Riordan and Martin Star At Tullyroan Oval

The opening heat for the National Hot Rods was brought to an early halt following a big crash for Derek Martin after his throttle stuck open at the end of the back straight. Nigel McCauley was an unfortunate innocent party who also got collected in the incident. Gary Woolsey went ahead in his new Maxda MX5 before Shane Murray swooped past to take the win over Jeff Riordan and Woolsey. Ian Riordan was the man to watch in heat two, as he took his first race win in the formula ahead of Woolsey.

The final of World Series NI Round 4 saw Woolsey ahead with Jeff Riordan chasing him down. They were together when they came across the rejoining Andrew Stewart, which forced them both wide. Jeff hit the front and never looked back as he took a convincing win, his third in as many outings. Woolsey, Adam Maxwell and Ian Riordan completed the major places.

The Stock Rod action was close and competitive all evening, with a whole host of closely matched cars. Ryan Dilly drove a great first heat under pressure to take a fine win, holding off Victor McAfee and Declan O’Connor at the line. Heat two saw Rab Preston take the chequered flag for a welcome win, ahead of Reuben Kernohan and O’Connor after second man on the road Jonny Cardwell took a penalty for contact.

The final was an enthralling race, with McAfee holding sway out front for much of the distance despite huge pressure from behind. A late caution period saw a five lap dash to the flag, with Siobhan Martin bursting around the outside with a great drive to snatch a well deserved victory on her first outing since switching her racing full time to Northern Ireland. Mark Crawford, Kernohan, Dan Shannon and Cardwell filled the places.

A nice sprinkling of mainland visitors added an extra edge to the Ninja Karts Golden Helmet, kindly sponsored by B-TEK Battery Services. England’s Thomas Wilkins had a huge lead in the opening heat before it was wiped out by a caution period late on when Tommy Bevan rolled. That opened the door for Jaxon Cairns to grab the win over Wilkins and Jack Murphy. Eddie Fowler and Ollie Williamson tangled when chasing the heat two lead, allowing Murphy to grab the win over Cairns and Tommy Johnson.

Cairns led the Golden Helmet final from pole spot early on, before World and National Champion Lewis Hazlett powered past to take up the running. He soon had Suffolk’s Mason Carberry right with him though. Carberry went ahead, and he held for victory on despite Hazlett’s best efforts to get back on terms. Murphy took third ahead of Austin Grattan and Jayden Jeffrey, with the top three all receiving great prizes from the sponsors, as did best novice home Wilkins.

The next meeting at Tullyroan Oval is the annual Speedweekend on Saturday/Sunday September 21st/22nd featuring the National Hot Rods British Championship, the Superstox European Championship, the Lightning Rods World Cup plus a full programme of support racing.