McLoughlin out for repeat

PAUL MCLOUGHLIN from Greystones is aiming for a second Irish Motorcycle Trials championship title, and a good result in tomorrow's Terry Hilt Trophy Trial at Saintfield, Co Down, will see him well on his way to repeating last year's win. Southern - riders were best in the three top grades last season - McLoughlin was the outright victor as grade A winner, Philip Harris of Saggart won grade B and another Dublin rider Alan Claffery took the grade C honours.

In the junior A class, young Ulster rider Gareth Andrews had a winning margin of six points over Stuart Martin of Ashford.

This year will see a re introduction of an Irish motocross championship, comprising three events in the North and three in the Republic. The dates are: March 23rd Cookstown MCC; April 21st - Munster MC and CC; 28th Irish MCC; June 29th Robert Blair memorial motocross; August 10th - Lisburn MCC; September 29th - Irish Schoolboy MCC.

Bertie Fisher in the Subaru Impreza and Liam O'Callaghan in the latest Toyota Celica GT4 will contest the Statoil Galway International Rally on February 17th and 18th. Coras Vard national rally champions of the past two years will also be in action, 1994 champion Michael Farrell in the Coras Subaru Legacy and reigning champion Stephen Mushy at the wheel of the Statoil Ford Escort RS Cosworth. Other quick Escort Cosworths will be driven by James Cullen, Eamom Boland, former national champion Peadar Hurson, Eamonn Boland and Welshman Bob Fowden.

This year's route will feature many changes from recent years. The first car will depart from Eyre Square at 9.15 on the Saturday morning, the first day's format consisting of three loops of three stages in the Loughrea Ballinasloe areas of East County Galway, with service centralised in Loughrea.

The Sunday action starts with Dyke Road stage close to the Galway Shopping Centre, 11.0, followed by 2 x 3 stages in the Oranmore Loughrea Athenry area, with centralised service at Athenry mart.

Round five of the Woodchester Credit Lyonnais national navigation rally championship is this weekend's 1000 Shakes Rally run by the Cork Motor Club. Starting from Christy's Hotel, Blarney, this night event will cover approximately, 150 miles on OS sheets 21 and 24.

Dermol Carnegie, the Dublin veteran of test trials and rallycross, is expected to introduce his newly acquired Escort Cosworth in the Mondello rallycross on February 11th. He will also take in a number of European rallycross championship rounds this year. In between rallycross, he competes in Hewison Trophy autotests and is currently lying 10th in the championship.

Carnegie's competition career spans four decades. He won his first of a record 10 Hewison trophy championships in 1967. He took the British rallycross championship two years in a row, 1994 and 95 driving a Metro 6R4.