Up-and-coming Northern Irish driver Desi Henry will challenge for victories in this year’s revised MSA British Rally Championship with the backing of two new team sponsors. The young title hopeful from Portglenone unveiled his new-look Citroen DS3 R3 on Thursday – just three weeks ahead of the season opening Pirelli Richard Burns Foundation Rally. Having accrued a year’s experience at the wheel of his John McKillop-prepared car he is looking forward to pitting himself against the likes of Jukka Kohonen, Alastair Fisher, and fellow countryman Mark Donnelly, all of who will feature in identical Citroen DS3 R3 cars. Helping the 23-year-old along the way will be Kilrea-based SJC Hutchinson Engineering Ltd, and Ireland’s leading online value bathroom specialist, Bath Shack. And in keeping with the new-look theme, Henry will join forces with former Citroen co-driving champion Phil Clarke, who is regarded by many as one of Britain’s top navigators. In readiness for the new season Henry tackled the Fivemiletown Spring Rally, setting a fastest stage time en route to winning his class – form he will look to reproduce in the BRC. “The car has been completely re-built during the close season. We’ve made a lot of changes to it so I’m confident it’s as good as it can be,” said the former Citroen Racing Trophy driver. “The aim this year is to be in a position to challenge for the drivers’ title. I know it’s a very difficult championship, but there are a lot of rallies, a lot of stages and a lot of miles ahead. Points make prizes, so on every round the goal will be to finish somewhere on the podium.” On his decision to join forces with Phil Clarke, Henry explained: “He has a lot of experience and anyone will tell you that to win the British Rally Championship you need experience. “Phil has been there and done it before, he knows what it takes, and hopefully as the season progresses his experience will pay dividends. I’m very optimistic about our chances.” Commenting on his tie up with Henry for the 2013 season, Mark Hutchinson, from SJC Hutchinson Engineering, said he was “delighted” to be able to support home-grown talent. “I’ve been keeping a close eye on his progress during the course of the last 12 months and I’ve been very impressed by a number of his performances. Hopefully this will be his year.” He added: “With the British Rally Championship being held in England, Scotland and Wales, and back home here in Northern Ireland, it’s a great opportunity for us to publicise the business. By doing so hopefully we will get the chance to export more of our expertise.” Bath Shack’s Connor Dunlop said: “I’m very pleased to give Desi my backing for the 2013 British Rally Championship. I wish him and the team every success for the year ahead.”

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Desi Henry secures new sponsors for BRC campaign!

This Saturday and Sunday the new Adelaide Masters Series season will kick off with the first three rounds of its fourteen race 2013 schedule. The series returns with renewed backing form Motorcycle Insurance Specialists, Adelaide Insurance Services, as well as the support of Dunlop Tyres, Irish Ferries and Safety Direct. The series, which is promoted by Mondello Park with the support of Motorcycling Ireland’s Short Circuit Racing committee, will once again be made up of five events, four at Mondello Park Co. Kildare and one at Bishopscourt Co. Down. An excellent line-up has been gathered together for the season opener with some big names making their return to the series. The Superbike line-up will see a top ten brimming with talent battle it out for championship points and the substantial prize fund. Adding an extra competitive edge to the previously announced contenders will be entries for Derek Sheils and Paul Barron. Sheils will ride the CD racing machinery which Brian McCormack took to two Adelaide Masters Series titles last year while former British Champion Barron will make his Masters début.   The Superbike races will be backed up by a huge and very competitive field of Supersport machinery with this class tipped to be the most keenly fought of all, as a number of young guns move up from the Cup class. The Cup class is the breeding ground for future stars in both Supersport and Superbike and offers newcomers and less experienced riders their own championship to chase while trying to also compete with the Pro’s at the front of the field. As with 2012, all of this seasons Mondello Park Adelaide Masters events will include a round of the Stunt Ireland motorcycle stunt riding championship. The series got under way last year in a small way but quickly grew and is already an important part of Masters events. This season the championship will grow with a number of new riders joining in, having seen the success of last years events. The 2013 Adelaide Masters Series will continue with its popular format which sees the Superbike and Supersport classes as the focus of the timetable. One major change is the removal from the programme of the Grand Final and this has allowed Sunday’s first Superbike and Supersport races to be moved to a later time to allow more spectators the chance to see these classes. The supporting cast will be made up of races for Pre-Injection machinery, Twins, Two-Strokes, Lightweight Supersport and Classics. All the information on the 2013 Adelaide Masters Series is now available on a dedicated championship web site www.adelaidemasters.ie .  

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Big Names Return for Adelaide Masters Series Opener

The 2013 Adelaide Masters Series is almost set for the green light with less than ten days to the opening event of the season at Mondello Park Co. Kildare. Ireland’s premier Motorcycle Racing Series continues to benefit from the support of motorcycle insurance specialists, Adelaide Insurance Services, as it heads into another year. And what a year it promises to be. Despite the top two from last years Superbike series and the winner of the Supersport crown not being present for all rounds this season, the championship looks healthier than ever. The Superbike series will start with at least eight riders capable of taking the crown. Former champion Marshall Neill will make a return riding for one of Ireland’s most successful teams, as Wilson Craig Racing enters the full Adelaide Series for the first time. Neill will tackle the Superbike and Supersport series in an effort to emulate Brian McCormack’s double success from 2012. Neil will have no shortage of rivals with David Haire returning for the full season, Alan Bonner shifting his focus from the roads to the Masters Series and Damien Byrne upping his efforts to improve on third in the stranding last year, all of them will be Honda mounted. Moving up to the bigger engined class will be Jonny Buckley who will have an ex BSB Ducati at his disposal and if he can get the new machine sorted he will be a definite contender. Throw in the likes of Mark Glasgow, Nico Mawhinney and Isle of Man resident Gavin Hunt and there will be plenty of strength in depth on the Superbike grid. Supersport could well be the preserve of the young guns this year, with a number of young riders very fired up for the season. If any of the new kids on the block want to capture the title however, they will have some very big names to overcome. Combining Superbike and Supersport efforts will be Marshall Neill and David Haire and they will be joined by Declan Swanton and Richie Ryan as the benchmark for anyone looking to make their name. Carl Phillips who just failed to pip McCormack to the title last season will start as favourite of the younger riders and he will be joined by a number of graduates from the Cup class such as Luke Johnston, James Kelly, Jason Lynn, Timothy Elwood, Dean McMaster and Mark Conlin. As well as the supporting races which run alongside the Superbike and Supersport classes each Mondello Park round will also include a round of the Stunt Ireland Irish stunt riding championship. This series is going into its second season and following the success of last year a much bigger and more competitive championship is expected. Full details of the Adelaide Masters Series will be available as the season progresses on a new dedicated Adelaide Masters web site www.adelaidemasters.ie

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New Adelaide Masters Season Ready for the Green Light

Reigning Ginetta Junior Team Champions Douglas Motorsport will be aiming to retain their title in 2013 having signed Irish star Keith Donegan just weeks ahead of the season opener at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit. The Navan native had a mixed rookie season in the Ginetta Junior Championship in 2012 having graduated from a number of successful seasons Karting across Europe. Keith’s highlight of the season came in race one at Rockingham where he made his debut visit to the Ginetta Junior podium achieving a season best result of 3rd. Throughout the season Keith showed several flashes of good pace and is confident that he can now put this speed and previous years experience together with the help of Douglas Motorsport to mount a strong title challenge for 2013. Speaking about the announcement, Keith commented, “I’m delighted to be given the chance to run with Douglas Motorsport this year. I think it will give us a good shot at the championship and going on our recent pace and how well we worked together in some pre-season testing, theres no reason why we shouldn’t be running at the front right from the off.” “Keith was unlucky on a number of occasions last year not to get the results he deserved, but always showed that he had the speed required to run at the front”, said Wayne Douglas, Douglas Motorsport Team Principal. Wayne went on to say, “We’ve tested with Keith already this year and I’m in no doubt that he can be a title contender and we’re certainly hoping that we can keep our Team Champions title for another season”. If you are looking to join a proven championship winning team for 2013 please get in touch with Wayne Douglas by logging onto: www.douglasmotorsport.com or emailing wayne@douglasmotorsport.com.

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Donegan joins Douglas Motorsport for Ginetta Junior

Reigning Ginetta Junior Team Champions Douglas Motorsport are delighted to announce that 2012 Ginetta Junior Vice-Champion Sennan Fielding will join them for the inaugural running of the BRDC Formula 4 Championship. Sennan Fielding graduated from Karting into Ginetta Junior in 2011 as his prize for becoming the debut winner of the Ginetta Scholarship. Quickly Fielding made his mark in the series as one to watch and returned in 2012 as one of the championship favourites. As the season unfolded, Sennan found himself locked in a three way battle for title honours with Niall Murray and eventual champion Charlie Robertson, a title that was only decided at the last weekend in Brands Hatch. Fielding tested with Douglas Motorsport at the end of 2012 and commented: “Wayne has a lot of passion behind him and he is an excellent driver coach. We spent a lot of time in Ireland analysing camera footage that was very useful. Last season their cars were very well prepared and his team was always strong and running up at the front.” Douglas Motorsport were among one of the first teams to commit to this new cost effective single seater championship spearheaded by MSV boss Jonathan Palmer. Team Principal Wayne Douglas is full of praise for this new series. “When we heard about this championship coming up for 2013, it sounded like the perfect next step for us. Being run by MSV and supported by the BRDC enables this championship to become one of the major stepping stones in any young racing drivers career. I am delighted to have secured Sennan for this season as he is an extremely talended driver and I would be disappointed if we don’t see him challenging for the title right from the very start of the season.” You can follow Douglas Motorsport’s progress throughout the BRDC Formula 4 Championship season on: http://www.dddmotorsport.com

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Fielding steps up to F4 with Douglas Motorsport