Doubles all round at Kirkistown as Stewart heads repeat winners
The bar was closed at Kirkistown last Saturday, but nevertheless there were doubles all round for the second meeting of the year at the Northern
Ireland circuit, with all of the classes featuring back-to-back victors.
While the winners may have been the same, the races were far from boring. The Fiestas topped the excitement stakes with a cast featuring the Stewart brothers – Mark and Paul – along with the Grahams, father Derek and son Michael, plus some spirited intervention from Neville Anderson.
Mark Stewart got ahead in the first encounter, leaving Paul to fend off the attentions of Derek Graham, which he did by just 0.044 seconds at the flag. Michael Graham took fourth spot from Anderson, who set fastest lap.
The usual suspects were in action in race two, but closer together this time and it took all of the 13 laps to sort out the order after Mark Stewart and Derek Graham circulated side-by-side for much of the contest. Stewart gained an advantage on the final tour, while Michael Graham, Anderson and Paul Stewart were equally close as they crossed the line behind.
David Mccullough started his Van Diemen RF01 from pole for both of the poorly supported Formula Ford 1600 races despite two uncharacteristic spins during qualifying. And in both it was Mccullough who stayed ahead of Dave Parks’s borrowed Ray all the way, with Alan Davidson’s Mondiale third from the similar, but overheating, car of Brandon Mccaughan.
The top two were undisturbed in the second race, while mechanical problems sidelined both the Mondiales, allowing Henry Campbell’s Reynard to take the third podium spot.
Saloons and Mazda MX-5S kicked things off at the start of the day, and provided Peter Baxter with the chance to stamp his authority on the field – which he duly did, his SEAT winning race one by almost 50s from the BMW M3 of Ralph Jess. Donal O’neill’s older SEAT, which had been damaged in a practice encounter with Baxter at the Hairpin, was the only other unlapped runner.
It looked as though race two would provide the same podium party, but
O’neill dropped back in the closing stages, allowing Greer Wray to claim the place in his BMW 330i. Newcomer Gareth Blaine topped the BMW field in the opener, but dropped out of race two. The concurrent MX-5 battles went to Gavin Kilkey in the first encounter, while Francie Allen took the spoils in the second.
Jim Larkham and his Radical PR06 dominated both Roadsports races, but this time he had some family opposition in the shape of nephew Steven in a similar car. In the first race, ‘Uncle Jim’ finished 10s clear of Steven, with the Radical Clubsport of Brian Elliott third. An opening lap adventure in the second race dropped Steven to the tail of the field, while John Stewart took the runner-up spot in his PR06 ahead of Bernard Foley’s Crossle. Steven eventually placed fifth, but had the consolation of setting fastest lap as he fought back.
Superkarts was the odd category out from the double winners, as instead there was a treble victor! All three races fell to Aaron Newell, from Alan Witherow and Brian Jones.