Competitors all revved up for Grass Autocross Championship

The Clare Motor Club will host a round of the Grass Autocross Championship this Sunday.

This is the club’s first time in its 33-year history to host a round of the championship. The event will take place on the lands of Pat Quinn, Newmarket-on-Fergus, just off the M18 between Shannon and Newmarket-on-Fergus.

The track is around 900 metres and each run will consist of three laps covering 2.7km. The large venue has ample space for parking, paddock area and a spectators’ area. There are two types of Autocross events – those held on a grass surface and those that take place on a loose surface such as dirt tracks or quarries. In either case, a circuit is laid out and cars compete individually “against the clock”.

If the circuit is long enough, cars may be started at intervals so that more than one car is on the track at any one time. However, as the event is against the clock, no passing is allowed. A competitor will usually get four to six attempts to set his or her best time and the result is decided by the total time taken in loose surface events, or by the best time for any one run for grass-surface events.

In grass events, there are generally two types of cars catered for, specials and saloons. These are further sub-divided into classes by reference to the engine size.
Almost anything goes in the way of car preparation although competitors may only use one engine.

To keep costs to a minimum, participants can share the car with two friends and each event organiser takes this into account to ensure all get the same number of timed runs as every one else.
Midget car racing is a form of racing involving cars of smaller dimensions than normal.

The first midget car races were held as far back as 1936, with the present day machines derived from a type of vehicle known commonly in the USA as a bantam car. These cars were quickly adopted by a group of competitors in Wicklow, who raced them on grass and this format is still in use today.

Midget car racing is very much a family orientated branch of the sport. Race meetings are generally held at venues around the country, coinciding with local festivals and communities welcome the midget brigade, whose events are often charity based.

Midget car racing is an economical way to learn the concept of car control on slippery surfaces.
The event is round four of the National Autocross and Munster Autocross Championships, round four of the Midget Autocross Championship and is also a counting round of the Clare Motor Club Championship.

The club’s organising team, under clerk of the course Gerry O’Brien, are pulling out all the stops to make this event a huge success and have already secured more than 50 entries. With the current dry spell of weather set to continue into next weekend, the venue should provide for a great day’s motorsport.