WITH the festive season over it's back to business in motorsport, with three trials events to be contested this weekend.
The Erskine twins finished last year's sporting trials with Gordon beating Philip to win the Le Fanu Cup Trial. But their winning record was broken by Brian Miley, who scored a pre Christmas win.
Today's MEC Sporting Trial will bring out some 50 mud pluggers at Frank Nuttall's farm at Newtownmountkennedy, and no doubt the Erskines will "double drive" their Erskine Harley Davidson Special to another win - unless Messrs Miley, Watkins, Bolton and the rest can halt them.
The Hewison Trophy Championship resumes tomorrow with the midland MC's test trial at Athlone. J.J. Farrell leads after 11 rounds, on 224 points from Clive Peterson on 213.
Although he missed three rounds, reigning champion Eamonn Byrne is up to fourth on 200 points.
Co Kildare's MC's 4x4 Trial, an off road event for four wheel drive vehicles, is at Ardiston Tullow, Co Carlow.
Irish drivers won two British championships in 1996, yet they received scant if indeed any mention in the various reviews of the sporting year that was. In motor racing, Dublin driver Ray Moore won the British Formula Vee Championship at the wheel of his Irish built and designed Leastone - a notable double achievement indeed.
Moore won the British title in style with victory in the final championship round at Snetterton, Norfolk in October. In total he had six race wins to beat the British based Ecuadorian Andres Serrano by 71/2 points. Serrano only won two championship races.
For the second successive year Peter Grimes (Dublin) won the RAC British Autotest Championship, heading an Irish 1-2-3 in the final round at Nottingham last September.
Irish drivers Trevor Hamilton and Frank Lenehan finished joint second on points with Grainger Robertson of Scotland, the runner up placing to Robertson on a tiebreaker.
