Two action packed weekends in the offing for motorsport

KERRY Motor Club mark the beginning of two actioned packed motoring weekends in the Kingdom with its annual rallysprint at Tralee Racecoure on Sunday.

First time Clerk of the Course, Sean Hegarty has altered the three-kilometre course that will feature both tarmac and hard-packed gravel. He hopes that the first significant change since the event was revived by the Tralee club in 2010 will offer a new challenge to regular competitors.

Cashel-based brother and sister team Pat and Grace O’Connell are chasing a fourth straight victory on the event in their Mitsubishi Lancer E9. Mr Hegarty told The Kerryman:

“It wouldn’t be possible to run the event without the help from club members who have been working hard over the last six months to put things in place, and of course our main sponsor, Relihan Dismantlers Clash Tralee, a massive thanks to all of them.

“The new course layout is approx three kilometres, half tarmac, half compact gravel and we crews coming from all over the country, including a massive entry of the famous JB buggies that always promise to put on a good show.”

Local drivers include former Top Part West Coast historic rally champion PJ O’Dowd in his Talbot Sunbeam and Pat Slattery and Chris Campbell in a brace of Honda Civics.

The following Sunday Killarney and District Motor Club will host the Jimmy Devane Memorial Killarney Autocross. The event will again be based on a grass-surface venue in Aghadoe, Killarney, Co Kerry with the venue being no more than 5km from Killarney town.

The event was first held in 2011 under its current name the Jimmy Devane Memorial Autocross. Jimmy was a well-known autocross and rally competitor who passed away in 2009 and this event is held each year in his memory.