Sport

Meeke and Gallagher shine on European rally circuit

MOTOR SPORT/Weekly column : The rally and racing drivers who have achieved success abroad this year are the unsung heroes of…

Brian Foley
Fri Oct 17 2003 - 01:00

MOTOR SPORT/Weekly column : The rally and racing drivers who have achieved success abroad this year are the unsung heroes of Irish sport. In rallying, Dungannon's Chris Meeke won the Super 1600 British Rally Championship and retained his British Junior Drivers title.

Shaun Gallagher (Letterkenny), winner of the Motorsport Ireland Billy Coleman Award, won the British Peugeot 206 Championship and is lying second in the French championship.

Paddy White (Navan), in a Subaru Impreza S7, won the West European Cup Rally Championship while Dubliner Dermot Carnegie won the British Championship for a record fifth time.

In motor racing, Jonathan Fildes (Clonsilla) and Eoin Murray (Dublin) were first and third, respectively, in the Renault Clio Championship run on British circuits. Matt Griffin (Blarney) won the GT Cup in the British GT Championship driving a Porsche GT3R. Michael Devaney (Dublin) finished fourth in the European Formula-BMW Championship.

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Dubliners Paddy Shovlin and Michael Cullen are second and fourth in the European Ferrari Challenge, with the two final rounds to be run at Monza, Italy, today and tomorrow. They compete in the Ferrari Challenge World Title race on Sunday.

Charlie Donnelly (Naas) is hoping for success in the weekend's Formula Ford Festival and World Cup at Brands Hatch while Patrick Hogan (Dublin) has a chance of winning the Formula Zip Ford Championship, also at Brands Hatch.

Motorsport Ireland's team of Eamonn Byrne, Chris Grimes, Simon Echlin and James Pringle is one of the favourites in tomorrow's Ken Wharton International Autotest in Warwickshire. Meanwhile, Punchestown is the venue for the weekend's Rallysprint and Motorsport Show.

WEEKEND FIXTURES: Saturday and Sunday - North-East Motorsports Club, Rallysprint, Punchestown, Co Kildare, 10.30 a.m. Saturday - MEC, Sporting Trial, Glenmalure, Co Wicklow, noon. Sunday - Co Cavan MC, Autocross, Ballybay-Cootehill Road, 9 a.m.; Tipperary LC & MCC, Autocross, Rosegreen Raceway, Cashel, Co Tipperary,10.30 a.m.; Mayo & District MSC, Hillclimb, Achill Island, 11 a.m.