UK Karting - Irish Kart Grand Prix 2003 Report

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Irish Kart Grand Prix

Irish Kart Grand Prix
23rd/25th August 2003 - Nutts Corner Motorsports Centre

A near record entry of kart racing drivers took on the recent Chambers Coach Hire supported Irish Kart Grand Prix at Nutts Corner Motorsports centre with the Ulster Karting Club promoted meeting again being Ireland’s largest meeting. The meeting had even greater significance with some Stars of Tomorrow contenders taking in the meeting as good race practice for the penultimate round of the series at the circuit on 23/24 August. With the British Grand Prix cancelled on the same weekend, the 210cc class was swelled in numbers by a pro-active switch of venue for the class that in some respects took on the meeting as it's own mega Grand Prix.

In the largest class for the 125cc Rotax Max machines, five lots of heats were needed to sort out the drivers. The B finals repecharge saw Geoffrey Lyttle from Cookstown win from Dundonald’s Andrew Armstrong. The Pre-finals however saw past junior champion Ryan Magennis from Stoneyford showed his winning form with a win from Dundrod’s Neville Bell. From the off in the finals, Magennis immediately opened out a lead on the opposition with Bell and Ballymoney’s Aaron McMaster giving hard chase. After the third lap McMaster forged through to second by which time it was also clear that Jason Curran the Northern Ireland champion was also in determined form in fourth. At half way Bell fought back at the hairpin going through to second but up front Magennis was still holding firm at the front. McMaster was soon under attention of Curran and two laps later Curran moved into third. As the race closed Magennis still held good at the front and opened out an even greater lead as a ferocious battle was fought out for second between Bell and Curran. The last lap saw the pair even closer but at the flag it was a jubilant Maggenis that took victory with almost five seconds to spare, the win being his first major one in the class this year. Second though could not have been closer as Bell and Curran dashed for the line but on this occasion Bell just hung on by 0.05 seconds. Joe McGonigle from Muff, Co.Donegall was the only driver to take on two classes and he again showed impressive form forging through to fourth at the finish.

In the Junior Rotax Max class Michael Flynn from Ballymartin was in flying form to set pole for the pre-finals with Chris Irwin from Dungiven alongside. Irwin however came to the fore to win comfortably from Flynn with Dromore's Stephen Rutherdale the five nations champion in third. The finals though showed that Rutherdale had saved his machine to last when he immediately seized the lead from Flynn who also made it past Irwin early on when he ran wide in the opening lap. Rutherdale did not get away though and with both William Cochrane from Downpatrick and Hillsborough’s Neil Graham on the attack the early laps showed superb racing. As the race progressed though Irwin started to forge his way back up the field to third by two thirds distance and with only a few laps to go he forged through to second. However, up front it was still Rutherdale that was in command and despite Irwin's efforts Rutherdale took his third major title of the year from Irwin with Flynn third and Cochrane fourth.

The Junior Cadets was also building into a battle of the giants in heats although visiting Stars of Tomorrow contenders Scott Jenkins from Bristol and London’s Richard Bradley were the pace setters in heats and pre-finals with Navan’s Robert Butler in third. The finals saw Jenkins, the Five Nations Champion forge ahead up front but Butler had managed to get in between him and Bradley early on. As the race progressed Butler, Bradley and local driver Derek Martin from Dungannon were right with Jenkins and at the half way the pressure paid off when the three contenders all squeezed past Jenkins. Up front though it was Bradley that faired out best of the bunch with Butler and Martin in a terrific chase. As the race closed the pack got even tighter but in the end Bradley just held on to win from Butler with only kart lengths to Martin. Randalstown’s Joel Mulholland reeled in Jenkins in the closing stages to snatch fourth with Jenkins taking fifth well ahead of the rest of the field.

The small but none the less competitive Senior TKM class saw Bangor’s Peter McMullin set the pace in the heats and pre-finals from Belfast drivers Thomas Madden and Connor Maginn. Howeve in the finals it was Madden that was the pace setter from Maginn with McMullin back in third. As the race progressed the battle intensified as the three pulled away from the field. The closing stages though saw Holywood’s Robbie Stevens enter the battle when Maginn was forced to retire. However in the final analysis it was Madden that took victory from Stevens with McMullin settling for third on this occasion.

In the Junior TKM Inter class Randalstown’s Jonny Clyde and Crossgars Edward Jackson were the pace setters in heats and the pre-finals with Clyde just holding off Jackson to win and go into pole for the finals. From the off in the finals it was clear that Jackson and Dundonald’s Ryan McShane were going to be tough contenders as the three held a very close formation lap after lap. In the end however Clyde came home with victory just ahead of Jackson who managed to open out a few lengths on McShane in the closing stages.

In the Junior TKM class which ran concurrently with the Inter class, another Randalstown driver Alan Davidson was the driver to beat overall with a comfortable win from a none the less well pleased Bill Boy Finnegan from Ardglass and Jason Grey from Comber in third.

In the marginally fastest non gearbox class for the 100cc Libre machines, Joe McGonigle from Muff, Co.Donegal was in blistering form in the heats and the form continued through to the pre finals. The finals again saw McGonigle in command right from the start with Alan Wall giving rapid chase. However as the race progressed Adam Platt and Stephen Connolly forged through to give chase after McGonigle. The closing stages saw the gap to McGonigle close but in the end McGonigle still came home with a clear margin to win from Platt and Connolly.

The huge turnout of Pro-karts saw Portadown’s Derek Wilson set the pace in heats from Gilford’s Nigel Stewart although in the pre-finals Wilson won from Andrew Fegan who made it through from third. The finals again saw Wilson set the pace but it was soon clear that Belfast’s Sean Doherty was also in very strong form when he forged through to second with the pair opening a gap on Stewart and Andrew Fegan. Doherty was soon showing winning potential though and by third distance had made it past Wilson with Stewart still holding off Fegan in thirdd. As the race closed the four bunched closer together but up front it was still Doherty. In the end though Doherty just had the edge to win from Wilson by half a second with Stewart right behind in third just a nose cone ahead of Fegan.

In the Junior Mini-Max class Hillsborough’s Isaac Lyons faired out best in heats from an extremely well pleased Samantha Thom in second and five Nations champion Stuart Lyness in third on the pre final grid. However, in the pre-finals it was Larne’s Ray Lusty who forged through from tenth on the grid to take a superb win from visiting driver Dean Stoneman and Bangor’s Richard McAlorum. From the off in finals it was Stoneman that snatched the lead only for Lusty and McAlorum to snatch back by the end of the opener. The first five laps saw Lusty under intense pressure and by the sixth Mcalorum squeezed through at paddock straight. Stoneman was waiting his turn and five laps later he made his move stick only for Lusty to grab second back. Up front the battle for second let McAlorum pull out a few lengths though but a lap later Stoneman had again made his move into second as he and Lusty had a terrific dog fight. Meanwhile Stephen Glass from Maghera was also on a roll in fourth. As the race closed the chasing pair closed the gap slightly on McAlorum but in the end McAlorum held off to take a superb win by almost half a second with Stoneman a well deserved second from Lusty in third.

The 125cc Ulster class heats saw Gary Agnew from Doagh take the pre-final pole position from twice British champion Justin Doherty from Ballymoney who had been very unlucky on past occasions not to win his 'local' GP. The pre-finals though saw Doherty win from another British championship contender Matthew Campbell from Carrickfergus. The finals though saw Campbell take the early lead but it was short lived when Doherty forged back into the lead at the end of the opening lap with Crumlin’s Dean Jackson also managing to squeeze past Campbell in the process. Three laps later though Campbell had regained a place but Doherty was already opening up a commanding lead. Campbell though was not giving up and lap after lap he steadily closed the gap on Doherty with Jackson also continuing to show strong form in what was developing into a close race. As the race closed the gap between Doherty and Campbell narrowed and one couldn’t help but wonder whether Doherty might still have to wait another year. In the end though he held on to win from Campbell with a well pleased Jackson in third.

In the 210cc class, the father and son team of Dan and Tony Bury from Banbury faired out best in heats with the pair forming the front row for the pre-finals. However, it was British champion Lionel Sifleet from Walsall that set the pace to win. The finals saw Sifleet take the helm right from the off with Steve Morris, also from Walsall, giving rapid chase with Dan Bury in third. As the race progressed though local driver Dessie Black from Ballinderry started to show improving form when he forged through to third. As the race settled though it was clear that Sifleet was going to be hard to beat and in the end he came home to win from Morris with a big gap to Black in a well deserved third.

In the fastest class for the 250cc Superkarts, defending champion Ciaran Peden from Dublin was the man to beat in heats. However, it was past winner Colin Menary from Bangor that forged through to win the pre-finals from Portadowns Robert McAdam. The off in the finals saw McAdam snatch the lead but by the third lap Menary had forged back to lead with Peden up to third. Two laps later and Peden had made it through to second as he set off after Menary who had already opened up a good lead. By half distance Liam Fox the Northern Ireland champion on Menarys machine of last year had also made it past McAdam. A lap later and it was all over for Peden with a big heart stopping spin going into the bottom of the circuit ending his day. As the race closed, Portadown’s Roger Boyce reeled in Fox and as the pair headed for the flag it could have went either way. In the end though it was Menary that forged on to win from Fox who managed to hold off Boyce who finished a well deserved third.

All in all the terrific weather helped make it another terrific Grand Prix although for some the hot conditions did play havoc with reliability. A big thank you goes out for the huge efforts of the organising team and medics and to all the drivers including the visiting teams for providing superb racing over the two days.

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