Fiesta Fun in the Fog!
Ireland’s longest motor race of the year ended in bizarre fashion at Mondello Park yesterday, with poor visibility due to fog a major factor in the organisers stopping the race just before the halfway mark. Originally scheduled for six hours, the Fiesta Endurance race was red flagged just short of three hours, with the Murray Motorsport team of Hugh Grennan, Dave Maguire, Rod McGovern and John Farrelly being declared the provisional winners.
Shortly before the stoppage, another Murray team car in the hands of Eoin and Niall Murray, John Denning and Michael Devaney was in the lead, but Denning, who was driving at the time, spun off on oil dropped by another car whose engine blew up, and was hit from behind by a different car and forced to retire with his Fiesta too badly damaged to continue.
Yet another Murray car finished second, eleven seconds behind the winners, with LOH Motorsport taking third place ahead of Blackchurch Ford. The first seven cars all completed 128 laps during the curtailed race.
MOTORSPORT IRELAND - Results for 19/20 November 2016 MONDELLO PARK SPORTS CLUB RACE MEETING AT MONDELLO PARK: FIESTA 3 HOUR ENDURANCE RACE (PROVISIONAL RESULTS): 1 Murray Motorsport T30 (Hugh Grennan/Dave Maguire/Rod McGovern/John Farrelly) 128 laps, 2 Murray Motorsport T18 (Colin Lewis/Sean Doyle/Greg Murphy/Paul Dagg) 128 laps, 3 LOH Motorsport (Kevin O'Hara/Dan Polley/Adam MacAulay) 128 laps, 4 Blackchurch Ford (Kevin Doran/Shane McFadden/Sean Lillis) 128 laps, 5 Weight Watchers (Darren Lawler/John Morris/Roy Tobin/Philip O'Rourke) 128 laps, 6 Murray Motorsport T19 (John Lally/Barry English/Michael Cullen/Sean Lally) 128 laps, 7 Mr Gearbox Mr Clutch (Alan Dawson/Keith Dawson/Alastair Kellett) 128 laps, 8 PalletStorage.ie (Mark Smith/Arran Moulton-Smith/James Moulton-Smith/Chris Boardman) 127 laps, 9 Campbell Racing (Keith Campbell/Emer Campbell/Colm McCloughry) 127 laps, 10 Archer Motorsport (Andy Kavanagh/Fergal Collins/Denis Conheady) 127 laps. Fastest lap: Eoin Murray 1m 11.277s (58.06 mph). BIRR & DISTRICT M C LOOSE SURFACE AUTOCROSS AT BALLINAKILL, MONEYGALL, CO OFFALY (FINAL ROUND OF FIVE STAR CATERING NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP): Best time of day (Special): Padraic McHale (Berrisford Hayabusa) 1m 21.52s, Best time of day (Saloon): Lukasz Czapnik (Impreza) 2m 42.59s, Class winners: William Meade (Nova) 1m 32.16s, Mick Nevin (Escort) 1m 33.72s, Pat Driver (Peugeot 106) 1m 34.10s, Gerard O'Shea (Peugeot 205) 1m 32.30s, Barry Driver (Sunny) 1m 30.22s, Joe McHale (Berrisford Hayabusa) 1m 24.68s, Whitby Moynan (Toyota Special) 1m 25.48s, Ian Horgan (Nova) 1m 32.91s, Sean Cahill (JB Buggy) 1m 23.83s.
