The final of the Irish Rallycross Championship takes to the track this weekend with the overall crown already in the possession of Kildare's Tommy Graham.
The Fiesta Supercar driver secured his first championship at the penultimate round two weeks ago and this weekend will be a lap of honour for the popular Rallycross champ. This Sunday’s race meeting will be organised by the Kildare Motor Club and despite the overall title already being decided it should still be a cracker with a number of other championships still to be decided.
Behind Graham the runner-up position has seen a season long battle between the Impreza of Andrew Morris and newcomer to the Supercar Class David Dempsey with his Mitsubishi Evo. The more experienced Morris should start as favourite as Dempsey has yet to finish ahead of his rival over the four events where they have gone head to head.
A sensational run of four wins on the trot in the most competitive of all classes, the Southside Motor Factors Modified Division has put Dundalk’s Barry McArdle in pole position to lift his first title. Even a zero score for the Renault 5 driver would mean that the off form out-going champion Michael Coyne would need to finish in the top four, something which he has struggled to do regularly this season. In the Rathgar Motor Factors Stockhatch Cup Derek Tohill finds himself in a similar situation to McArdle where only non-qualification for the finals could possibly stop him from lifting another Stockhatch crown.
The Jondol Junior Rallycross championship for 14 to 17 year olds is the only championship with more than two drivers in with a chance of winning, although for two of them it is a slim chance. Points leader Simon Quinn sits ten points up on Niall Murray with Paul Barrett slightly further back. These three have shared the wins with Quinn taking three, Murray two and Barrett one and all three will need to be in the ‘A’ final on Sunday evening to be in with a chance of the title. Quinn is in the strongest position of all as simply making it to the grid for the ‘A’ race will do as by doing so he will pick up enough points to secure the title.
Sunday’s event will see the usual seventy plus field of cars take to the track with practice starting at 09:15 and the first heats set for 10:15. Following three runs of heats the finals which will decide the 2009/2010 championship results will get underway at 15:30. Admission is €15 for adults with under sixteen’s admitted free. Family tickets are also available for €25 and all admission includes a free event programme. For special offwers on admission please see www.mondellopark.ie/specials.
TIMETABLE
09:15 Practice Commences
10:00 Practice Finishes
10:15 Heats Run 1
11:45 Heats Run 2
13:15 Lunch Break
13:45 Heats Run 3
15:30 Finals
17:00 Prizegiving
