Six times Hewison Trophy winner Eamonn Byrne (Delgany) leads the 1998/99 autotest series by five points after winning the first four rounds of the new season.
Byrne on 100 points leads J. J. Farrell (95), veteran 10-time Hewison record holder Dermot Carnegie (90), Paddy Power (83) Liam Cashman (75), Sam Johnston (74), Andrew O'Donoghue (67), Chris Grimes (64), Paul Phelan (60) and Frank Lenehan (57).
The class leaders are: Conor McCormack, Liam Cashman, Eamonn Byrne, Christopher Evans, and in Class E there is a two-way tie between Frank Lenehan and James Pringle. In the novice championship, Mike Mulcahy on 13 points leads Simon Echlin and Joanna Lenehan both on 12, with Robert Beamish on nine. The autotest scene moves west this weekend, with two rounds, at Ballinasloe tomorrow and Sligo on Sunday. The third mud plug of the winter season is tomorrow's sporting trial run by the Garda Siochana Motor Club at Kilmolin, Enniskerry.
On Sunday the West Cork Motor Cycle Club run their first drag races over a new course at Old Chapel, Bandon in west Cork. There will be classes for all bikes, from 125cc to Super Street bikes, pre-73 and pre-86 machines.
A new racing saloon class is proposed for '99, which has possibilities of expanding into a Pan European class if the UK and Belgium join in. The cars will be identical RT2000's, based on a full racing chassis and powered by two-litre Ford Zetec engine developing 210bhp. The cars will be supplied by Mondello-based RaceTec, and the contacts for full details are John Morris or Jonathan Taylor (045) 860200.
The Belfast-based Crossle Car Company, now being run by Arnie Black, hope to run a sports racing class for the beautifully engineered and built Crossle 9S as driven to victory at Mondello, Kirkistown and Phoenix Park this year by Black.
In fact, he set the fastest lap and race speeds at Phoenix Park. The Crossle 9S with Opel or Ford engine would be a serious alternative to the two top single-seater racing car classes, Formula Opel and Formula Ford Zetec. Arnie Black can be contacted at Holywood (Co Down) on (080) 232 763332.
