. Unfortunately on reaching the service area in Tullow, our hopes were put to a swift end, when we spotted a problem with the car that was set to end our rally. We opened the bonnet to find the fan belt sitting neatly in the engine bay, after the pulley had apparently sheared off. With no hope of being able to fix the problem, we were forced to call it a day. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement, but such is rallying, and these things will happen! So while it wasn’t a great start to our South East Stages campaign, if nothing else it was a great experience to get the two stages, as they gave me a few miles to get used to the new setup in the car. So to round off, I’d like to start by saying thanks to Terence and all the crew in Carlow Car Club, for a great, well run event. To my sponsors Somers garage for the pre event prep, and finally to our latest addition to the car, Joe Leslie Rally videos for all their support! So for now its time to get back to work on repairing the car, and the next event on the cards will be the Ravens Rock Rally on the 30th June. Until next time! Tonya Continue Reading

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Kirkistown Blog- with Cregor Elliott

Posted on 18 May 2013

Ah isn’t it just great that racing is back. This year saw a later start in the year than most recent times this is probably a good thing given the weather in Ireland the past few weeks. Con Connolly picked me up at 6am (I’d say bright and early but it was still dark) for the drive to Kirkistown that went through frost glistening fields and a fiery sunrise over the snow capped Mourne Mountains, it was the sort of morning poets dream about. I was surprised to see snow still piled on the roadside when we reached Hillsborough and it lasted until we reached the coastline of Strangford Lough. We arrived at the track and our first stop was the cantina for a breakfast, after which I wandered around the paddock for a while chatting to a few people, and having a few cups of tea. Feeling jetlagged from my recent holiday I went for a nap in the back of the Leastone truck emerging for the start of racing. John Murphy and Colm Blackburn won the Formula Ford, and Formula Vee qualifying races before lunch. Discussing ice cream with JayTee Jay Tee alerted me onto the ice cream stand in the paddock so I tried some at lunchtime. A local farm makes it and it was out of this world. Rhubarb and custard was the top flavour if you’re heading that way during the season. The wind picked up over lunch making for a cold afternoon. I stayed at the chicane and Fishermans for most of the afternoon and watched some close racing. There were wins for Ivor McCoullough, Dylan Curley, David Beatty, and Stephen Davidson. Kevin Seane won a thrilling Sheane race that produced controversy when Robbie Allen was excluded post race, while Ray Moore ran away with the Vee race. A few incidents led to delays as the afternoon wore on and as 5pm approached there were still a few races to run. The Fomula Ford race was stopped several times for incidents, but the racing was brilliant at the front. McCoullough took his second win of the day, as the young guns of Stephen Doyle and Niall Murray gave a good account of themselves. The final races were cut short but it was still nearly 7pm by the time it was all over which was a bit late to be leaving for the drive back to Dublin. Continue Reading

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Breezemount Motorsport- a new arrival!

Posted on 18 May 2013

Apologies for some passing of time since my last blog as my proverbial plate just seems to get bigger, however I’m not complaining when on that plate is the finest of Italian cuisine to be washed down by Super Tuscan red, it’s just a matter finding room for the intake of an extra course and hope I can fit it all in. Of course what I’m actually talking about is the new Ferrari 458 Italia Challenge that Philip has acquired for new ventures further afield. Best of all is that its new…..brand spanking out of the box new! Now I’m going to be completely open here, I’ve had a crippling ‘no other road car is better than a Ferrari’ mindset since wearing grey shorts with conkers in my back pocket. This blind loyalty was firmly sealed once contents of an oddly shaped money box was swapped with a Ferrari annual with glossy pictures and exploded views of the then scarlet range of road cars. Fast forward a few hair styles from then and that obsession proved advantageous when I spent time with Pininfarina Study and Research as a development technician on bespoke Ferrari, ahhh great fun. A calling to motorsport took over my career aspirations, but Ferraris have never been far away throughout. Now we come to present day and this absolute drop dead gorgeous Rari has arrived at the Breezemount workshop. A prompt read through the 458 instruction manual has brought me up to speed on this current Challenge edition. It continues with the previous Challenge car ethos, not quite GT race spec but hardened up enough with the right racy bits stuck on for eligible competition. F458 Challenge Shakedown What really impresses me is the filtering down of F1 technology into the powertrain architecture, the current tread of seamless gear shift and active diffs to control whole corner balance is right there with this car. So with no delay, a shakedown with Philip at the helm and Richard Lyons as backup pilot was undertaken. A quick download of captured car data does indeed show the many electronic interventions of diff control thus enabling driver to just press right foot pedal and go. Don’t get me wrong, not even the F1 tech clever electronics can beat the laws of physics so drivers are still on their toes to avoid any pilot error induced pendulum effects; however the car proves to be fairly easy to drive and point through the corners. One thing that did become apparent to both drivers is the effect of some positive lift on the car at various performance points and so upon return to workshop an aero package has been the topic of development discussion. The plan is for Philip to learn the circuits in the UK with the Challenge, so I am pleased to say Breezemount Motorsport has linked up with Ferrari specialists FF Corsa who will take over the running of the car at their base at Silverstone with intentions to support us to UK and European circuits. Stuart checking Ferrari data. In the meantime while an aero upgrade is sourced for the Ferrari we have moved onto the Formula Master and Seat Leon. Our first outing this year with the Master at Mondello has highlighted an issue with setup as we have switched tyre brands and sizes, something which will require additional testing as we assess and learn to understand changes to the dynamics of the car. I fear quite a few changes to suspension components and permutations of setup to achieve balance equilibrium. This takes time which we are short of when that plate is already full and the saloon championship is well underway, so more on Formula Master developments later. Our first race at Kirkistown in the saloons showed Philip has the speed to qualify well but the Seat Supercopa Achilles heel is its DSG gearbox, AKA getting off the line. It’s a rather hit or miss affair as Philip found out on both races, then there was the realization that the saloon boys don’t give a damn if Philip is the outright record holder at Kirko. With a mixture of relatively equal matched machinery here, if you want to be first across the line then you have to learn to squeeze every ounce of horsepower from the engine on corner exit and accept that no one is going to give an inch on corner entry. Good point finishes for both races on our first event this year we are glad off, but much discussion on return to the workshop was had with many cups of coffee. So another test was booked 2 days before the second saloon race meet. I implemented another setup adjustment and Richard Lyons was on hand for the finer points of race craft and that all important lap time, then it was down to the stopwatch to tell the tale of positives or negatives. The times are good, real good, into the mid 61’s for Philip as the Leon is touching the edge of its performance envelope. So with race day on the next sunrise, the Leon is back A job well done! on the flat patch into the dark hours getting a final adjustment to remove a little of the nervousness that has crept in. A little red eye in the morning soon disappears as caffeine is consumed, 2 qualifies and 2 races await the Leon Supercopa as she warms up on air jacks. A quick download then check of engine vitals on the laptop confirms all is go for the morning qualify runs. The hard work Philip has been putting in is starting to pay off, fastest in his class and even out pacing the GT’s for Q1. ‘Car feeling better with that setup tweak Stu’ Philip comments, and indeed the confidence shows on Philips data, ‘just got to get the car cleanly off the line now!’ Well both races went well as it turned out, the DSG gearbox launch control is indeed useless as Philip loses places on both starts, however Philip drove well, exceptionally well, fighting with the mighty Hondas with a few well placed overtaking maneouvers to take class wins in both races. And to top things off a new saloon lap record of 62.2! Well done Philip, you have our attention now! Follow us on Facebook / Breezemount Motorsport Continue Reading

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Galway Motor Club announces new Summer Rally sponsor

Posted on 17 May 2013

Galway Motor Club, organisers of the Galway Summer Rally, are delighted to announce that The Carlton Shearwater Hotel, Ballinasloe in association with Ballinasloe Town will be the new title sponsors of the 2013 Galway Summer Stages Rally. Michelle Ryan, Marketing Manager of The Carlton commented “We are delighted along with Ballinasloe Town to be the title sponsor of such a prestigious event. The Carlton Shearwater, one of the newest Galway Hotels, is an exquisite 4 star hotel and spa resort with easy access to Galway and Athlone. Ideally situated at Marina Point on the majestic River Suck, one of the most beautiful rivers in the country, this is the perfect retreat. Luxurious accommodation and suites, the very finest in dining, and a Leisure & Fitness centre with swimming pool will all combine to make your stay in Galway a magical one. Our C-Spa offers a range of soothing treatments and a team of expert beauticians that will ensure you look as good on the outside as we promise to make you feel on the inside. All that’s left for you to do is sit back, relax and enjoy your stay. The Carlton Shearwater Hotel & C Spa is celebrating their 6th birthday this year and are part of the Carlton Hotel group, which is an Irish owned hotel group with eight properties located across Ireland” Donal Scannell, President of Ballinasloe Chamber Of Commerce said “We are thrilled to have the rally based in Ballinasloe following the success of the finish of the Galway International Rally in the town in February. The rally brings a great buzz to the town as well as a much needed boost to the local economy. Ballinasloe is an ideal location for the rally given its central location and access to the M6 Motorway. Welcome to the Gateway To The West” Mark Parsons, Clerk of the Course for the Galway Summer Rally stated, “The Carlton Shearwater Hotel and Ballinasloe Town is an ideal sponsor for the Galway Summer Rally. The Carlton Group has an established connection with the exciting sport of motor rallying through sponsorship of other rally events. The town of Ballinasloe could not have been more helpful in our preparations to date. The Rally will take place over the weekend of August 31 the Dunlop National and Top Part West Coast Championships. The Headquarters will be The Carlton Shearwater Hotel with Service and Scrutiny in close proximity. The event is expected to attract a full entry of over 130 cars and teams to the town. Galway Motor Club endorses the Road Safety Authority’s “Keep the Race in Its Place” initiative and is a supporter of “The Gathering” tourism promotion. Continue Reading

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Crossle at Cultra

Posted on 17 May 2013

The Cultra Hillclimb is staged at one of the oldest motorsport venues in the world and takes place on Saturday 1 June and local racing car constructor Crossle has a long association with the event. Based close by they are inviting customers past, present and potential to join with them at Cultra Manor where there will be a focus on Crossle at Cultra. There will be an exhibition of Crossle cars, photographs and other items relating to one of the oldest racing car manufacturers in the world. For potential customers Crossle will offer a test drive in the 9S sports racing car at Kirkistown on Friday 31 May, a visit to the factory at Rory’s Wood, and opportunities for local tourism for those interested. Continue Reading

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Deane Dominates Mayo Autocross

Posted on 16 May 2013

The first Mayo & District Motorsport Club Autocross of the year took place on Sunday. Derek Deane from Williamstown won the event in his JB Buggy, continuing his great form from last year that saw him crowned the 2012 Frank Harrington Challenge Champion. Second home was Ian Barrett from Maynooth, with another member of the Deane family, Mervyn, rounding off an all Buggy Top 3. Local honours went to James McGreal from Foxford who won the club award. Other locals to fare Shauna McEveney accepts the Ladies Prize from Pat McGuinness well were club chairman Matthew Murphy from Shrule who won class 3 in his Toyota Corolla. Alan Moran from Foxford won Class 2 in his Opel Kadett, after a battle of the local young drivers that saw Shrule man Noel Murphy finish just two-hundredths of a second behind Moran. Shauna McEveney from Castlebar won the ladies award on her first ever day out and also with a good solid performance on his first day driving at an autocross event was young Colm Ronan from Bekan. Both of whom are young drivers who are starting off their Motorsport careers at the correct level, taking part in the Mayo & District Motorsport Clubs -Young Drivers Support Scheme, learning proper car control in a controlled environment. Continue Reading

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GT, Latest Features, Uncategorized

Runner up spot for Kalinecki on first visit to Knockhill!

GT, Inside Line, Latest Features, Racing, Uncategorized

Return of the Mojo- with Jamie Masterson

GT, Inside Line, IRL, Latest Features, Motorsport, Racing, Uncategorized

Bishopscourt Blog- with Barry Rabbitt

GT, Inside Line, Latest Features, Uncategorized

Disappointing return to the stages- with Tonya Fortune

GT, Latest Features, Motorsport, Niall Murray, Racing, Uncategorized

Kirkistown Blog- with Cregor Elliott

F1, GT, Inside Line, IRL, Latest Features, Motorsport, Racing, Uncategorized

Breezemount Motorsport- a new arrival!

GT, Latest Features, Uncategorized

Galway Motor Club announces new Summer Rally sponsor

GT, Latest Features, Motorsport, Racing, Uncategorized

Crossle at Cultra

GT, Latest Features, Motorsport, Uncategorized

Deane Dominates Mayo Autocross

GT, Latest Features, Motorsport, Uncategorized

Deane Dominates Mayo Autocross

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