RED FLAG

Banbridge man Gibson, who won the title at Mondello Park in October 2008, said that dropping the rounds was an insult to local racers and also to Irish organisers Robert Moody and Banbridge man Drew Gregg.

“Drew Gregg and Robert Moody have been involved in the promotion of Rallycross in Ireland for many years, travelled the length and breadth of the UK for years to make sure they always had the top competitors signed up to come over here,” said Gibson, who races in his famous Metro 6R4.

“This gave us, the local boys, the opportunity to compete with the best in the sport from UK and Ireland and for the Championship people to do this is outrageous. They forget about the years that they depended on the Irish contingent who regularly done the British rounds – well this is a kick in the teeth for us all.

“I know Drew Gregg could have ran the two rounds at Nutts Corner and I’ve no doubt that Robert Moody would have been at his side as both work well together, are respected by all the drivers and could have made it happen.

“I am seriously considering my position now. I may just do a few selected events this year and forget about the championship, we shall see.”

The Championship had been coming to Nutts Corner up until 2004 when the noise issues at that circuit put a stop to most motorsport at the venue, however they continued to come over to Mondello Park in the South. But this year they are not coming to either circuit.

Local promoter Drew Gregg was livid with the announcement. “We have worked tirelessly over the past two years to get it back to Nutts Corner and just last year we reached an agreement with the circuit owners to get the Championship back in 2010.

“As it is a televised event going out worldwide the circuit owners were keen to have us back, not to mention that it attracted one of the biggest spectator crowds to Nutts Corner.

“They dropped the bombshell last month due to Motorsport Ireland and Mondello Park not allowing the RX Buggies to compete despite the RX’s being part of the championship, so they decided to just drop the two circuits.

“The plan was for the Championship to use Nutts Corner on a Saturday and then Mondello Park on the Sunday making it a weekend of Rallycross in Ireland. I offered to take the two rounds to Nutts Corner but they said no.

“My counterpart in Southern Ireland Robert Moody is also fuming with them, he rang me one evening to get my views and we were on the phone for over an hour trying to sort out the mess but basically our time has been wasted.”

The British Rallycross Championship was always a major attraction in Northern Ireland and such names as Barry McGuigan and Martin Donnelly made guest appearances as celebrity drivers.

Gregg commented, “I doubt if I will be involved again as I feel that they (Lydden Hill Motor Club, British Championship organisers) have let us all down here on this side of the Irish Sea. Maybe control needs to be handed back to the British Rallycross Driver’s Association (BRDA) who promoted this for many years.”