Sport

Ferguson out in front after round five

MOTOR SPORT: FOUR DRIVERS are separated by eight points after the first five rounds of the Hewison Trophy Autotest Championship…

BRIAN FOLEY
Fri Nov 28 2008 - 00:00

MOTOR SPORT:FOUR DRIVERS are separated by eight points after the first five rounds of the Hewison Trophy Autotest Championship.

Mini Special drivers Steven Ferguson and Eddie Peterson lead the series on 119 points and 116, respectively, followed by Mini saloon drivers Eamonn Byrne on 114 points and Robin Lyons on 111. Paddy Power (Mini Moke) 97 points, Chris Grimes (Mini) 96, Sam Johnston (Mini Special) 90, Steven Bolton (Westfield) 80, Daniel Byrne (Mini) 78, and Paul Phelan (Mini Special) 76 complete the top 10.

The top three in the novice class for the Europa Cup are Alan Coyle (Mini Special) 49 points, Guy Foster (Mini) 37 and John McAssy (Starlet) 36.

Byrne won his first Hewison in 1990 and his last in 2004, equalling the record of 10 championships held by Dermot Carnegie. He also has the distinction of five-in-a-row wins between 1993 and 1997. Peterson is the reigning champion with three in a row.

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Carlow Car Club run two more Hewison events this weekend, at Mondello Park tomorrow and Tullow, Co Carlow, on Sunday.

Reigning champion Eamonn Boland, former champion Eugene Donnelly, Derek McGarrity, Gareth, Aaron MacHale and Tim McNulty are amongst the first 100 entries for the Galway International Rally on January 16th/18th. All will drive WRC cars, but Gareth MacHale may forsake his Ford Focus WRC for an Opel Corsa Super 2000 of the type proposed to take over from the WRC cars in the 2010 World Championship. Galway MC's traditional start to the Global Tarmac Rally Championship will cover 17 stages in the Abbeyknockmoy area on the Saturday and around Gort on the Sunday.

Peter Dempsey has been testing a 450bhp Indy Lights car with Andersen Racing in the USA where he hopes to compete in the 2009 Indy Lights Championship. The Ashbourne driver finished third in the Star Mazda Championship on his North American racing debut this year, winning four races in a series he was almost forced to quit through lack of sponsorship.

For the second year in a row, Mondello Park has been honoured by the Naas Chamber of Commerce in the Kildare "Excellence in Business" awards. Mondello has progressed from being purely a motorsport venue to a centre for motor vehicle testing, car launches and corporate events.

WEEKEND FIXTURES: Saturday: Carlow CC, Hewison Trophy Autotest, Mondello Park, 10.30am; Midland MC, Navigation Trial, starts Kilbride Community Centre, Four Mile House, Co Roscommon, 9pm. Sunday - Carlow CC, Hewison Trophy Autotest, Tullow, Co Carlow, 10.30am.