The recent ladies race at Ballymena Raceway on April 26 not only proved to be a huge success on the track, but in the fundraising stakes as well. The ladies raised a stunning total of £6,313.01 for Cancer Focus Northern Ireland and presented a cheque to the charity’s Community Fundraising Officer Rosie Forsythe at the Raceway meeting on May 3.

The money collected will be used to support cancer patients and their families in Northern Ireland and the Raceway management would like to offer their congratulations to everyone who took part, helped out and donated on a simply superb effort.

Saloon Stock-Cars 2013 UK Masters Championship

A Champion Display from Darby

Eddie Darby underlined just why he is the current Saloon Stock Car World Champion with an imperious display to win the RW Signs sponsored UK Masters Championship at Ballymena Raceway on May 11. The Saloons treated the crowd to some of the best action seen on the province’s ovals this year with Darby, on his first ever visit to the Showgrounds arena, the star of the show. The Champ made his intentions clear from the start with a victory in the opening heat, before Sheffield’s Steve Webster took the honours in heat two. The two heat winners occupied the front row for the final, with Irish Champion Ryan Wright on row two after a couple of great runs in the qualifiers, but hopes of a home win faded when Wright went for a wild ride on the Raceway wall in the final. Darby had no such problems and kept his cool throughout an incident packed final to claim the UK Masters title after a dominant drive. Scottish red tops Stuart Drobinski and Alistair Strachan completed the podium finishers, with George Boult Jnr. an excellent fourth on his first visit to Raceway and Anthony McIvor the best of the home drivers in fifth.

Another champion in great form was Stock Rod Irish Champion Stevie McNiece, who once again saved his best for the big occasion to capture the Irish Grand Prix. Jonathan Lattka followed McNiece home, with European Champion Chris Lattka in third. The other Curtis Cars sponsored silverware for the support races went the way of Samuel Montgomery in the Group Two Lightning Rod final and James Goldie in the Speed Stocks division.

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sponsored by: RW Signs, Ronnie Wright Motors & Curtis Cars

National Hot-Rods 2013 WQR 11

Simply Simon!

A number of competitors delivered first class performances at Ballymena Raceway on May 3 with no less than nine different drivers recording their first race wins of the 2013 season at the Showgrounds circuit. Pride of place on the winners list went to Simon Kennedy as his success in the second National Hot Rod race of the evening was not only his first of 2013, but also his first ever victory in the elite National division! Kennedy didn’t have to wait long for his next one either, as the Dungannon driver repeated the trick in the meeting final to earn the silverware after a great effort in his Vauxhall Tigra. During an evening of awkward track conditions the firsts theme continued throughout the other final winners, with Christopher Kincaid (F2 Stock Cars), Stewart Nicholl (Group 2 Lightning Rods) and Republic of Ireland visitor Colm O’Sullivan (Stock Rods) all securing their first Raceway silverware of 2013 at the Cirrus Plastics sponsored meeting.

sponsored by: Cirrus Plastics

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Leslie McConnell has stepped down from his duties as Steward of the Meeting at Ballymena Raceway. The management would like to sincerely thank Leslie for all his hard work at the track over the years and wish him good luck for the future.

The position as Steward of the Meeting at Ballymena Raceway has been filled by Derek Fullerton. Derek is well known in oval racing circles and formerly competed in the Stock Rod class between 1997 and 2002. More recently Derek has been a valued member of the safety marshal team at the track and is also one of the main organisers behind the very successful Ballymena Car Fest.

Derek assumed his new role for the first time at our meeting on April 26 and as previously Darren Black will continue to steward the National Hot Rod events and Ian Thompson the BriSCA F2 races at Ballymena.

Ballymena Raceway would like to remind drivers and their team members on the level of conduct expected from them at any ORC sanctioned track. Abusive or threatening behaviour towards any member of the track staff or stadium stewards will not be tolerated. A driver is responsible for their pit crew and family members, and if their behaviour in any way disrupts a race meeting the driver’s racing license may be suspended or even withdrawn completely.

Representations to the Steward of the Meeting questioning a declared result or results must be made by the licensed driver only on the day of the race concerned in order that lap sheets, witnesses and/or video evidence may be referred to in order to verify the result. No other member of the track staff should be approached regarding such queries. The Steward’s decision is final, but appeal procedures may be employed in cases where doubt exists.

In certain circumstances drivers may be asked to report to the Steward of the Meeting at race control to resolve disputes and queries. No other member of the race team is permitted to attend these discussions, apart from those involving junior drivers where a parent should also be present.  

Please note that the booking in system is still in operation and that all drivers must book in either via the official Raceway website (www.ballymenaraceway.com) or by completing the signing-in sheets located in the scruitneering shed.  Drivers who have not booked in MAY be asked to start at the rear of the grid for the complete race meeting.

Thank you for your co-operation.

RACHEL’S ROYAL APPOINTMENT

She may have been the youngest lady competing in the event, but sixteen year old Rachel Hamill produced a performance way beyond her tender years to be crowned the Queen of Speed at Ballymena Raceway on April 26. The ladies were participating in a special charity event to raise money for Cancer Focus Northern Ireland and confirmed they could race just as well as the men by putting on three very entertaining contests. Rachel split the heat wins with Caroline McNeilly before the pair fought out a good clean battle in the trophy race where the final spot on the podium went to Lorraine Davison. Every one of the fifteen ladies who took part can feel proud of their efforts and more importantly they all helped to raise money for a great cause.

In the regular classes at the Bevan Motorsport sponsored meeting there was a hat-trick of wins for Ross Houston in the Saloon Stock Cars. The former Irish Open Champion was in top form all evening and rattled of three comfortable victories with Mark Hughes and Irish Champion Ryan Wright his closest challengers in the final, which was the opening round of the Shoot Out Series.

Interest in the Speed Stock class continues to grow, with former Stock Rod racer Roger Glass the latest to join the ranks, but one thing that stays the same is a final win for Billy Finnegan Jnr. The Flying Finn made it 5 final wins out of 5 since the formula was launched at Easter, but left this one very late indeed and only snatched the lead from Stewart Nicholl on the very last lap.  Nicholl had earlier shared the heat wins with James Goldie.

The Junior Rods completed the classes on display and it was Aaron Moody who powered home for a great win in the final, his first of the 2013 season. Adam Brogan and Niall McFerran completed the top three finishers in the trophy race, while the heat races went the way of Dean McCrory and Antony Kincaid.

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sponsored by: Bevan Motorsport

S-EXPRESS First final wins of season for Smyth and Sloan

The Queen of Speed race for the ladies may be approaching shortly, but Liscinda Smyth proved once again that she is still the Raceway’s original fast lady with a demon drive to win the Group Two Lightning Rod final on April 19. If the ladies needed any inspiration to get onto track for the charity race on April 26 then they need look no further than Liscinda who led the men a merry dance to collect the GP2 silverware ahead of Greg McMullan and Shane Gault.

In the Stock Rod section Carl Sloan dashed Victor McAfee’s hat-trick hopes with a determined drive in the final. McAfee had blasted to a brace of heat wins, the second of which after a real nail-biter finish with Graham Young, but was forced to settle for the runner-up spot in the final, with Irish Champion Stevie McNiece in third.

The Junior Rods provided their usual mixture of thrills and spills and the action became too fraught in the final where a sequence of incidents during two attempted starts led to the race being abandoned. Earlier the heat wins had been shared between impressive white top Antony Kincaid and Irish Champion Dean McCrory.

The Flying Finn, Billy Finnegan, maintained his one hundred percent final record in the Speed Stocks division to make it four final wins out of four so far in 2013. Two more new additions joined the numbers on Friday evening and it was one of the newcomers, Stewart Nicholl, who claimed the opening heats, with GP2 Irish Champion Curtis Greer the victor in heat two. Regrettably Calvin Blake was the only 1300 Stock Car to support the meeting and Calvin ran alongside the Speed Stocks all evening to complete the simplest of trophy wins.

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Stock-Rods William Cooke Memorial Trophy

More Honours for McNiece

CHAMPION SHOW

The champions set the pace at the Ballymena Raceway meeting on April 12 with three of the four final wins falling to one of our current Irish Champions. In the Stock Rod division Stevie McNiece continued his impressive start to the new campaign by adding the William Cooke Memorial Trophy to the Yokohama Championship which the Irish Champion won over Easter. McNiece was followed home in the Darrell Hanna Auto Repairs backed event by Jonny Cardwell and Victor McAfee.

Another Irish Champion on top form was Ryan Wright, who christened his new car with a fine heat and final double in the Saloon Stock Cars. Ross Houston denied Wright a perfect hat-trick with victory in the opening heat. The champions grip on proceedings was extended by Dean McCrory in the Junior Rods. The Antrim lad retained the Next Gen Cup with a heroic last lap swoop around long time leaders Cara Wightman and Antony Kincaid in a thrilling conclusion to the PMF Contracts backed event.

The Group Two Lightning Rods proved to be the only class which bucked the trend as the lower grades continued to dominate. After heats wins for Rodney Fleck and Darrell Hanna it was yellow top Simon McLaughlin who capped a solid evening’s work with a well judged victory in the GP2 final.

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Darrell Hanna Auto Repairs & PMF Contracts

Stock-Rods 2013 Yokohama Championship

#65 Stevie McNiece starts of season in style

Stock-Rods 2013 Irish Open Championship

#658 Chris 'Gunner' Lattka - yes at last after 15 years!

The 2013 season at Ballymena Raceway burst into action over the Easter weekend with a championship double header for the Stock Rod formula forming the centrepiece of the weekend action. Unfortunately the weather was more akin to that normally associated with Christmas rather the Easter, but the bitterly cold conditions could not prevent the competitors serving up some hot action on the track, with visitors from Scotland and the Republic of Ireland joining the best from the province to contest the Yokohama and Irish Open championships. After two days of tough competition the honours were shared between the home drivers and the visitors, with Irish Champion Stevie McNiece clinching the S. McAfee & Son Car Sales sponsored Yokohama Championship on Good Friday and Scotland’s Chris Lattka victorious in the Gilmore Engineering Irish Open title on Saturday evening.

In the other classes Andrew Murray marked his return to the National Hot Rod World Qualifying Series with a faultless hat trick of wins on Good Friday. This meeting also featured the launch of the Speed Stocks formula, with Billy Finnegan proving to be the class of the field on their debut appearance. Gary Blair was another driver celebrating a treble after a dominant display in the opening round of the F2 Stock Car Grand Prix Series on Easter Saturday, with the other final wins over the weekend going the way of Bradley McKinstry in the Junior Rods, plus Jonny Gillespie and Greg McMullan in the Group Two Lighting Rods.

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Ballymena Raceway is delighted to welcome onboard P&O Ferries as an official partner for 2013. P&O Ferries offer the shortest and fastest most frequent sailings to and from Scotland with a comprehensive timetable of sailings from Larne to either Cairnryan or Troon. A substantial investment programme in their Irish Sea ports and ships ensures a convenient and comfortable crossing every time.

P&O Ferries will offer assistance for visiting drivers travelling to International events at Ballymena Raceway and Nutts Corner Raceway during 2013 and will also provide great deals for National Hot Rod, BriSCA F2 and Inter Speed licence holders travelling from Northern Ireland to the UK mainland for the following championships.

Assistance will only apply to the following list of 2013 International events.

Any driver wishing to travel via P&O must also inform the Ballymena Raceway promotion.

Drivers can email bmrovalracing@yahoo.co.uk if they wish to receive a booking form.

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Another excellent year of oval racing lies in store at Ballymena Raceway during 2013 with twenty-two action packed fixtures planned for the new season. All your existing favourite classes are back again for more in 2013 where they will be joined on the regular roster by the Speed Stocks. Raceway plans to introduce this exciting formula during the new season with ten fixtures scheduled for the class, the first of which takes place at the season opener on Good Friday, March 29th.

One week earlier however there will be an opportunity for the drivers to put the finishing touches to their new season preparations at the Raceway practice evening on Saturday 23rd. March (5pm to 8pm).  The Test n Tune session will be the first opportunity to sample the recent resurfacing work at the track and drivers can book in with the promotion by emailing bmrovalracing@yahoo.co.uk

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