Annual hillclimb on Corkscrew Hill

ROUND 3 of the Naylor Engineering Irish Hillclimb and Sprint Championship 2013 will take place this Saturday on the Corkscrew Hill in Ballyvaughan.

The hillclimb was postponed recently as a mark of respect following the sudden death of Ballyvaughan man PJ Vaughan.

The Clare Motor Club members, under clerk of the course Dermot Kelleher, will run the 1.6km hillclimb, which consists of hairpins and fast, sweeping bends that will pose a challenging test for all competitors.
Entries are filling up quickly and all the championship contenders are expected to attend, including current hillclimb champion and Clare Motor Club member Sylvie Mullins from Ballyvaughan, driving his 600 horse powered Judd-engined Gould GR 37.

In 2012, Mullins won the first of the 12-round championship in Wexford, beating Simon McKinley, with Limerick’s Paul O’Connell finishing third. Rounds 3 and 4, the Clare/Galway Weekend, saw McKinley win both the Corkscrew and Ballyallaban Hills, as Mullins had mechanical problems after breaking the gearbox off the start line on the Corkscrew. Joe Courtney finished second in his OMS Hornet, O’Connell finished third and Mullins finished fourth. On Ballyallaban, McKinley was fastest, with Mullins second and O’Connell finishing third in his Pilbeam.

McKinley’s home ground, The Naul in County Dublin, hosted Rounds 5 and 6. Again McKinley was fastest on both days, as Mullins’ gremlins continued with a broken trottle cable on day one and a broken back shock on day two. He eventually finished second on both days, with O’Connell third.

Kilrush Airfield in Carlow was the venue for Round 7, which Mullins won as McKinley did not compete as he was taking part in a hillclimb in France. O’Connell was second and John Byrne finished third. On day two, the Carlow club moved to a hill at Bagnelstown for Round 8. In very wet conditions, Mullins led the day until the last run, where he was pipped by John Byrne for the fastest time.

Rounds 9 and 10 took place at Kirkstown in the North of Ireland and were a round of the North-South Hillclimb and a round of the UK and Northern Ireland Sprint Championships. Mullins won the North-South of Ireland Championship and finished second overall in the UK championship, while McKinley finished second in the North-South of Ireland Championship.

With eight out of 12 rounds to count in the championship, Mullins had to win one in the last two rounds, which took place in Donegal. He set the fastest time on Knockalla on both days and took the hill record from McKinley to make him the 2012 hillclimb champion. McKinley finished second.

After the first two rounds of the 2013 championship, which took place in Wexford a couple of weeks ago, Simon McKinley takes a commanding lead. He entered both his Escort and his Lant RT2 with the result that he took both first and second on Saturday, with triple hillclimb champion O’Connell finishing third.

On Sunday, McKinley was fastest again, with Joe Courtney finishing second and Simon McKinley third. O’Connell retired due to clutch problems.

The Mullins-McKinley-O’Connell battle will resume this weekend on the Corkscrew Hill as local man Mullins will try and take back the record from the ever-charging McKinley.

There will also be a big turnout in the rally car classes, with drivers fighting for positions.

Mechanical and documentation scrutiny will take place in the paddock at the top of Corkscrew Hill on Saturday morning between 8am and 10am.

The Corkscrew Hill road will be closed between 9am and 6pm on Saturday and the Clare Motor Club have acknowledged the residents’ co-operation. The practice run will take place at 10.30am, while the first timed runs will start at approximately 11.45am. Prize-giving will take place on Saturday evening at 7pm at Logue’s Lodge, Ballyvaughan.

Entry forms are available to download from the club website at www.claremotorclub.com and further information is available from Dermot on 086 6028367 or Aisling on 087 6102860.

Hill climb in Brittany
TWENTY Irish drivers have entered the Saint-Gouéno Hillclimb masters event held in Côtes-d’Armor in Brittany, France. The 3.2km (two miles) ribbon of tarmac is considered by many to be one of the most prestigious motorsport events on the French hillclimb calendar.

The event runs from May 31 to June 2 and attracts thousands of spectators, who flank the entire hill all the way up to the infamous Fer à Cheval hairpin bend, where the faster cars approach the bend at well over 240km/h.

Heading up Team Ireland is current hillclimb champion, Ballyvaughan man Sylvie Mullins in his Gould GR37; triple Irish hillclimb champion Paul O’Connell from Limerick, driving a Pilbeam MP58H and double hillclimb champion Simon McKinley of Dublin.

Other Irish drivers include father and son Denis Hogan Snr and Denis Hogan Jnr from Limerick. Denis Snr will be driving his immaculate Hillman Avenger BRM, while Denis Jnr will drive his BMW M3.