Meath drivers bid for podium in Abarth Cup
THE second round of the Fiat Punto Abarth Cup last month at Mondello Park featured a number of Meath competitors who continue to impress including Simon Quinn and Paul Copeland.
Veterans of the competition include local man Quinn, Nigel Pratt, Gordon Kellett and Liam Denning, but this year the new kids on the block are keen to make their presence felt.
Newcomers to this class include Copeland, Andrew Stewart and Darragh Brennan and that trio are no strangers to the world of motorsport. They have chosen the Abarth Cup in which to showcase their talents for 2008.
The series was only introduced in 2002 and is now enjoying a dramatic resurgence in popularity with 17 drivers competing in this year's championship.
Quinn and Copeland continue to do Meath proud in the 2008 competition and slot in just behind the 'Big Five' in the overall standings, Copeland is currently "best of the rest" in sixth place.
Copeland carries with him a wealth of experience from racing Puntos while another name familiar to Meath is that of Noel Greene of Jackie Greene Construction. He is currently developing commercial sites in Dunshaughlin and can look to a third place finish in the championship last year. He is in fifth place in the overall standings.
The inaugural race at the end of March was a shakedown for many of the drivers, but the second round of the season saw them relax into the competition.
For the first race, a damp track demanded respect, but some quick times were posted and at the end of the first session, the top five drivers were Denning, Greene, Kellett, Clive Pratt and Nigel Pratt.
The second race was on a dry track and the front-runners battled for maximum points with only one second between the second to fifth placed drivers.
Denning finished 1.7 seconds clear of the rest of the pack and there was no change in the finishing order of the top five drivers.
With a fantastic competition underway, the third round of the series is scheduled for the weekend of 17th May and will be televised on Setanta Sport. Visit the website: www.onthelimitsports.com for details and listings.
DUNBOYNE
The 2008 Dunboyne Motor Club committee have just announced an ambitious plan to hold a festival weekend celebrating the 50th anniversary of racing at the former road circuit.
Racing at the venue took place for a decade between 1957 and 1967 and chairman Sean Henry complimented the event committee's for their hard work since the inception of the club in 2006.
"When you look at the organisation of these events and the crowds it draws to our village you can see the amount of work that is required to make them a success and this year will be no different," he commented.
"We are going to organise this anniversary event for the last weekend in September and have a number of planned from Friday 26th to Sunday 28th which will include music and entertainment for a good family day out," he added.
The committee plan to have the old meeting the new with motorbikes and cars from the era present along with modern racing teams such as the Irish A1 GP team and drivers Adam Carroll and Dunboyne's Niall Quinn.
The Irish Sidecar Racing team who will be participating in the TT races later this year will also be present and have their awesome race machines on view.
The organising committee is: chairman - Sean Henry, vice-chairman - Gary Cannon, secretary - Susan Ginnell, treasurer - Paula Digan, PRO - Ken O'Shea, members - Michael Meenan, Matt Carroll, Dan Daly, Eamonn Keaney, Philip Ginnell.