Moneyglass rallying

THE fifth round of The Rallysport Association nine round Winter Championship Series 2012 takes place at The Moneyglass Estate near Toome this Saturday the 4th February. Moneyglass is a popular venue for The Rallysport Association unique form of high action motorsport with its challenging winding lanes through the beautiful rolling grassland of the estate and an impressive entry of around 100 competitors is expected.

There are seven classes ranging from the absolutely fantastic high speed juniors in Class 1 in their Novas and Corsas right through the field to the supercar class 8 turbo cars. There will be Impreza’s, Evos, Cossies, Escorts, Corollas, Civics, Peugeots, Citroens and all sorts of impressive machinery, all chasing for valuable points for this series.

Several new juniors (aged 12-17) have been making steady progress up the leader board at recent rounds with local lads Dylan Magee (Glenarm) and Jordan Williamson (Ballymena) and Josh McErlean (Kilrea) all performing exceptionally well in this highly competitive class.

Former junior champion Janice Magee (Glenarm) has now moved into the senior ranks and put on an absolutely superb performance in her new Class 4 Astra and took a very credible third place in her class in only her second outing. Other notable performances came from Anthony McCann (Randalstown) who romped home sixth in class and the class winner was Patrick Henry (Portglenone) who was getting to grips with his recently acquired Citroen for the very first time.

Barry McErlean and Niall Henry (both Portglenone) scored a superb one - two in class 8 for the turbo cars but it was the absolutely phenomenal performance from the former World Hot Rod Champion Keith McClelland in his rear wheel drive Toyota Starlet that made him the overall winner by a slim margin of only 1.2 seconds despite the slippery conditions more suited to the 12 four wheel drive cars that finished.

So the good news is that action returns once again this Saturday to Moneyglass. The first group of cars start at 11.00am and the event will run continuously right through until 4.30. It’s a great day out for all the family and with children and seniors getting free admission what better way of enjoying your weekend.