Dempsey leads the way after Kirkistown FF1600 double win
Jordan Dempsey scored back-to-back wins at Kirkistown to move himself to the top of the Northern Irish Formula
Ford points table, aided by mechanical misfortunes that sidelined rivals David Mccullough and David Parks in the second of Saturday’s two Kirkistown races.
But Dempsey did not have things all his own way. Mccullough and Parks, plus Alan Davidson, ran him close in race one. In the second it was left to Davidson to provide the opposition, which he did in the early stages, before Dempsey’s Van Diemen took command.
Ryan Campbell, who took fourth and third places overall, now heads the Pre-’90 standings from Brandon Mccaughan, with Davidson playing catch-up in third after being sidelined in the first two rounds.
The burgeoning Irish Legends continue to go from strength to strength and produced three great races, featuring the Barrable brothers Robert and Peter along with Geoff Richardson, and the trio spent much of the time side by side.
They were particularly close in the opening encounter and were separated by fewer than four tenths of a second.
At close of play, honours were shared with wins for Peter (race one), Richardson (race two) and Robert (race three), but the overall victory went to Richardson, who was on the podium every time.
Elsewhere, the frantic Fiestas produced back-to-back victories for Mark Stewart, from Megan Campbell in the first and Colm Barrable in the second. The midfield antics brought out the safety car and eventually a red flag in race two as an assortment of drivers discovered that optimism will rarely triumph over inevitability – and never over Armco. Former hot rodder Gregory Mcmillan set the pace all the way in the concurrent Mazda MX-5 encounters, winning both contests.
Among the Saloons and GTS, the top four were identical after both bouts.
Mike Johnston’s Gm-powered MG Midget showed them all the way, running as a GT, while top Saloon pilot was Stephen Traub (Honda Integra) ahead of Peter Baxter (SEAT Leon). The SHP Supercars squad were led home by Paul Parr in fourth overall.
Jim Larkham and his Radical PR06 took both Roadsports races. In the first, John Benson (Crossle 37S) followed him home ahead of Niall Fitzsimmons’s Radical, but in race two it was Fitzsimmons who took the second step on the podium ahead of Bernard Foley (Crossle).