Track Reports

Sunday 13th November 2011.

There is an old showbiz saying, "Stop on a high and leave them wanting more!" While we ran as long as the light would permit, those who were still on track at 5:00pm were having a ball when the final chequered flag flew.

The day dawned with fine weather and that being the case, we expected a good turn out for this final track day of 2011. We weren't disappointed.

Patrick Gillian came back after a long break only to have problems with his Impreza. However, he got parts delivered at lunch time and got a few sessions in before dark. Thomas Bell gave us all a scare during his first session when his Impreza began belching out black smoke. However, it cleared and he ran through the rest of the day without incident.

There were three of the racing civics that will be competing in the Saloon class at Kirkistown next year. Andrew Armstrong, Aidan Vance and Ciaran Denvir circulated quickly and reliably all day. This is borne out by Graham Curry's pictures of their glowing brake disks as the light began leaving us.

Sam Lyle brought his rare Lotus Carlton out to play and James Currie returned in his beautiful classic Mini. Exotica was provided by Shamus Jennings' beautiful Porsche 997 GT3 RS. Peter Jennings brought his little Fiat Abarth out and went very quickly.

Martin McDonnell and Con Keenan were going really well in their respective Leons. Martin is getting ideas about, perhaps, going racing with his next year.

The biggest grin that I noticed all day belonged to Nicholas Wood. I thought the top of his head was going to fall off!

As ever, there was a large "7" contingent. Most improved driver on the day must go to Jonathan Irvine who took some guidance from instructor, Keith Wray and then made great use of it in his Westfield.

Marshal turned driver, Gordon Laird, went very well in his Elise but Johnny McFarland only got two sessions done before his similar car expired. However, the other founding member of the Track Invaders of Tyrone Society, Adrian Kerr, helped out by sharing his rapid Cooper "S".

Other drivers out for their first taste of track driving included Geoff Kidd in his Tiger kit car and Phil Cardy in his Legacy GT. Both went very well, as did Richard Bill in his TVR Chimaera. David Glen was out for the first time in his BMW 1 series but he also took a drive in Ralph Jess' racing BMW, which he is considering hiring to race next season. Hunter Godfrey, also out for the first time, was very impressive in his VW VR6 Mk3 Golf.

The award for most resilient driver of the day has to go to James Smart who broke two cars and went home and got a third one. I think it survived.

The day was largely without any incident of note and this says a lot about the calibre of person who attends the Trackskills days. There is a mutual respect between the drivers and the organisers and among the drivers themselves. It is understood and accepted by all involved that everyone is there to enjoy themselves as safely as possible. Hence, high speeds but with top class discipline. It really doesn't surprise me that so many of our past customers are now racing at a proper level and I think that trend will continue.

Trackskills would like to thank all of our patrons for their support in 2011 and years before and look forward to another great season in 2012. We would also like to thank Fel McIlroy and her team of superb marshals, Philip and the team from St John Ambulance Service, James and Jacqueline and the catering crew (the stew was lovely!) and Richard Young and the 500MRCI for assistance throughout the year.

See you in 2012!

Sunday 16th October 2011.

We arrived at Kirkistown to be greeted by sunshine and even a certain amount of heat! There seemed to be a lethargy in the air. Perhaps it was because we are getting near the end of the season. By 11:00am there were only three cars in the paddock! However, from then onwards more arrived in a steady stream.

The first cars rolled onto the circuit just before Midday, led out by James Smart in his Golf. James was to have a mysterious electrical problem dog his progress for most of the day.

It was good to see a number of old friends making a return visit after some time. Tom Gaughran returned, this time in a Clio Cup car. Sam Lyle brought his trusty Skyline back to play and Ronnie Brown brought his Peugeot 106 and another car to add to the fun. Chris Rogan brought his very rapid Renault R26R and was impressive.

We only had five new drivers on this occasion and they had mixed fortunes. Donald Keys was going very well in his Westfield before his alternator began playing up at mid-afternoon. Since he had to drive the car home, he had to curtail his fun. Roy Woods was getting to grips with his Westfield Megabussa and making great progress until, unfortunately, a slight mistake at the chicane rearranged his rear geometry and the car could take no further part in the day. Conn Keenan suffered a bit of banter from myself and his mentor, Martin McDonald, but he was actually going very safely and improving all day in his Seat Leon. Abbas Ali soaked up the advice from instructor, Greer Wray, and circulated safely throughout the day in his Citroen Saxo. Furthest travelled was Frenchman, Etienne Beuter, who was on holiday in Ireland and had hired a Railway Motorsport BMW for the event, under the guidance of saloon racer and friend, Richard Ryan. He made great progress throughout the day. Will the saloon cars at Kirkistown have an international driver competing next year?

Quiet man, Stephen Potter, arrived in his Honda Civic Type R just after lunch and proceeded to circulate extremely rapidly for the remainder of the day.

There were two of the racing Honda Civics that will be competing in their own class next year at Kirkistown. Both went very well until, late in the afternoon, the clutch in one cried enough! Driver and constructor, Andrew Armstrong, explained that they knew it was on the way out and would be fitting a new one anyway over the winter. These cars really are the epitome of cheap motorsport. A ready-to-race car with cheap spares always available and very reliable components anyway, can be yours for less than £6,000. The rules of the class will be very tight to keep costs down and the cars are basically all the same so no one should have a car advantage. I know Andrew wouldn't want this to happen but even if you were never going to race it, one of these cars would be the perfect track day vehicle.

From 4:00pm onwards the paddock began thinning out as people had used enough petrol (or in Martin McDonald's case, diesel!) in pursuit of their track day fun. I asked Sam Lyle why he was packing up, to be told that he had gone through one full tank of fuel in his Skyline plus another full jerry can and that was it for the day.

The award for most unlucky driver of the day goes to Desi McGlade, who didn't even get there! Apparently his Westfield Vauxhall refused to restart at the fuel pumps at Forestside when he went to fill up before making the journey.

One driver who deserves a mention is Paul Stewart. Paul has been taking guest drives in his dad's Westfield Megabussa for some time now. On this occasion I was very impressed by how much smoother he has become as a driver. As a result he is beginning to access the upper regions of the car's performance and he was certainly safely on the limits on many laps at this event.

By 5 o'clock only James Smart in his temperamental Golf and Nicholas Wood in his rorty Lotus Elise were still circulating. The rain had arrived, having stayed away until that point and both boys called it a day shortly afterwards. The marshals and St John Ambulance crew got an early bath, having done a sterling job all day.

The last Trackskills event for 2011 is on Sunday 13th November. With the clocks having gone back before then, it is usually curtailed before 6:00pm by darkness but the last session is always worth watching at the hairpin or Colonial to see the brake disks glowing under heavy use. Bring your camera!

Sunday 25th September 2011.

Sunday 25th September provided every kind of motoring experience at our Trackskills track day.

The weather was dry and sunny when we got under way but rain was expected at some stage during the day.

The first session included Desi McGlade making his return with a rebuilt engine in his Westfield. He seemed to have lost none of his speed. Clarke Forsythe in his Westfield was also returning after a long absence. This car is for sale and is an extremely clean example of the marque. The details are on our "For Sale" page.

Eric Cooper, having enjoyed the experience of his first Kirkistown track day at our last event, returned again in his quick Renaultsport Megane 225. The Tyrone contingent of Johnny McFarland in his Lotus Elise and Adrian Kerr in the Cooper S were back and on a mission to enjoy themselves.

Once again, we had quite a number of first time track drivers joining our regulars. The number two group, which is for these drivers, included ex-British Quad champion, Jim Gately in his troublesome Toyota MR2. The BMW marque was well represented by Daniel Flynn, Rowan McIlveen, Jonathan McCully and Colin Anderson. We also had Robin Mercer in his TVR and Denis Lynn in his Porsche 911. Denise Hughes was having her first track experience in her Renault Megane and after some helpful instruction from saloon racing ace, Greer Wray, she got going well.

Group three included most of the Megabussa brigade, including Paul Keys, Roy Stewart and Jeff Rutherford.  Shamus Jennings was in his beautiful  Porsche 997 GT3 RS and Ali-Reza Afrasiabi was back in his Porsche  911 Turbo.

By the time the third group was on its second run, the rain had arrived. The track was getting slippery. We decided to have the lunch break at this time, in the hope that the rain would ease. Alas, that wasn’t the case and when we resumed, if anything, the rain was heavier.

However, the poor weather did not seem to deter many, not even the open top Westfield brigade and the sessions were full for the remainder of the afternoon. One or two did leave but, to be fair, they were folk who were attending for the first time and in rather powerful and expensive, rear wheel drive cars.

I was very impressed with the aforementioned Porsche drivers, Shamus and Ali, who seemed oblivious to the weather! Conn Williamson continued to delight in his glorious sounding Sunbeam Tiger.  The Honda Civic contingent, who are planning to race at Kirkistown next year, got some valuable wet running experience.

As the afternoon progressed, the rain eased and drivers commented that there was a surprising amount of grip available. I cannot emphasise enough how much can be learned on a wet day. It brings to the fore the necessity for smooth inputs from the driver in every area, whether braking, acceleration or steering. Corner lines, which may be different in the wet compared to the dry, become so important for a quick lap.

The quote of the day goes to Johnny McFarland who, having found good grip and then gone in too hard at the hairpin, declared he was, “walking like a moth!” As he said this, he strode off with his legs about a foot apart. I made the mistake of asking what he meant...

By 4:30 the rain had been completely stopped for some time and things were running smoothly. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to last and a call came through on the radio of a massive accident at the hairpin. A driver had wrecked his BMW M3. Fortunately, no one else was involved. At the time of writing it seems a component failure was to blame but that isn’t confirmed. The ambulance was mobilised and the driver, who had got out of the car by himself, was taken to hospital.

Two of our medically trained marshals accompanied the driver and his dad in the ambulance, as it left for the Ulster Hospital. That left us with no medical cover and as such, the day came to an end.

We always praise the marshals and the St John ambulance crew but on this day they earned our praise in spades. They did a fantastic job.

The driver was released from hospital the following day, battered and bruised but with no broken bones or internal injuries. His accident highlights the fact that, no matter how many precautions are taken, motorsport is dangerous and not to be undertaken lightly or without respect for safety measures. His BMW, although badly damaged, protected him well, as did the bucket seat he was strapped into.

Thanks to all who got in touch, concerned with his well being.

It was a truly mixed day and one that tested our systems to the limit. It is good to know that everything that we needed was in place and will continue to be so in future. Our next date is Sunday 16th October.

Sunday 14th August 2011.

We had expected this day to be less well supported than previous events this year because it was only three weeks since our July date. However, largely due to the presence of 11 new drivers, we had a great turn out.

James Currie was one of these new drivers and he brought his immaculately prepared 998 Mini. Naturally, it wasn’t the fastest car on the track but James circulated very well indeed.

Adrian Kerr, another new driver, brought the modern version of the Mini Cooper and went well, as did Eric Cooper in his Renaultsport Megane 225. Eric, a visitor from England, came on his own but was soon chatting with our regulars. He was later spotted on track in the passenger seat of Paul Keys’ Megabussa, getting a few pointers from one of our most experienced drivers.

Jonathan McCurry had a great day’s sport in his BMW 3 series. He had a few strange noises emanating from his front left wheel but got those sorted and continued apace.

Having tested the water last month in his Caterham Roadsport, Shamus Jennings came back in his incredibly rapid Caterham CSR Superlight. His son, Peter, drove the Roadsport this time.

To illustrate just how fast the Superlight was, it pulled away from Ali-Reisa Afrasiabi’s Porsche 911 Turbo down the back straight!

Johnny McFarland was another newcomer, in his Lotus Elise. He came with Adrian Kerr and both seemed to have a ball!

We try to keep those visiting a Trackskills day for the first time in a group of their own for at least two sessions. This lets drivers learn the track largely without having to worry about quicker, more experienced participants clogging up their mirrors. This policy seems to work, as when the new drivers mix in with the more experienced later in the day, they seem confident and happy.

Trackskills are heavily associated with the Saloon class at Kirkistown Race Circuit and at this event a number of the competitor’s cars were in attendance, all-be-it in some cases, without their normal drivers. Richard Ryan’s BMW was driven by his brother Bob and Davey Morrison’s similar car was driven by his girlfriend, Samantha. Maybe we will see them out racing next year in one of the Railway Motorsport BMWs.

Hard luck story of the day goes to Jeff Rutherford whose Megabussa exploded on the back straight.

We had a particularly eclectic mix of cars in attendance including Tommie Nolan’s Mitsubishi  Legnum VR4, Andrew McCullough’s Toyota Starlet GT turbo, Richie O’Mahony’s RT Supercar, Alan McCutcheon’s Seat Leon Cupra, Tony Lester’s MGZS and Thomas Purdy’s immaculate Mk 2 Escort 2.5 rally car.

Paul Soutar’s MR2 gave us cause for concern because of the amount of smoke it was expelling on the early sessions, so much so that we brought him in. “That’s normal until it warms up”, said Paul and he was correct!

Aidan Vare brought one of the 4 Honda Civics that he hopes to have racing next year. It went well and if he is successful at getting them out, it should make for interesting competition.

The weather stayed good and all seemed to enjoy the day.

Thanks to the marshals and St John’s Ambulance Service and to Higginson Catering.

Our next date is the day after the final race meeting of the season. That makes it Sunday 25th September. Why not make a weekend of it?

Sunday 24th July 2011.

It is amazing what difference great weather makes! Kirkistown Circuit enjoyed two days of glorious sunshine and two days of great motor sport with a full card of racing on Saturday and our track day on Sunday.

We were pleased to welcome a number of people attending for the first time. Philip Kerry came up from Dublin in his Mini JWC and ran well all day. Seamus Jennings circulated well all day in his beautifully prepared Caterham. It was great to see Chris Hatton and Paul Ferry from the NI MX5 club keeping MX5 regular, Nigel Averill company on track. All three ran without a hitch. Norman McNaught, although chairman of the NI MX5 Club, brought a very tidy Peugeot 205GTi and went very well indeed.

Variety was supplied by James Wright in his Falcon space-frame Mini, which looked and sounded brilliant, although he had to keep his sessions short to avoid rising temperatures.

Gerry Magennis took his son's racing GMS Seven round with some authority, in close company with Steven Wright's similar machine.

Regulars, Thomas Bell and Richard Bloomfield piloted their Imprezas well all day while Gareth Talbot entertained the spectators in his Dimma Peugeot. He was a victim of failing brakes towards the end of the day, as was Stephen Pickering in his Integra.

Returning Porsche 911GT3 pilot Ali-Reisa Afrasaibi circulated very rapidly. There were three drivers in this car during the day and all entertained the marshals with skillful and tidy driving.

New man, Peter Brannigan, showed a lot of maturity by driving well and seeking advice from ourselves on improving lines. We would expect to see Peter getting the best out of his Civic on a regular basis.

Hard luck story of the day goes to Nathan Hogg's faithful mechanic, who didn't get a run last time down because the clutch blew in the Celica when Nathan was on his first run. Having worked hard to fit a new clutch he watched dutifully as Nathan headed out for a shakedown run before coming in to hand the car over. Unfortunately, history repeated itself and the clutch blew again!

It is no secret that Trackskills is run by racers and the we have always encouraged talented participants towards that path. Aside from the two aforementioned NI Seven racers we also had experienced racer Godfrey McCartney on track with his beautiful Lotus Elise. Regular marshal Nad Haigi was also out in his VX220. Mazda RX7 racer, Craig Davidson was showcasing his rapid RX7 to potential buyers while Ian Baxter was gaining valuable experience in his Westfield before venturing back out into the Sprint and Hillclimb end of the sport.

Past Trackskills participant, David Morrison, turned up in the paddock, fresh from his maiden win and "Driver Of The Day" award at the 500MRCI race meeting the previous day. David is a great ambassador for track days and racing. His display of enthusiasm and exuberance was wonderful to witness on Saturday. Having won the second saloon race, he stopped at the Chicane on the slowing-down lap, got out of the car and saluted the spectators on the bank, in Valentino Rossi style! We need more like David in our sport!

As six o'clock approached we still had four cars circulating, including, as usual, Paul Keys and Roy Stewart in their rapid Megabussas.

Thanks, as ever, to the marshals and St John crew.

Only three weeks until the next one!

Sunday 22nd May 2011.

We had our best turn out for over a year! Thank you to all who attended. The weather played ball as well. We had one downpour which began and finished during the drivers' briefing and another which came around lunchtime. Again, it only lasted ten minutes. With the brisk wind, the track dried very quickly.

We had quite a few drivers who were new to Trackskills. Thomas McCrea brought his tidy rally prepared Nova but was plagued with overheating problems all day. Steven Dawson got on well in his Caterham Roadsport SV175 but his friend Steven Whyte had engine woes with his Westfield. Jacqueline McHugh was nervous in her Black Civic and an early spin didn't help but she persevered and was going well as the day progressed. Stephen Johnson's Noble lapped quickly all day while Greg Kelly improved markedly in his Audi RS4 after shadowing Keith in the Trackskills Cossie for a session. Chris Ryan seemed to be enjoying himself in his Exige as was Patrick McGrattan in his Clio 182. Kit Law had nasty noises coming from his Cosworth engine after the second session and took no further part.

Billy Fanneran came a long way only for his Leon's clutch to pack in on the first session. He worked hard to fix it all day to no avail. However, his two friends, Danny Butler and Aidan Boyle put on a great show in their Honda Civics, lapping closely and quickly all day. And all within the noise limits, which proves that Civics don't have to be shattering eardrums to be fast!

It was great to see talented driver Mark Jenkins back after quite a while. The Integra is no more but he piloted a BMW 3 Series quickly all day. Gavin Robinson and Nigel McGowan brought their new Renault Clio Cup cars out to play. The colour of Nigel's car was breaking the sound limit! Bright green! Colm Gallagher made a welcome return as well in his trusty Corolla.

The usual Westfield/Caterham contingent were there and circulating as quickly as ever. Jeff Rutherford was driving a Westfield Lawn Mower on a couple of occasions.

The marshals, as ever, did a great job of marshalling and observing. Philip's St John services were not needed and that's the way it should be. It tells a tale that at six o'clock there were still five cars pounding round when the final flag fell.

Sunday 13th March 2011.

After a rained-off false start in February, we were treated to a completely dry day at Kirkistown. Having said that, it was raining up the road in Greyabbey!

The turn out was moderate with our usual faithful regulars in attendance.

John Mulholland (Ford Focus RS) and Connáire Finn (Lotus Elise) put on a great show of close, fast and controlled driving. Nicholas Wood seemed to be going for the mileage record in his Elise. He told me that he was trying to master a heel-and-toe technique. (Is he thinking of going racing, I wonder?)

Sam and Wesley Lyle brought two new acquisitions with them. A Lotus Carlton and a Mazda MX5. The Carlton was quick. Wesley was able to dry his hair with the roof down in the Mazda!

Ralph Jess and David Morrison brought their competition BMWs out for a shake down. Ralph had some teething troubles but when the car was going, it was a lethal weapon! It sat and bounced as he tried to put the power down. (I'm praying for wet races all season!)

Roy Stewart, Dessie McGlade, Jeff Rutherford and Larry Mawhinney made the best of the good weather in their Westfields. However, Andy Parkinson had clutch and gearbox problems in his MK Indy.

Chris Rogan had to do some body work modifications to his quick Clio to stop the tyres rubbing on the rear wheel arches.

It was good to see some new faces. I think Alan Patton, Adrian Hanna and Gareth Jackson enjoyed themselves.

Thanks, as ever, to Fel's marshals and St John's ambulance service.

Sunday 17th October 2010.

We were pleasantly surprised with today's turn out. I think that maybe after a six week lay off, people were getting stir crazy!

Most of the regular guys were there. It was great to watch John Mulholland and Ronnie Brown circulating very quickly in their RS Focuses. I don't think the stars ever quite lined up to put Nigel Magowan's R26R with them at the same time but maybe I just didn't see it!

As often is the case, Conor Loughran had little luck with his Evo but enabled some others to continue their day due to his supply cache of necessary oils, etc.

The Locaterfield brigade turned out in force, all-be-it with Paul keys sharing Jeff Rutherford's 'Busa. Richard Ford and Gregory Kerr circulated together all day and got steadily faster.

Malcolm Bruce has fitted a new exhaust to the Celica. It is much quieter but, if anything, it has made the car faster!

From a variety point of view, we had the addition of Mark Hutcheson's Atom, which was incredibly quick and disturbingly quiet! Connaire Finn helped Mark make adjustments throughout the day and I think the car's driveability steadily improved.

We also had two very quick Mk 2 Escorts with sequential gearboxes. Pat Donegan and Robert Wilton were the registered drivers but both John and Josh Mulholland among others took turns at piloting them. There's something about a well sorted Mk 2. They are always entertaining.

It was good to see Jason Wright's VW Vento and Colin Irwin's Golf getting good runs after their disastrous last day. The reliability factor today was impressively high.

As ever, Nicholas Wood circulated rapidly and without incident in his Elise, as did Andy Toland in his 205 Oil Burner. However, if there was an award for the car that stays under the radar but is always very quick, it has to go to Martin McDonell's Seat Leon (which is also an oil burner!).

We has one big incident which involved Stewart Clyde trying to reposition the marshal's post at Colonial with his Corsa. Stewart lost it under braking, got a wheel on the grass and was a passenger from that point onwards. Amazingly, when we pulled the car from the tyres, both it and Stewart were hardly damaged at all and 20 minutes later both were back on track!

The weather threatened rain for about five minutes and thought better of it. (Possibly, last night's virgin had been considering a change of view!).

As always, thanks to Fel's team of marshals and to Philip's St John team, who got to do something medical today, hence the smiles!

The next one is the last for a while. Hope to see you all there!

Sunday 5th September 2010.

A very small turn out today, probably because of the change of date. However, those who were there got oodles of track time!

A warm welcome to new participants Mark McAuley in his BMW E36, Martin McDonnell in his diesel Seat Leon and Tony Lester in his MG ZS V6. All three went very well although Martin had some concerns with vibration from the drive train on the Seat. It didn't seem to slow him down!

Derek Wilson was going very well in his Porsche 993.

The Westfield, Caterham, Locost guys entertained everyone. Alas, Paul Keys' con rod decided to leave through the side door somewhere along the back straight and this ended his day. Paul always puts a brave face on things but he was struggling to do so with this one. Understandibly so, since he had just repaired the engine and it had been flying. The old saying rings true. Before they blow, they go!

Malcolm Bruce was nervous when the weather turned wet but he continued to lap smoothly, quickly and with no incident.

As usual Roy Stewart and Desi McGlade were the last running, both enjoying themselves in the damp conditions, seeking and sometimes finding the limits of adhesion!

Thanks to the marshals, who got wet. It has been nice to see former drivers like Simon and now Nad going down the marshalling route.

Sunday 22nd August 2010.

Yet again, we had perfect weather.

Some of our regulars were on holiday but those who were there had loads of track time.

It was great to see Peter Hazlett back after depositing the guts of his engine onto the Tarmac during our July date. Malcolm Bruce also got his Celica back out after his trials with tyres in July. Both were going well. Sadly, Nad brought his TVR back out and it did the same damage to the engine on the first session as it did in July. Back to the drawing board!

Stewarty brought his racing Clio out and assures us that he will be racing at the next race. We wait to see.

Tony Traub used the day to sort out some issues with his racing Integra.

Both Naoise Enright (Mazda MX6) and Barry Chambers (Honda Accord) ran all day without problems and did a phenomenal number of laps. Unfortunately Scott Robinson's Astra went out on the first session with brake problems.

Nicholas Wood was a welcome returnee and after using the pre-lunch sessions to re-acquaint himself, was well up to speed in the latter half of the day.

Garry Hannah proved that an Evo 7 can be quick within the noise limits.

Thanks to Fel and her marshals who had a testing day with dodgy radios (and a crazy little blue car!).

Please note: Our next date is changed to Sunday 5th September.

Sunday 25th July 2010

Once again we were blessed with good weather on Sunday.

There were a few new faces in attendance but it was the old hands who had trouble. Malcolm Bruce, Kevin Daly, Nad Haighi, Jason Wright and Kenny Wylie all were done for the day before the end of their first run!

That left a very skimpy field but got everyone else loads of track time.

It was great to see the young Jake Byrne racking up the miles in the Ginetta Junior that he is campaigning this year.

As usual, the Westfield Brigade put on a good show.

Philip Dalgity brought his tidy Honda S2000 out to play and had a few hairy moments but he left with an enormous smile!

David Buchanan showed that he wasn’t scared of his Porsche 997 GT3, finding its limits on a number of occasions.

Paul Keys teamed up with Stephen Pickering in his Honda, since Paul’s ‘Busa is currently in bits.  The sight of him hounding Roy Stewart’s ‘Busa round the hairpin was humorous.

Brian McCann spent the day adjusting tyre pressures and suspension settings on his Porsche. I didn’t get a chance to talk to him before he left to see if things had improved.

The marshals, as ever, did a great job and have our whole hearted appreciation.

There are photographs available on the RMS site .

Sunday 20th June 2010

We had a great day at Kirkistown yesterday with another sunny day. The car numbers weren't fantastic but the weather was and the track action was good.

Wesley Lyle got the Cossie into the 1:08s on the slicks that I sold him. (I should have held on to them! ;-) )

Ralph Jess was out in the M3 Compact. It is sorted and will be flying on Saturday.

Roy Stewart had a rare breakage on the Westfield and had to leave early, much to Ross's disappointment. On the other hand, Dessie McGlade took his Westfield home in the same good condition that it arrived. Great to see him finally having a trouble free day. Andy Murphy had a few teething problems with his new Westfield that he has recently built but he worked at them and got track time before a drive shaft coupling decided not to couple any more. Jeff Rutherford seemed to have a fast and trouble free day in his Westy and David Law and his associates had an equally impressive outing in their Caterham 6 R.

Gareth Talbot's Peugeot 205 was really motoring as was John Garett's Evo 6.

Richard Lewis and friends were new to the track and put in some very impressive performances in their Clio 172. We look forward to their return after the summer.

The biggest casualty of the day was Peter Haslett's Galanza that gave birth to engine bits somewhere near Colonial 2.

In keeping with our supposed policy of landing on Celebration dates, today was fathers' Day and perhaps that was why the paddock was empty by 5:30pm as fathers headed off for celebration tea!

Thanks once again to Fel and her marshals and to Philip and St John Ambulance Service. Thanks also to James for the catering. James had had around two hours sleep, having catered for a 700 strong, fund-raising, barn dance the night before. He was with us in body...

Sunday 14th March 2010

Our track day on Mothers' Day was blessed with good weather and we had an improved turn out from our February date. Many of the usual suspects were there. John Mulholland has switched his Focus STi to another one and was going well. James Smart had his trusty Golf hammering round and Wesley and Sam Lyle had the Escort Cosworth that they intend racing, going great guns all day.

Richard Ryan had switched from his quick Golf to a quick BMW and was having fun coming to terms with rear wheel drive.

We had four new guys who had mixed fortunes. Peter Haslett took to it well in his Starlett as did Mark Adams in his BMW Roadster. Andy Tolland circulated very quickly in his oil burning 205. Graeme Baird's Westfield only managed a lap and a half before lying down.

The highlight of the day from a spectator's view point was the numerous dices between a certain mean green Focus RS and Nigel McGowan's Renault R26R. Have a look at the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3Fe-QTiooA

Unusually, Paul Keys' Westfield swallowed its clutch and there were a few other engine woes among participants. Lee Cull customised his Clio slightly at the chicane but he was OK and the car will be too.

Our next date is Sunday 11th April which is Juan Santamaria Day. This means that our usual contingent from Costa Rica will probably not turn up and there will be more track time for everyone else!

Sunday 14th February 2010

Whether it was concern about noise levels from annoyed wives or girlfriends because it was St Valentine's Day or noise levels permitted at the track this year, Sunday's turn-out was less than expected. The upside of that, of course, was that everyone there got all the track time they wanted. We have never, ever had a track day end because there was nobody left to circulate, until yesterday!

As expected in February, it was cold but it was mostly dry. We ran an (a) and a (b) session all day and the cars certainly got well used. Richard Ryan's purple Golf cried "Enough!" late in the afternoon and Andrew Scott's Evo did the same after two laps! However, everyone else survived the day.

Ivan McCullough's GT-R was incredibly quick as was Nigel McGowan's R26R. Both, as ever, were very neat.

Rhonda Carson brought her Classic 1980 Porsche 911 along and after an initial spin at the hairpin, got quicker as the day went on.

The VW Golf squad of James Smart, Richard Ryan and Alan Croskery drove the wheels off their machines while Kevin Daly terrified his passenger in the Honda Civic.

Gavin Kilkey discovered that a Westfield requires a higher level of fitness from its driver than an Evo!

Speaking of Evos, there was concern that noise would be an issue at this meeting. Barry Dunnigan figured that his was one of the loudest around so we tested it. He was correct. It registered 100Db which is 2DB too loud. However, as we had already stated, we were not going to turn anyone away if they were close to the limit, on condition that they would rectify the situation for future dates, so Barry enjoyed the rest of the day.

So that was it. The first day of the new season completed.

As ever, thanks to all the marshals and St John Ambulance Service.

Sunday 15th November 2009

On Monday morning I got up, opened the bedroom curtains and laughed out loud. It was pouring down and miserable, yet the previous day we had had our busiest day of the year at a rain free Kirkistown. Sure, it was cold and windy but what can you expect in November?

Our busiest day of 2009 also included a record number of drivers trying a Trackskills day for the first time, with mixed fortunes. Dónall Sweeney brought his imported drift Sylvia and soon discovered why Kirkistown has a reputation for killing brakes. He was going well before they started to fade. I know his is a drift car but it demonstrates what we always say about modifying any car for the track. Start with a cage and then uprate the brakes. After that do the suspension and tyres. Only then think about tweaking the engine. Dónall continued for most of the day, keeping an eye on the brake temperatures. Unfortunately, his gear box cried "Enough!" later and that was the end of that!. Another newbie and a friend of Dónall's was Michael Garrity in a quick Escort. Unfortunately, his gearbox went out in sympathy with the Sylvia, at the same place on the track! Andrew Christie brought his quick Nova but only got a few laps before blowing an oil pump. Sam Gowdy had better fortune in his rapid Nova Hot Rod, lapping extremely quickly. Raymond Kitson and Andrew Donnan had trouble free runs in an Exige and S2000 respectively. Paul Williamson brought his 60's Sunbeam Tiger with a Shelby Ford under the bonnet (I probably should say "hood", since it's a Shelby). At first we thought it may not start but it eventually did and from then on just got better all day.

Eamon Matheson brought his Ninja out. I was worried because I know this car and just how fast it can go. Low 50's are the norm on a race day. To Eamon's credit, he and his other drivers were extremely careful around other cars and gave us all something exciting to watch.

It was great to see Paul Keys out on track again. His injuries still won't let him pilot the Westfield but he was having fun in Stephen Pickering's Honda CRX.

Marty Mounce was having a ball in his BeeM. He really should be racing as indeed should Nigel Magowan, Aaron Magowan and Justin Duff. All of these guys demonstrate their class at every track day. Another guy who is going quicker, safely each time is Patrick Gillian in his Impreza.

The Locost racers put on a static display in the paddock and offered passenger rides to anyone interested in racing in their class in 2010. This really is bargain basement racing. Very competitive, yet friendly and change out of £10K (including the car!) at the end of the season.

We ran a couple of 'special' track days, mid week, during the year to facilitate the students from Limavady College who use three cars donated by the P.S.N.I. as engineering projects. It was a pleasure to welcome them at the last date of 2009 and they fitted in well with our regulars. The P.S.N.I. came down too and did some filming of the boys on track. I get the feeling that they can see where we are coming from. There is no doubt that doing track days improves the skills and knowledge of drivers.

A long winning streak came to an end at this track day. Since 2000 we have had the odd car roll and we have had a few thump the barriers but until Sunday we had never had car to car contact. Unfortunately, this came to an end when Thomas Scally lost his Renault 5 Turbo at Fisherman's. He managed to gather it up but that left him right in the path of Alex McConnell's Porsche 944. There was nowhere for the Porsche to go and the Renault got thumped. Thankfully, both drivers were unhurt and the damage was not too serious. Both cars and drivers continued the day.

Thanks for the whole year must go to Fel McIlroy and her loyal team of marshals and to Philip with his St John team. It is a cliché but we simply couldn't operate without them. Thanks also goes to James Higginson for keeping us all fed and to Jacqueline for putting up with him! (Only joking!)

Lastly, thanks to all of our customers throughout the year. I hope Santa brings you all the go-faster goodies you want and look forward to seeing you in 2010.

Donal.

Sunday 26th July 2009

You know, I had my doubts. Maybe it was the six inch stilettos and mini skirt or it might have been her "Come to bed" eyes. Either way, I doubted her when she claimed to be eligible as our maiden sacrifice for sunshine. The television weather forecasters backed up my opinion with their predictions of mega-rain and winds for Sunday. Well, she was telling the truth and must have been as pure as the driven snow because we had one of the best weather days at Kirkistown this year! There was no rain and a serious risk of sunburn all day due to the brisk breeze giving a false sense of cool security.

We got started slightly late because of some efforts to clear rubbish that was blowing all over the place from the paddock. However, the first session got under way with a selection that included BMWs, Lotus Elise and Exiges, an Alfa GTV, an MGF and others. Unfortunately for David Bloomfield, his Skyline gave up the ghost after only four laps. It is no comfort to David but it says a lot for most participants' car preparation that the Skyline was one of only three cars not to make it to the end of the day. Nelson Stewart's Porsche 944 (with well over 100,000 miles on the clock) technically just made it, as it died on the last run of the day.

Dean Reilly came in after half of the first session in his "Time Attack" Civic. I asked him what the problem was and he replied. "Too hot". When he was lined up waiting to go out in his next session I suggested that he might like to do five minutes or so, come in for five to let the engine cool down and then go back out for the last five minutes. He explained that no, it wasn't the engine that got too hot. It was himself as he had the 'flu! I rapidly withdrew from his window and have been checking to see if I am growing a curly tail ever since!

The second session was mostly for new folk. John Garrett went well in his Evo, as did David Irwin in his Golf Gti. Gareth Talbot's Pug 205 Gti was a mean looking machine and it went well. Naoise Enright's Mazda MX6 gave us all a scare as loads of smoke started pouring from the front brakes but it turned out to be nothing serious.

The third session included 6 Westfields whose pilots were delighting in the perfect conditions. The Robinson's VX220 was also included and began a day characterised by quick laps and 'character building' spins!

By 1:30 p.m. we had more than caught up on the lost time and were heading towards lunch. In the session just before lunch Philip Shields took his 3.5Lt. Juno out for a blast. Very nice.

After lunch we ran the usual 'mixed' sessions and there was some highly entertaining lappery. Ernie Skillen and Paul Keys put on a great show that could only be performed by two drivers who knew, trusted and respected each other. Peter Maxwell had a couple of exciting moments through Debtor's that proved he was really motoring. As ever, Robert O'Reilly arrived from Dublin, did his own thing quietly, safely and very quickly and departed again minus some rubber. Robert is a pure enthusiast.

While waiting to go home, Nicholas Wood remarked that he had not previously witnessed a day remain busy so late into the afternoon. Everyone was having a ball and enjoying the conditions.

Once again, thanks to all the marshals and St. John crew and thanks to all who ignored the weather warnings and turned up.

Only four weeks left to find another virgin...

Donal.

Sunday 21st June 2009

A combination of events contrived to greatly reduce the number of participants in attendance on Sunday. Fathers' Day may have had something to do with it and the wet weather didn't help. I also wonder if not being on the last Sunday contributed much. I have already had one person, who had been booked, phone me to confirm that he would be there...on the following Sunday! Anyway, the bottom line is that those who were there got lots of track time! Well, most of them did!

Gavin Magee didn't! His good looking Lexus IS200 Sport boiled the brake fluid on the first run. Gavin, to his credit, worked with his crew for hours to replace the fluid. Getting all of the air out of the system was problematic but eventually they were successful and the car returned to the track late in the afternoon. Ronnie Brown had further problems with his gearbox and his Pug was back on the trailer after the first run.

James Smart has had some work done to his Golf and it was flying all day. David Watters was giving his Puma its first run and reported no problems. Wesley and Sam Lyle's Cossie developed an intermittent engine problem which was still persistent at the end of the day. Kirsty Forsythe arrived, none too happy with the weather. Her dad, Clarke, took the car out for a shake-down and came back reporting all was well. Kirsty has less confidence in her own ability than she should have and took a little convincing to get out there. However, she did and had a good time for the rest of the day.

Ernie Skillen brought his Nissan GT-R out and was exceptionally quick. To quote another's observation, "I believe the guy was fairly bored. He wasn't even bothering with racing lines and was still mopping up the kit cars". That says it all really.

Nigel Magowan brought his Renault R26R out. This car only came into the country earlier in the week. It is what I call a "Q Car" (showing my age there!). OK , it looks great but it is quiet, is very well behaved and goes round corners on rails with no indication of speed. And it's a rocket!!! Colin and Aaron are now looking for double turbos for their 197s!

Allen Erskine brought a bit of classic class to the event with his beautiful old Porsche 911 in Gulf colours. It wasn't slow either!

Derek McIlmoyle quietly put in many rapid laps in his Exige. He was one of the first to arrive and was the last car on track. Nicholas Wood's facial expression was linked to the weather. As the day dried up his smile returned and got broader and broader. Ah, gone are the days when Nicholas was praying for snow. A Lotus Elise just isn't as forgiving as an Audi S3 in the damp.

A long standing record was finally broken at this event. Prior to this, the absolute record number of miles done by one car at a Trackskills event was 200. It was held by a Mk1 Toyota MR2 belonging to Sam and Wesley Lyle. However, at this event Roy Stewart's Westfield 'Bussa clocked up 267 miles. That is over 170 laps!

As ever, the marshals played a blinder. Acting on their reports, we were able to bring in various cars during sessions to rectify faults that they had observed and were unknown to the relevant drivers, preventing potential accidents. Thanks once again to them and St John Ambulance personnel for all their help.

Donal.

Sunday 31st May 2009

Well, there's no doubt about it. The sacrificial virgin was telling the truth and we had incredible weather! An eclectic mix of cars arrived. As one would expect in such weather, quite a few Locaterfields appeared although one of the biggest disappointments of the day was landed at Kirsty Forsythe's doorstep. She phoned me at the track to say that her tow vehicle had let her down!

The question most asked during the day concerned tyre pressures. With the hot track surface, the front wheel drive cars were having a torrid time trying to find grip after only a few laps. Our compressor was working overtime as people experimented.

Connáire Finn arrived in his Porsche 993, liveried with details of his new set-up and performance business for Porsche and Lotus cars in Dublin. Connáire has been making a name for himself this year in competition in England with his Lotus Elise and spent more time in other people's passenger seats at Kirkistown than behind his own wheel. One of the benefactors was Nicholas Wood, who in his usual humorous way, described Connáire's forthright method of instruction as "excellent and terrifying!"

On the subject of instruction, I am an instructor with Race School Ireland. There is an old adage that those who can, do and those who can't, teach! Never has this been brought home to me more than on Sunday when John Mulholland asked me to sit in with his son Josh in his Focus, to see if I could give him any advice. Now Josh races BARC Formula Renault in England this year. Off we went and I stayed quiet for a lap or two. I thought Josh was simply excellent! His confidence, car control and track positioning was mighty. There was one place where I thought he might have been able to improve and I suggested it. He duly tried it over the next few laps and after the session we were informed by a person in the paddock that there was a second difference in those laps, SLOWER! The bottom line is that I learnt more from Josh in those few laps than I could have hoped to teach him. Watch out for him in the results in future!

The general standard of driving all day was very good, even from people who had never been on a track before. Everyone showed consideration to other track users and the day ran with no unscheduled stoppages. A few folk had car problems. Ronnie Brown had fitted a competition clutch to his Peugeot and it gave up after three laps! Ian Weir's Rover's top end cried "enough!" after one session. A few people ran out of brake pads towards the late afternoon. (I told you so :-) ) Unusually, a number of drivers reported loosening wheel nuts. Whether this was something to do with the high temperatures or not, I don't know.

And now a blatant plug! We run Seat Cupras in the Kirkistown Libre Saloons and one of the Sachs shocks was leaking. The Sachs web site is useless for parts. We had the shock apart and the offending seal removed but the question was where to get a replacement at short notice? I talked to a few people who said that the thing was a one off and would have to be made and would cost muchas moolah. Yell.com pointed me towards Henry R Ayton at the Cutts in Derriaghy who didn't do them but they sent me across the yard to WEP Industrial Supplies Limited where I met Eamonn McCallion. He took one look at it and declared that he thought they had one in stock. They didn't but he then informed me that he would have one for me in 24 hours. He did! He produced the two that I asked for plus two o rings that I didn't ask for but should have and the price? £15. Now that is service!

Thanks once again to the marshals and St John Ambulance service. Thanks also to caterer, James Higginson, whose menu is getting wider than my waist band!

Donal.

Sunday 26th April 2009

For the first time in a long time we were greeted with rain on arrival at Kirkistown. Thankfully it did not deter too many participants and indeed, some of the earliest arrivals were the Locaterfield Brigade of Dessie McGlade, Roy Stewart, Richard kyle and Kevin Bell. All were rewarded with a rapidly drying track from 1:00pm onwards.

There was a particularly eclectic mix of vehicles at this event. Sam and Wesley Lyle's classic Lotus Esprit looked well but succumbed to engine gremlins after two runs. Aaron McGowan and Colin Bradley's white Clio Cup 197s were joined by Stephen Noble in a silver version and he was immediately on the pace. Larry Wheelan brought his unusually coloured Alfa GTV up for the first time and went well. Two Focus ST170s were here for the first time and were well driven by John Mulholland and Stephen Phillips. BMW M3s were represented by Bryan Grieves and Colin Stanford who were both circulating very quickly. However, Justin Duff arrived slightly late and proceeded to put his long experience of Kirkistown to good use and outshone both M3s in his CSL.

Conor Loughran gamely tackled seemingly endless running repairs on his early Evo to complete a load of sessions. Jonathan Gillespie worked on his Puma engined Fiesta right up to Saturday night and was well rewarded for his troubles with an impressively quick and well handling car. Ronnie Brown was mighty in his Pug 106, driving the wheels off it as usual. Simon Rogers had a promising run in his Supra before an intercooler pipe ruptured. Said pipe was unreachable within the paddock and that was the end of his day! Richard Boyd impressed everyone with his well sorted Evo 10. The thing seemed to be a rocket ship!

The day was mostly incident free (the exception being two suicidal spectators who tried to walk through the run off area at Debtors, oblivious to the tracks beside them that were left by an M3's earlier off at that point!) with a generally high standard of driving from participants. As usual, Fel and her marshals did a sterling job and richly deserve our thanks.

Thanks to all who made it happen.

Donal.

Sunday 15th March 2009

Just when we thought that we had seen it all during the last eight and a half years, something unimaginable comes along to surprise us!

We were blessed once again with great weather and a very good turn out. Having got started on time, we were cracking on rapidly with the sessions. As is normal in between sessions, the start marshal and various assistants were opening the gates to let spectators and late-coming participants across the track and into the infield area. A Renault Laguna began coming across but instead of following the car in front straight over and through the opposite gate, it turned left and began to go round the track. The marshals were warned by radio of an unidentified car approaching them. The car did a full lap, ignoring red flags before stopping momentarily at the start/finish line and then continuing on to Debtors.

This is where it gets surreal! I drove up to the car which was now parked on the outside of Debtors, trackside. When I approached the driver and demanded to know what he was playing at, he was on the phone! He asked me to 'hold on' because he was talking to his son! At this point you can fill in the expletives yourself but, suffice to say, he was escorted off the premises post haste.

The moral of this true story is this. Next time that you think an official or marshal is being over cautious or a jobsworth, think about the tiny percentage of people out there who are selfish, inconsiderate and still trying to evolve a thumb. They exist and are a danger to us all and unfortunately, marshals and officials have to expect the worst case scenario and protect against it.

Enough of the rant! What else happened?

Well, the day was generally great fun. Four white Clio Cup 197s in a line were a sight to behold. Michael McKeown's supercharged Bora sounded positively evil! One of the many Megabussas failed to negotiate the Chicane, rearranging its steering geometry in the tyre wall. Campbell's Chicken Soup saved the day for Richard Ryan, not because he was feeling unwell (Everybody knows that chicken soup cures everything, don't they?) but by providing the necessary metal collar to fix his exhaust! Nicholas Wood had a big moment on the approach to the chicane resulting in him reversing into the tyres in his very tidy Elise. Luckily the damage was only a few scratches and he was back out and flying again very soon after returning to the paddock. Paul Keys, as usual, was sublime in his Megabussa. Sam and Wesley turned up with a Skyline (delivered by Tescos, but that's another story!). Wesley proceeded to brake so hard in it that he thought he had rebroken his recently operated-upon foot and went off home looking somewhat ashen! Mark Russell had a great first ever track day in his Caterham. His next one is at Spa! John McIlveen also had a great first ever track day in his MG180 ZS but a fuel surge problem on a low tank gave both him and a following 192 a fright in the middle of Fishermans as his car cut out! Robert O'Reilly, as ever, circulated extremely quickly in his immaculately prepared Civic V-tec. Paul Sheridan has got his racing Clio 172 fully sorted and was incredibly quick. This car is for sale and would be a great track iron for anyone thinking of getting a dedicated track day machine.

Once again, thanks to all the marshals, particularly Tigger who kept the day running, standing in for Fel and thank you to all who came, particularly those who have a "permanent booking" with us. Every day we have now is at least half booked for the rest of the year. Your support is greatly appreciated.

Cheers!

Donal.

Last Trackskills Day of 2008. Sunday 23rd November.

Sunday saw the final day of our calendar for 2008 and what a day it was! A grand turn out from our regulars plus the launch of Lotus Club Ireland made for a fairly full paddock.

There were a number of aspects that really stood out on the day and I would like to give them a mention here.

Firstly, the arrival of the plastic cars en mass at 9:30am was a truly great sight.  Judging by the photograph I have seen, the Strangford - Portaferry ferry never sat so high in the water with a full deck of cars before!  The Lotus contingent put on a great show, especially Bob Montgomery who demonstrated how to rallycross a 2 – Eleven at Debtors.

Secondly, for such a busy day, the standard of driving from everybody on track was amazing, especially considering it was wet all day.  Everyone observed the flags and used their mirrors.  There were a few offs but these were mostly folk out-braking themselves with no unfortunate consequences. On the two occasions when I had to have an advisory word in a driver’s ear, the advice was taken on board and the driving improved immediately. A big thank you to everyone for their consideration and co-operation.

Thirdly, our marshals (and I include Philip from St John in this group) were brilliant.  It was wet and seriously cold all day and they persevered without complaint. At one point Fel couldn’t push the button on her radio because her fingers were so frozen! We do appreciate their effort and know that we and motorsport, in general, would be lost without them.  Thank you all once again.

Fourthly, we tried to run until 5:00pm and would have succeeded, had it not been for a dirty great rain cloud that took away whatever light was left at around 4:50pm.  We had to call it a day because the flag marshals could not see each other, the drivers could not see the flags and we lost all ability to differentiate between the speeds of approaching headlights to see who was catching who.  Having mentioned all that, I thought an active Kirkistown “at night” was a fantastic sight!  Observing the moving stream of lights from Colonial One to the Chicane was wonderful and watching the brake rotors glowing on Sam Lyle’s Cossie reminded me of standing at Arnage at dusk. An emotional high and a great way to finish the year!

As ever, there were a couple of hard luck stories.  Graham Alexander’s Pulsar begged for mercy for a few laps before having a strop at being ignored and throwing a leg out of bed at the top end of the circuit.  Gary and Stephen Shields now know what  an Integra with shot mains sounds like.  The unsung hero here is the guy, who’s name I never got to know, who came up from Dundalk, at a moment’s notice, to Belfast and back down to Kirkistown with a flat bed to carry their stricken Honda away.

On behalf of Keith and myself,  thanks to everyone involved during the season for helping make this Trackskills’ best year.  We appreciate everyone’s input and look forward to seeing you in 2009.

Cheers!

Donal.

Sunday 16th March 2008

After a fairly miserable week of weather the sun came out on Sunday morning and remained with us for the rest of the day.

Aaron McGowan finally got his ex-Richard Dempster Clio 182 out and was moving more and more quickly as the day went on. It was nice to see two VX220's circulating very rapidly in the hands of Mark Angus and Simon Walsh. I noticed a blue one turning up to watch. Perhaps he'll come out to play in the future! Miles McDonagh seemed to be enjoying getting to grips with his new Exige.

The most unlikely car of the day has to have been Stewarty's Volvo T5 Estate Automatic. The pendulum effect it was displaying at the Chicane was giving the flag marshal, Jenifer, a near heart attack every other lap! Stewarty was joined by David Maxwell in a Volvo 850, which lapped faster as the day wore on.

One hard luck story concerned Tom Mulready who was trying to run in his racing Uno before the first race in a fortnight's time. Unfortunately, the engine had other ideas and it blew up in the afternoon. However, Tom got further than Kevin McNamee, who had engine woes in his BMW from the very start.

Steve Mitchell brought his Seat Leon Challenge car over from Scotland. That beastie is quick in a very controlled way. Most of the time, that is. Once again the luckless Jenifer witnessed David having a couple of "moments" at the Chicane as he searched out his limits.

Paul Keys capped an expensive week (he was seen in Ernie Skillen's Jewellers shop buying an engagement ring on Wednesday!) by burning out the clutch on the Megabusa.

Make what you like of this one! The following conversation was overheard by me between Ray Dowds ( who was rumoured to allegedly have hurt his back last year whilst leaping from some bedroom furniture in a Superman cape!) and his wife, Audrey, who has nerves of steel (Well she would have, wouldn't she?)

Ray: "Look at the state of those tyres. I'm only getting a track day and a half out of a set!"

Audrey: " That's because you are driving so hard!"

Ray: " I am not going any harder than usual!"

Audrey: "You are. You are much more agressive! You are too agressive!"

Ray: "You enjoy it!"

At that point I left!

A big "Thank you" goes from us to everyone who took part, be they drivers or marshals. The standard of driving in most cases was excellent. No time was lost having to pull anyone from the scenery and the new, later start and finish times seemed to work well. The new catering facilities seemed popular and this arrangement will remain for the foreseeable future.

Sunday 17th February 2008

First track day of the season got underway on Sunday 17th February at Kirkistown. There was a large turn out with a lot of “old hands” and some new faces.

Much to the consternation of Nicolas Wood in his Audi S3, there was no snow. In fact the weather was incredible with sunshine all day! The temperature was like a bell curve with below freezing at 8:30 am rising to ‘comfortable’ in the middle of the day and returning towards the lows when the sun retreated during the last hour or so. The low temperatures made grip more difficult to find although I don’t think I have ever seen such a wide grin on a driver’s face than that of Ray Dowds in his RS2000 at 2:15pm, when he informed me that the track was just about perfect now!

There was an eclectic mix of vehicles. We had plenty of hot hatches of the Toyota, Honda, VW, Peugeot and Citroen variety. We also had a plethora of Porsche 997 GT3s! Some racing machinery was shaking down, namely Adrian Smith’s Mission, Tony Traub’s Fiesta, Paul Sheridan’s Clio and Philip Higgins’ Palmer Jaguar. There was one Skyline and a couple of 200SX’s. A small Lotus contingent were present as well.

Clutches seemed to be the weak point of this day with Darren Fusco’s Mini Cooper S going nowhere fast. John Manderson’s M5 joined the club later on as did one or more Hondas. Joey Greenan’s Mini Cooper S had electrical problems which prevented him getting a clear run.

Gerald Stanley in his very nice yellow 968 fell fowl of the green conditions early on and unfortunately, travelled a long distance into some maintenance equipment. That ended his day and left the Porsche in need of some T.L.C.

Ricky Hull was going exceptionally well in his 106, as were a number of other drivers in caged machinery. It begs the question as to what it is going to take to get these guys to go racing? Three other people that I would put in this category, who jump to mind immediately, are Colin Robinson, Paul Keys and Dave Wishart. In fact I would say Dave needs to go racing.

It was great to see so many “Locaterfields” out this early in the season. Kirsty Forsythe seems to have hers well sorted this year. Mark Crawford’s Blade was quick as were Doug Nelson and Raymond Young’s machines. Paul Keys had fitted a new front end to his Megabusa and was coming to terms with a lack of brakes and direction. Colin Graham rather nervously took to the track for the first time in his very recently acquired Megabusa but soon was on the pace and having a ball. (Incidentally, if you want a laugh, hunt out Paul Keys and ask him about the trip to Birmingham and back while getting this machine!) Tom Horan’s Westfield has turned into a Racing Uno, which was also going well.

Generally, this was a successful day. Thanks to all the participants for helping making it so and thanks once again to Fel and her marshals and to Philip from St John.

Saturday 4th August 2007

NLP practitioners tell us that everyone has a preferential sense by which they experience their world and if you can tap into it you can melt that personís heart. In my case it is auditory and on Saturday I fell totally in love with the sound of an Audi RS4 on full song! Wonderful!

However, that RS4 was only one of a great selection of cars that enjoyed almost perfect conditions. A number of experienced Kirkistown drivers remarked that the track was in the ëfastestí state that they had ever experienced.

The first session got under way slightly later than planned at 10.40am and was made up of regular participants such as Micky Dardis in his rapid Escort, Paul Keys in his Megabusa, Nicolas Wood in his Audi S3 and Andy Wallace in his Westfield Ford. Ray Dowds brought his RS2000 out to play with us for the first time and we nearly collapsed with shock when Derek Latimer arrived at 9.30am and made the first session!

The second session was meant to be for the people new to us. We had a great mix including Mervyn Lemonís Westfield Ford, Richard Boydís Williams Clio and Michael Robinsonís Toyota MR2. However, the non appearance of a large number of promised Lotus prompted us to let Gavin Byrne and Andrew Yeates run their Exige and Elise respectively in the second group. Three more Lotus did eventually arrive and the Spendlove brothers, Nigel and Lloyd put on their usual rapid display throughout the day.

As always there were hard luck stories. It is difficult to know which one ranks highest. There was the Lotus that didnít make it. It destroyed an engine on the road up from Dublin! Then there was the curse of the last session! Se·n Kenny, having driven in a sensible, controlled manner all day made a slight mistake that normally would have resulted in nothing more than a scare. However, this time Fate sent his Lotus into the tyres at the Chicane. However, I think top prize has to go to Martin Bryans. He was well down our reserve list but was regularly phoning me to see if he was ëiní. Eventually he was and he turned up early with his Sierra XR4i on the trailer. Having signed on he went back up to take the car off the trailer and broke the cast iron manifold in doing so! End of day!

Interesting tit-bits from the day include the fact that having finally got their Mk2 Escort Cosworth going quickly, father and son team, Tony and Stephen Traub, assure me that they are definitely going racing at the end of the month. Who is going to be driving? They would not say!

Another potential racer, the glamourous Kirsty Forsythe, assured me that she was not touching up her make-up as she walked up the paddock with an open make-up compact. She said she was going to use the mirror to check her oil level! I thought, ìWomen can multi-task. She was probably doing both!

Speaking of multi-tasking. Regular marshal and Formula Vee racer, Jenifer Mullan, stood down for a session to give some advice to Paul Keys on his racing lines as he took her round in his Megabusa. Colm Gallagher, alias Arthur, went one better by actually swapping places with one of our participants for a few sessions. Special thanks goes to super-sub marshal Patrick Ritchie who stood in, in both cases.

As ever, thanks to the marshals, St. Johnís, Viv, Greer, EÛrann, Jessica and all the participants for making it another successful day.

Thanks to Graham Curry and Steven Legge for photographing the event.

Pictures can be found on Really Mean Sounds [click here to view]

Donal

Sunday 3rd June 2007

Sunday 29th April 2007

Sunday 18th March 2007