The Red Mills National Rally Championship is all set for a grand finale with reigning champion John Gilleece (Belfast) and Niall Maguire (Monaghan) separated by 18 points with two events to run. Gilleece can only nominate one round for championship points, Sunday's Donegal Harvest Rally or the Skibbereen Fastnet Rally on October 25th. Maguire can score in the last two rounds.
Gilleece is expected to wait until just before the start of the penultimate round to register for points. Not only will Gilleece, in his trusty Ford Escort Cosworth, have to contend with Maguire in a Subaru Legacy, but also with three more Subaru drivers - last year's Donegal winner Paul Harris, Hugh Martin Doherty and Daniel Doherty - and Davey Greer in a Toyota Celica GT4.
The rally has a capacity entry of 130, plus a staggering 80 reserves. Run out of Ballybofey, the format is 3x3 stages at Glenamquin, Cooradooey and Trusk Lough, with service on the Ballybofey-Letterkenny Road.
In 1996, Dublin driver Ray Moore (38) won the British Formula Vee Championship driving an Irish-built Leastone. He could regain the title in the final round at Silverstone on Sunday, as he is only a single point behind leader Ian Jordan, with Martin Brown third, a point behind Moore.
Donegal's Damien Faulkner races at Snetterton on Sunday in the Formula Palmer Audi championship, in which he is joint fourth with the Finn Topi Serjala on 158 points. Justin Wilson leads on 192 points from Darren Turner (171) and Richard Tarling (168). Faulkner should overtake Tarling for third, and confidently says: "I am by no means out of the title hunt."
Sunday's Mondello Park meeting marks the end of the motorcycle racing season there and will feature the final rounds of the three Mondello championships. In the Production Bike series the scoreboard reads: 1 - Barry Gill (Castletroy, Limerick) 251 points; 2 - Derek Wilson (Carrigaline, Co Cork) 235; 3 - John Niland (Dublin) 153. Gill has scored seven wins this season, Wilson has five and fifth-placed Brian Coogan (Dublin) has one.
In the 600cc class, Gerald Kingsbury (Limavady, Co Derry) leads on 146 points from David Coughlan (Youghal) on 132 and Gar Coburn (Belfast) on 122.
With 221 points, Roddy Hayes of Rathmoylan, Co Meath, has a huge lead in the Pre-1990 class. There is a three-way tie for second between Damien Muleady (Drumlish, Co Longford), Benny Doherty (Co Kilkenny) and Pat Duffy (Dublin) on 136 points each.
The top three in the Novice class are: Paul Kenny (54), Ronan Hartford (34) and Gavin Tivy (30).
