This morning the Irish Motorsport Community is trying to come to terms with a very stark reality that two of their family were so suddenly taken from our midst.

In Cavan yesterday morning a truly dreadful accident happened that claimed the lives of Joe Lane and Caroline Cleary.

Joe Lane is recognised as one of the top photographers in Ireland, his work has appeared in just about every major publication both at home, and abroad.

A passionate rally supporter, Joe was known far and wide for his great sense of humour, and that wonderful trademark smile of his. His unique photographic perspective brought us some of the finest moments of Irish Motorsport.

I am deeply saddened by the loss of a good friend and mentor, it’s incalculable how much the loss of such a talented photographer means to our sport.

To the families of Joe Lane and Caroline Cleary we offer our deepest heartfelt sympathies on their sudden and tragic loss.

Funeral arrangements for Joe Lane.. Thanks to Galway Motor Club

Reposing at the family home in Kilcolgan tomorrow, Tuesday from 4 to 7pm. Removal at 11.30am on Wednesday for 12pm mass in Clarenbridge Church  

Rounds 5 & 6 of the Connaught Competition Engines Irish Hillclimb and Sprint Championship was hosted by the Motor Enthusiasts Club (MEC) in the Naul Co Dublin.

The event banter was always going to be about the two main racers; current champion Simon McKinley, and Sylvie Mullins; mechanical gremlins sidelined Sylvie in Galway, giving Simon victory on both days. So this was his chance to even the score.

Although the Naul is a shortish Sprint, hidden dangers lurk at almost every twist of the Tarmac.

Battle got underway on Saturday morning at a furious pace, little separated the lads, but on home ground Simon would not be beaten. Sylvie landed hard in his Gould over a bump, upsetting his finely tuned suspension to finish the day 1.27sec behind the champ. Paul O’Connell in his Pilbeam followed home in third spot.

Deirdre Delaney got her first proper competitive run in her new Opel Lotus, Deirdre gave Denis Hogan in the M3, and Ian Quinn in his Minibusa 510 a run for their money on both days.

Scary off road excursion of the weekend goes to the Jedi master John Byrne, he removed two wheels off one side of his car in the process. But thankfully John was not hurt. Joe Courtney finished fourth, followed by John Byrne in fifth, Brendan Keane was sixth and Rory Stephens seventh in that insanely quick Radical of his. Neill Anderson was eight, Dermot Nolan ninth, with Eanna Carroll in his Turbo Civic finishing tenth.

Sundays top three was virtually the same, Simon in top spot, Sylvie Mullins second and triple Champion Paul O’Connell in third spot.

Rory Stephens in his Radical improved by two places to finish in fifth on Sunday, his Radical literally explodes out of every corner. The acceleration of the Radical SR3 is simply astonishing to watch.

Fourth place went to Joe Courtney in his OMS Hornet, Neill Anderson was sixth, Brendan Keane was seventh, Dermot Nolan eight, Russell Stanworth who shared the Nolan car was ninth. And Eanna Carroll in his Civic was tenth.

The weekend also featured some very rare and expensive historic machinery, and by god did those lads drive the socks off them. Mark Brennan was out in a  very rare Alvis, Detlef Heyer was out in his very rare BMW 328, this car makes the most glorious sound when driven with great gusto. Kieran White was out in his TRS, and Ken Mc Avoy had his Austin seven Special.

Simon McKinley now has a four point lead over Sylvie Mullins, next stop for Simon is the Hillclimb in France, well he has to keep his French fans happy too.

We are just about midway in the Championship and the best has yet to come.

1              Simon McKinley 58

2              Sylvie Mullins     54

3              Paul O’Connell   46

4              Joe Courtney     36

5              John C. Byrne    33

A Big Thanks to all the Marshals & Crews for an excellent weekend of Motorsport

Results courtesy Motorsport Ireland & Irish Hillclimb.com.

Its with deep sincere sadness I have to report the very untimely death of Martin Keegan; Martin was chairman of the Galway Motorsport Marshals Club for many years, and was a very active member of Galway Motor Club. A competitor himself, Martin’s last outing was just a few weeks back in his beloved Mini, on Ballyallaban Hill.

Martin and his Son Colin also competed in, and organized Karting events throughout Ireland, a tireless worker, both himself and Colin were a very dynamic team, always ready, always willing to lend a hand at any level of Motorsport.

It goes without saying that Martin will be deeply missed by all here at GMMC…

On behalf of the committee and members of the Galway Motorsport Marshals Club we offer or sincere sympathies to the Keegan family on their sad and sudden loss..

Funeral arrangements:

Reposing at his residence Gortachalla, Moycullen tomorrow Tuesday from 5 o clock, followed by celebration of his life at 7 o clock. Cremation at Mount Jerome Crematorium, Harold’s Cross, Dublin on Wednesday at 3 o clock..

53 22′ 2″N 9 9′ 41″W

We have added a new book to the “Ar nós na gaoithe” series, A Festival of Speed, it features forty pages of images from this epic event. A worthy addition to any motorsport collection. We hope you enjoy it…

The price you pay is the cost of Printing & Postage….

The weekend in Ballyvaughan got off to a fiery start on Friday night when smoke was seen billowing out from under the bonnet of the Courtney Fiat, the wiring loom had caught light, and only prompt action from the lads saved the car.

The lads were up at the crack of dawn Saturday rebuilding the loom, and even the  Champ Simon McKinley gave a hand to get it running. Apart from scorch marks to the bonnet, the car ran well for the weekend, it was another fine example of the camaraderie of the Hillclimb family; and bush mechanics at its best.

Saturday was cold and dry as the event got under way on The Corkscrew, all eyes were on Sylvie Mullins and Simon McKinley.

The Judd could be heard howling at the line as Sylvie waited to unleash the wild horses, but by the time he arrived at the hairpin below the old picnic table area, it was obvious something was wrong. The car gave a very unsettling clunk as Sylvie tried to change gears, and he lost valuable seconds, recording a time of 49:92sec.

Hillclimb Champion Simon McKinley gave a dazzling display in his Lant, and equalled the hill record of 48:39sec to take his first win of 2012.

Drive of the day had to be Joe Courtney in his OMS Hornet, Joe put in a blistering time of 49:60sec to take second place, just ahead of third placed Paul O’Connell, who also was suffering from mechanical problems.

Sylvie Mullins was 4^th, John Byrne 5^th in his Jedi, Rory Stephens was 6^th in his Radical with Dermot Nolan 7^th and Phil Price 9^th in their Reynard, which also suffered from a miss-fire. And it cannibalised its gearbox as well for good measure.

John Mahon was 8^th and Derek Daly 10^th in his Tatuus F Renault.

So a very edgy start to the weekend for day one, and yet Ballyallaban awaited the crews…

1 Simon McKinley (Lant RT2 Warrior) 48.39s, (Equals existing record),

2 Joe Courtney (OMS-Suzuki) 49.60s,

3 Paul O’Connell (Pilbeam MP58 Hart) 49.67s,

4 Sylvie Mullins (Gould GR37-Judd) 49.92s,

5 John Byrne (Jedi-Honda) 51.10s,

6 Rory Stephens (Radical SR3 Hayabusa Turbo) 52.37s,

7 Dermot Nolan (Reynard 873-Connaught) 53.47s,

8 John Mahon (DJ-ADS1 Hayabusa) 53.48s,

9 Phil Price (Reynard 873-Connaught) 54.48s

10 Derek Daly (Tatuus F Renault) 56.53s

Sunday morning was bright and sunny, and it was ideal conditions for the cars.

Sylvie Mullins worked overnight to get the Judd back in action, that glorious sound of the Judd could be heard all along the hill, and after his first timed run was ahead by 0.08sec from Simon McKinley.

Simon’s next run was deceptively neat, his speed and car control incredible to watch; for this he was rewarded with a time of 93:69sec and finished the day in 1^st, Sylvie Mullins had to settle for second.  Simon now leads the championship after Galway.

Paul O’Connell put in a good run in his Pilbeam despite continued problems; that saw him coast into the carpark on one of his timed runs. Paul finished in third spot.

The Nolan car continued to have problems early on Sunday morning and it retired early on in the day. Dermot double drove the remainder of the day in Deirdre Delaney’s car to earn valuable championship points.

Eanna Carroll was another of the fast drivers to suffer mechanical failure, his Turbo Civic broke a drive shaft, but he too opted to double drive in the Hogan M3, and he finished tenth over all.

Sunday’s drive of the day has to go to Adrian McCallion, he got as close to the edge of the carpark as you can go without falling into the Burren, finishing in fourth place.

In fifth place was Rory Stephens in his Radical, sixth went to  John Byrne in his Jedi, and 7^th place was Dennis Hogan in his pristine white M3.

Another epic Ballyvaughan weekend, no records smashed, but a fine display of driving skills, and bravery by all.

1 Simon McKinley (Lant RT2 Warrior) 93.69s,

2 Sylvie Mullins (Gould GR37-Judd) 95.28s,

3 Paul O’Connell (Pilbeam MP58 Hart) 104.23s,

4 Adrian McCallion (Normandale-Suzuki) 110.90s,

5 Rory Stephens (Radical SR3 Hayabusa Turbo) 112.17s,

6 John Byrne (Jedi-Honda) 113.40s,

7 Denis Hogan (BMW M3) 116.49s,

8 Ray Cunningham (Mini) 117.27s,

9 Dean Laffey (Reynard RF81 Opel) 117.54s,

10 Eanna Carroll (BMW M3) 118.57s.

Thanks to Motorsport ireland for the results

Ballyvaughan Co Clare, with its stunning views of Galway Bay is a Mecca for tourists who come to marvel at the stunning beauty of the Burren.

However, on the 14^th & 15^th of April the disciples of speed will converge on Ballyvaughan to worship at the High Altars of Corkscrew, & Ballyallaban Hills. We are of course talking about rounds 3&4 of the Connaught Competition Engines Irish Hillclimb and Sprint Championship.

Already rounds 1 & 2 have thrown up a few surprises, Ballyvaughan driver Sylvie Mullins in his stunningly quick Gould took victory both days at the opening rounds of the championship in Wexford. Current Champion Simon McKinley kept up the pressure both days on Sylvie, but had to settle for two second places. The Jedi master John Byrne took third on day one. And former champion Paul O’Connell took third place on day two.

Ballyvaughan will be a real Clash of the Titans, current champion Simon McKinley will be eager to settle the score after Wexford as he goes after a third championship Title. But local man Sylvie Mullins in his Judd Gould will be planning to continue where he left off in Wexford, and add two more wins to his campaign.

On Saturday the 14^th the crews will tackle the Corkscrew, although The Corkscrew is much shorter than Ballyallaban, it’s a far more technical hill, demanding total concentration from start to finish, the hairpin bends are deceptively tricky, and drivers need to be precise all the way.

Last year Sylvie Mullins set a time of 48:39sec, his pace stunned spectators and competitors alike. One spectator remarked, “It was a technical flawless demonstration of high speed driving” But right behind him will be current champion Simon McKinley; Spectacular to watch in action, Simon will be eager to settle the score, and take his first win of the year.

Mid-hill on Corkscrew is the best place to spectate; here you can watch the cars progress through the hairpin bends. And with the single seaters, you can actually see the drivers at work, and there is also that glorious sound that drifts up the Hill from the start line as the cars blast off.

Day Two Ballyallaban Hill:

On day two the crews face the daunting Ballyallaban Hill; All along the 2.2 miles of Ballyallaban the battle scars are evident everywhere you look; Drivers who pushed that bit too far, or ran out of luck/road; only to be stopped by the Granite Guardians of the Burren.

But its not only the walls the drivers need worry about, sheer drops of 30ft or more into the Burren await them just beyond those walls. Jagged rocks resembling sharks teeth stick out through the Tarmac, and can easily puncture a tyre at high speed. Its also one of the few hills where single seaters get airborne over the very bumpy and abrasive surface, a sight that has to be seen to be believed.

Simon McKinley holds the record for the Hill, last year he set a heart stopping time of 93:56sec in a remarkable display of skill and bravery.  As I’ve said before, Simon appears to be able to bend the laws of Physics at will; he is a spectacular driver to watch.

Watch out for Rory Stephens in his Fab looking Racial, this fire spitting monster devours Tarmac at a frightening pace. At the hands of Rory, the Radical appears to glide round the tightest of corners easily at high speeds.

Another silky smooth driver is former champion Paul O’Connell, Paul, a hard charger, is another of the fast drivers that make spectators step back that extra inch as he approaches at speed. Frightenly late on the breaks his cornering speeds are scary.

John Byrne and his Jedi are a deceptively quick combination, John finished second in the championship to Simon McKinley last year, a testament to his skill behind the wheel.

One thing for sure, if you miss this event, you’ll have missed one of the finest rounds of the championship, so why not join us on the Hills. And watch some of the fastest machines in Ireland in action on the 14^th-15^th of April in Ballyvaughan