MOTOR SPORT: Foot and mouth all but wiped out Irish rallying last year, with all the major events and championships cancelled including the Circuit of Ireland.
At a meeting in Enniskillen, the Ulster Automobile Club released details of this year's 'Buy and Sell' sponsored Circuit of Ireland, which will be the opening round of the Toshiba Computers Tarmac Rally Championship.
The revamped three-day event will be based in Enniskillen over the Easter weekend, with the emphasis changed from the old style five-day marathon to a compact formula more suited to the new generation of high powered World Rally Cars.
The Easter Saturday (March 30th) action will feature a spectator stage at St Angelo Airport in a maximum of seven closed road stages in Co Fermanagh and West Tyrone. The 12 stages on Easter Sunday will be run in Donegal, Cavan and Leitrim. And the eight stages on Easter Monday in the Clogher valley area will also be featured in a round of the Northern Ireland Rally Championship.
Rally HQ will be the Manor House Hotel, Killadeas, a few miles outside Enniskillen, with a gala dinner and prizegiving in the Killyhevlin Hotel.
Before Easter there is a lot of rallying going on around the country, despite the Galway West International being bumped back into November from the original February 9/10th date. Carrick-On-Suir MC's Willie Loughman Memorial Rally on February 24th is Round Two of the KBB Doors National Forest Rally Championship and the Triton South-East stages Championship. The West Cork Rally will be run on March 16/17th and is expected to attract the usual big support from Wales and England.
Eamonn Byrne on 266 points has overtaken JJ Farrell on 245 points in the Hewison Trophy Autotest championship after 11 rounds. Round 12 is Sunday's Co Monaghan MC event at the Hillgrove Hotel in Monaghan town.
Tomorrow's Terry Hill Trophy Trial is round five of the eight rounds in the Irish Trials Championship 2001/2002. Ulster rider Robert Crawford (80 points) leads in Grade A (Experts).
The other grade leaders are: Harold McQuade (B), David McKnight (C), Ray Adamson (D), Shaun Turkington (Junior A) and Ian Scott (Junior B).
Dublin & District MCC has collected €106,618.85 for the Wireless For The Blind from the Annual St Stephen's Day Fancy Dress Trial, since 1952. €6,500 was raised at last year's event.
WEEKEND FIXTURES
Saturday: Temple MCC, Terry Hill Trophy Trial, Bryansford (between Newcastle and Castlewellan) Co Down, 11.0; MEC, Jenkins Cup Sporting Trial, Kilruddery, Bray, Co.Wicklow, 12.30 .
Sunday: Killarney & District MC, Autotest, Kielys Warehouse, Scart Cross, Co Kerry, 10.30; Co.Monaghan MC, Hewison Trophy Autotest, Hillgrove Hotel, Monaghan, 12.30..
