Woolsey and McNeice Grab Easter Glory At Tullyroan

A super Easter Saturday evening saw the holiday crowd treated to some competitive racing at Tullyroan Oval. Portadown stalwart Gary Woolsey took victory in Round 9 of National Hot Rods Diemens.com World Series NI, whilst Randalstown’s Sam McNeice took a commanding win in the Stock Rods Northern Ireland Open. Portadown teenager Daniel Stewart took a polished heat and final double in the 1300 Stock Cars, whilst the Lightning Rods silverware fell to James McKinney from Strabane.

A healthy 17 car field of National Hot Rods came under starters orders, with the opening heat falling to the Ginetta of Scotch Street’s Gary Woolsey. Nigel McCauley and Jordan McCann chased him home, before McCann improved to win heat two ahead of Glenn Bell who had driven a great race to second.
The final was a fantastic encounter too, with Woolsey quickly hitting the front but he was then reeled in by the pack nearing the end. McCauley and Shane Murray mounted attacks for the top spot, but Woolsey remained resolute and took the win and a new tyre courtesy of sponsors Diemens Hot Sauces. Murray, McCauley, Adam Maxwell and John Christie completed the places.

The local Stock Rod drivers were joined by drivers from Scotland and the Republic of Ireland for the Northern Ireland Open. A superb heat one saw Stevie McNiece and Sam McNeice battling hard for the lead, with Stevie coming back hard late on in heavy backmarking traffic. Sam just held on for the win ahead of Stevie and defending title holder Jonny Cardwell. Heat two saw World Champion Dan Shannon take the win, even overcoming a late race restart to hang on ahead of Mark Crawford and impressive Scottish teenager Robbie Armit.
The final paired McNeice and Crawford on the front row, with Sam pushing hard early on to squeeze an advantage which he extended as the race went on. As he came home for a fantastic title victory, Declan O’Connor also impressed many with his run to second ahead of Shannon and Scottish star Siobhan Martin.

The 1300 Stock Cars were bruising as normal, with a late caution in the opening heat providing a stunning finish. The bumpers, and the lead, were swapped numerous times before Robbie Wright got the nod on the line ahead of Daniel Stewart and Gary Freeburn. Heat two and the final were then all about Stewart, as the teenage Junior Productions graduate grabbed both heat two and the final in some style. Heat two saw Freeburn and Bobbie Johnston fill out the top three, before Wright and Irish Champion Matthew Milliken were the placemen in the final.
A Dash for Cash, sponsored by Autoweld Belfast, completed the proceedings and after some heavy hitting it was Wright who took the win.

A new era dawned for the Lightning Rods with some rule changes over the winter, and it was debutant Conor Doherty who took the win in the opening heat after a great drive in his superbly presented BMW. Dermot Tynan and James McKinney were next home, before McKinney went on to win heat two ahead of Tynan and Ross Houston.
Doherty hit the front on the final, but some superb moves in the traffic from McKinney saw him swoop around the outside to complete an outstanding double for the evening, ahead of Ian Hobson and Tynan.

Double for Murray at Great Season Opener

The 2024 Ulster oval racing season began in fine style at Tullyroan Oval on Saturday evening, with all five formulas on show producing great action for the big crowd on hand. Galgorm’s former British and European Champion Shane Murray claimed a heat and final double in the eighth round of National Hot Rods Diemens.com World Series NI.
Bleary’s Drew McKeown came out on top in a keenly contested 2.0 Hot Rods category, with other feature race winners being Dungannon’s David McMenemy in the Superstox, young Antrim ace Leyton Hughes (Junior Productions) and Garvagh’s Stephen Boyd (Rookie Bangers).

There was a three way fight at the front of the opening National Hot Rods heat between Andrew Stewart, Nigel McCauley and Glenn Bell, with Stewart getting shuffled wide as Bell came through to take the chequered flag. The Stewards adjudged Bell to be the cause of Stewart’s demise, and he was unfortunately docked two places which handed the victory to Shane Murray. McCauley led the way for most of heat two, before he hit trouble which saw a clear victory go to World Champion Derek Martin.
A shower during the opening laps of the final made things very slippery for the drivers, all of whom were on slick tyres. McCauley again led the way with Bell and Murray squabbling behind. Bell romped through to take the win on the road, but once again fell foul of the Stewards for contact to get past Murray on the tricky surface. Murray thus inherited the win and with it the silverware and new tyre from series sponsors Diemens Hot Sauces. McCauley took second ahead of the demoted Bell.

A fantastic 2.0 Hot Rods field in the mid-twenties produced a dramatic opening heat, which saw a number of stoppages and penalties handed down. Former World Champion Andy Best from Dungannon came through with a fine drive to take the win ahead of Allen Cherry and Ally Neill, before Londonderry driver Colin McFarland just held on to take heat two despite the advances of Cherry on the outside line over the closing stages. Colin got the nod on the line by just 0.014 seconds!
The final saw young Junior Productions graduate Jake Devlin set the early pace, as McFarland and Best tripped over each other behind. That opened the door for former European and Irish Champion Drew McKeown to steal through to the lead, and he went on to record a convincing win over Best and Conor Hughes.

The bumpers were exchanged hard all evening in the Superstox, with the opening heat falling to the new car of Dean Catherwood on its race debut, as he held off Davy Clarke and David McMenemy. Heat two saw an atrocious start with some away much too soon on the rolling lap, with Curtis Greer coming home in first place. He was one of those who was penalised for the jump start, which handed the win to World Champion Craig McConnell over Steven Haugh.
Troy Crawford and then Clarke led the final, before McMenemy bumpered his way to the front on lap 8. Over the closing laps Davy had Lee Davison bearing down hard on him, but McMenemy held on for a morale boosting victory over Davison and Haugh.

The Rookie Bangers entertained all evening, with Marc Morrell coming through to take the win in the opening heat ahead of Gavin Gamble. Heat two was very lively as Phillip Farrell took a great win over Morrell and Chris Herron.
The final had a bit of everything, as Farrell hit the front and looked a great bet until he was baulked by a backmarker. That opened the door for Irish Champion Stephen Boyd to hit the front, and he superbly withstood a last corner attack from Morrell to claim the silverware. Morrell and Farrell filled the places.

An excellent entry of 17 Junior Productions took to the track, with the young drivers showing some great skill during the evening with some spectacular racing. Recent Ninja Karts graduate Jack Morrison held his nerve to win the opening heat after a fine drive, ahead of Cole McGann and Lauren Berry. Heat two saw another novice in Caolan Fegan lead until half distance when Leyton Hughes swooped past to lead. There was a late caution, after which Callum Doak superbly came through for the win ahead of Hughes and Andrew Russell.
Tom Hewitt showed well out front early in the final, but there was no stopping Hughes in this one as he powered to the front. Once again a late caution brought the field together but Leyton held on for a great win despite the best efforts of placemen Doak and Matthew Weir.

Martin Masterclass at Aghadowey Festive Meeting

National Hot Rods World Champion Derek Martin was the star of the show at Aghadowey Oval on Saturday 30th December, the Dungannon man revelling in the tricky conditions to complete a faultless hat-trick of wins.
English youngster Charlie Weston took victory in an outstanding Ninja Karts Stars of Tomorrow Challenge, whilst the other feature race winners were Antrim’s Ryan McCrory (2.0 Hot Rods), Armagh’s Mark Foster (Stock Rods) and Ballymoney driver Neil Capper (Thunder Rods). The holiday meeting finished with a fantastic Caravan Destruction Derby which fell to Limavady’s Matthew Nicholl.

Drew McKeown settled into the lead in the opening National Hot Rods heat, but as always most eyes were on the squabbling pack of star grade drivers making strides forward from the rear of the line up. The stand out man was Derek Martin, the World Champion using the wide outside line to move towards the head of the field. When he arrived on McKeown’s tail he went straight to the outside line, swooping ahead for a stunning win over Adam Maxwell and McKeown.
The second hear followed a similar pattern, with Martin again coming home victorious ahead of John Christie and Nigel McCauley. The final, Round 7 of Diemens.com World Series NI, saw the expected Martin domination once again. In a masterclass of greasy circuit driving, the World Champion romped home to collect the silverware and a new tyre courtesy of series sponsors Diemens Hot Sauces. In addition, Derek also claimed the DMC Race Promotions Points Championship which runs across the calendar year, for which he received another excellent trophy and four more race tyres courtesy of sponsors Cirrus Plastics.

A field of over 30 Ninja Karts saw the 6-11 year olds descend on Aghadowey from all corners of the British Isles for the Stars of Tomorrow Challenge. Cullybackey’s Keegan Turtle took a last bend win in the opening qualifying heat, before heat two went the way of Hampshire racer Charlie Weston. The third heat saw Rowdy Grattan come home out front for another NI win.
With all thirty karts in the final it was a sight to behold as they headed off into the first bend at breakneck speed. As the race settled down it was Ahoghill’s Lewis Hazlett who was ahead of a superb places battle. The drivers had to contend with a couple of caution periods during the race, and after a late one with just two laps to go Weston found a gap to overtake Hazlett and come home to take the title for England in a sensational finish. Hazlett was great value in second ahead of Cumbria driver Jayden Jeffrey.

The 2.0 Hot Rods were joined by England’s Mitch Souter and Scotland’s David Frame for the afternoon, with Drew McKeown first home in the opening heat only to be docked two places in the final analysis for contact. That elevated Conor Hughes to the win ahead of Ryan McCrory. McKeown, who was doubling up in both the National and 2.0 Hot Rods, made no mistake in heat two, slipping past leader McCrory with three laps to go to take the win over Hughes.
The final saw a great, race-long tussle between McKeown and Hughes, but all the while McCrory was making his escape out front. Ryan held on to win after a perfect drive, ahead of McKeown, Hughes and Adam Best.

A competitive field of Stock Rods, including some welcome Republic of Ireland & Scottish visitors, contested three fine races, with the opening heat falling to British and National Champion Mark Crawford after on the road winner Dan Shannon copped a huge penalty for contact. Heat two saw a superb drive from Kells star Adam Sloan to take the victory, ahead of Colin McNiece and Stevie McNiece.
Liam Irwin led the opening laps of the final before Mark Foster was this time the first to show from the pack. Mark continued to pull clear out front to take a commanding win, the Armagh man coming home ahead of Sloan, Callum Magill and Rab Preston.

Liam Wilson made a return to the ovals in the Thunder Rods division and promptly took both heat wins! The first came as he just held off Andrew McLean at the line, before the second was much more accomplished ahead of Tom Archibald.
The final saw Neil Capper demote early leader Ryan Cunningham to hit the front, with Neil then extending his advantage all the way home to the chequered flag. The impressive McLean and Irish Champion James Goldie were next home.

A very entertaining Caravan Destruction Derby completed the programme, with Ian Bolton, David Gurney, Andy Hearst and Paul Crooks all excelling as they entertained the holiday crowds. They drove through the caravans and demolished them all around the track, but it was Limavady’s Matthew Nicholl who took the honours as the last man standing.

Gurney Stars In Boxing Day Big Van Bangers

An entertaining Boxing Day race meeting at Tullyroan Oval produced some fine race action for the bumper crowd on hand. The Big Van Bangers entertained as always with some spectacular crashes as David Gurney from Londonderry took the Van-dalism silverware. Other feature race winners included Cullybackey's Ryan Wright in the Lightning Rods and a hat-trick for Cork's Cole McGann in the Junior Productions, whilst Bangor's World Champion Craig McConnell took the Superstox honours whilst Phillip Farrell from Monaghan won an excellent Rookie Bangers Festive Challenge.

The Big Van Bangers always star at Tullyroan Oval over the festive period, and this time around was no different. There was carnage right from the first green flag, with Stevo McGrath and Tony Gillespie well involved. Dave Haugh picked up some huge damage as David Gurney in his Amazon-lookalike Transit took the Van-dalism victory over Paul Compelli and McGrath.
Compelli then picked up huge damage in a very lively Allcomers event, which saw Gurney again take the honours. An excellent Destruction Derby boiled down to a fight between McGrath’s huge mini-bus and Gurney, which Stevo came out on top in to take the honours.

Some very welcome Tipperary Raceway regulars bolstered the Lightning Rods grid which led to some great racing throughout the meeting. Dermot Tynan got the early break in the opening heat to race clear and record a popular win with Trevor O'Brien in second. Heat two saw a welcome win for Gerry Rodgers as he held off the advances of Ian Hobson and Ryan Wright.
The final was all about Wright however, the usual Saloon Stock Car man behind the wheel of the borrowed Ross Houston BMW for the afternoon. More often seen working in Race Control at Tullyroan meetings, Ryan quickly hit the front and managed to stave off some tough late opposition from O’Brien, Tynan and Hobson to collect the silverware in style.

The Rookie Bangers were as eventful as always, with Josh Goligher coming through to take the win in the opening heat ahead of his brother Lucas and Stephen Boyd. The brothers swapped places in heat two, Lucas this time leading home Josh with Boyd again in third.
Phillip Farrell was the man who made the break at the start of the final, the Monaghan driver racing clear into a lead he would never lose. Josh Goligher chased hard but couldn’t quite get on terms, with Boyd taking third spot.

An excellent field of Junior Productions took to the grid, with Cork’s Cole McGann the star of the show all afternoon. After a brush with the wall in practice, Cole was quickly in his stride to win heat one from Andrew Russell and Leyton Hughes. Some sterling pit work to change an engine between races saw Callum Doak astonishingly back in action for heat two, with McGann again the winner from Alfie Litter and Lauren Berry.
A further handicap on the grid for his two heat wins didn’t deter McGann in the final, and even with a mid race caution he held the star names at bay to complete a perfect hat-trick for the day. Matthew Weir, Hughes and Andrew Hawe completed the places.

A depleted field of Superstox for this out-of-season fixture saw the heat wins shared between Lee Davison and Gerard Hartley, before World Champion Craig McConnell came to the fore in the final to take the trophy ahead of Davison and Steven Haugh.

Merry Christmas From DMC Race Promotions

DMC Race Promotions would like to wish all our drivers, race fans, sponsors and staff a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

We hope to see everyone at our festive fixtures at Tullyroan Oval on Boxing Day and Aghadowey Oval on December 30th

Irish Title Victories For McNiece, Goldie and Dawson-Stirling

The curtain came down on the 2033 race season at Aghadowey Oval on Saturday night with a full programme of championship events. The on track action was right from the top drawer all evening, with Irish Championship success falling to Ballymena’s James Goldie (Thunder Rods), Enniskillen’s Stevie McNiece (Stock Rods) and Crumlin’s Riley Dawson-Stirling (Ninja Karts). Dungannon’s Simon Kennedy scooped the coveted Richard Turtle Memorial Cup for National Hot Rods, while Portadown’s Jordan Robinson was victorious in the Superstox King of Aghadowey.

It was wet for the Stock Rods Irish Championship event, which saw Stevie McNiece take the lead from pole position ahead of Sam McNeice and Mark Crawford. Sam was trying everything he knew to get on terms but just couldn’t get close enough to the leader to mount a challenge. Stevie came home to take the Irish Championship crown with Sam in second, while Declan O’Connor, after a great run from down the grid, landed third after a fine drive.
O’Connor then continued his good form with victory in the Irish Revenge in what was another excellent race. Adam Sloan and Rab Preston filled the places.

James Goldie quickly turned his pole position in to the lead in the Thunder Rods Irish Championship, the Vauxhall Astra driver edging clear in the early stages on a damp track. But his big rival Daniel Rodgers came fighting back hard, and for much of the latter stages he was challenging for the lead position. Goldie kept all under control despite the efforts of Rodgers, and James took the chequered flag and the Irish Championship title. Daniel was a very gallant runner up after an excellent championship race.
The reversed grid Irish Revenge event, sponsored by McLaughlin Plumbing & Heating, was a fantastic race until it all went wrong entering the home straight late on, with cars spearing off in all directions. Through the melee came Ballymena’s David Reynolds to grab the win ahead of Neil Capper.

The National Hot Rods gridded an impressive field of 17 cars for round 6 of Diemens.com World Series NI and the Richard Turtle Memorial Cup, including a formula debut for former 2.0 Hot Rods European and Irish Champion Drew McKeown.
Heat one saw a great drive by Cork’s Ian Riordan to grab a well deserved win, with McKeown impressing in second ahead of John Christie. Heat two was wet, and the recent rain-master Adam Maxwell was on top form. The British Champion scythed through the field to win at a canter, ahead of Shane Murray and World Champion Derek Martin.
Before the Richard Turtle Memorial Cup final the wet track was drying, leaving the drivers with a headache as to tyre choice. The correct choice turned out to be 4 wets as the circuit just didn’t dry enough. One of those on the wrong choice was Glenn Bell, who went for an early spin and took Martin with him, as Dean McCrory held the lead up front.
Riordan saw his opportunity to challenge, but McCrory got the door closed just in time only to be forced wide by contact from Jeff. Riordan raced clear and took the chequered flag, but he was demoted two places in the final analysis for the contact on McCrory. That elevated Simon Kennedy to first place, and having just staved off the late advances of Christie, Simon was delighted as he collected the Richard Turtle Memorial Cup and the new tyre from World Series NI sponsors Diemens Hot Sauces.

Nineteen young stars in the Ninja Karts formula came to grid for their Irish Championship, sponsored by R J Barnett Agri Contractors. It quickly developed into a fantastic dice between Riley Dawson-Stirling and Lewis Hazlett. There was nothing between them for the whole distance of the title race, with Riley hanging on ahead out front to take a fantastic Irish title success. Hazlett came home for a deserved second ahead of Keegan Turtle and Charlie Johnston.
The Irish Revenge race saw another epic race from the young stars, with Dawson-Stirling again grabbing the win ahead of Hazlett.
The Allcomers event saw heartbreak for young Ollie Williamson, as the novice grader led right from the start and looked set to take his first ever win. Having driven superbly, he got caught up with backmarkers late on and spun off. That handed the lead to another very impressive novice in Evan Beattie, but he lost out to a flying Jake Barnett as they approached the final bend. Jake took the win with Evan excelling in second, ahead of Alan Beattie, Austin Grattan and Ethan McQuillan at the end of a fantastic final race of the season for the 6-11 year olds.

It was great to see a 17 car field of Superstox after many sustained heavy damage a week previous at Tullyroan. Brian Lammey led the opening heat but Jack Morrow came through for the win just ahead of Steven Haugh. Heat two saw Davy Clarke race clear to take a popular win ahead of Lee Davison and Jordan Robinson.
There were some robust exchanges of bumpers in the early laps of the King of Aghadowey final, with Robinson coming through to take a clear win ahead of World Champion Craig McConnell and Jamie McCann.

Hughes The Man In 2.0 Hot Rods Irish Championship

An action packed programme of events brought the racing season at Tullyroan Oval to an end on Saturday evening, October 28th. Antrim’s Conor Hughes scooped the main award of the night when he was crowned 2.0 Hot Rods Irish Champion, whilst Adam Maxwell from Crumlin managed a heat and final double in the National Hot Rods Diemens.com World Series qualifier.
Dublin’s Stevo McGrath made it three Irish Championship titles on the bounce in the Unlimited National Bangers, whilst the other feature races fell to Birches star Steven Haugh in the Superstox and World Champion Nigel Jackson in the Lightning Rods.

The atmosphere was at fever pitch as the 2.0 Hot Rods moved off on their formation laps ahead of the Irish Championship. Drew McKeown and Conor Hughes shared the front row, with Hughes getting the early edge on the outside to move ahead on the wet track. A huge battle developed for the places, but former British Champion Hughes was well clear and took the flag for a commanding win. McKeown, Wayne Woolsey and Jordan Rochford filled the places.
A keenly fought Irish Revenge race saw a great win for Ryan McCrory ahead of McKeown and Adam Best.

The National Hot Rods were contesting the fifth round of Diemens.com World Series NI, with British Champion Adam Maxwell scything through the field in the wet to take the opening heat ahead of Glenn Bell and Kenny McCann. Heat two saw Scotsman James Mooney take a very popular win, after first on the road Phil McCloy was dropped two places by the Stewards for jumping the start. Shane Murray took second in the final analysis.
The final was once again all about Maxwell as he took his second win of the evening, hitting the front after just 10 laps of the race such was his pace. World Champion Derek Martin kept him honest all the way home in second, ahead of a great battle for third which went the way of Murray over Bell.

Polesitter and defending champion Stevo McGrath was first to show in the Unlimited National Bangers Irish Championship, before being demoted by Leonard Dunn. Dave Haugh then powered ahead on his return to racing, only to then get caught up with the backmarking Kieran McIvor. Dunn seized his chance and went back ahead, only for mechanical issues to intervene almost straight away. That handed the lead back to Stevo McGrath and he claimed his hat-trick of Irish titles ahead of McIvor and Jonny Murdock.
Haugh made amends with victory in both the Irish Revenge race and the Allcomers, with the Stephen Bannon Memorial DD going to Steven Reynolds.

The opening Superstox race saw Neil Hyndman head the way for much of the distance, before being challenged late on by Craig McConnell. Craig gave it his all on the final bend, but Hyndman held on by just 0.029secs on the run to the flag. A big crash early in heat two saw McConnell in trouble and requiring medical attention, and we wish Craig well in his recovery. Steven Haugh came through to win over Hyndman and Graham Meek, before Haugh also scooped the final honours with a great drive to victory lane ahead of Hyndman and Paddy Murphy.

The Lightning Rods served up some close, competitive action all evening, with Jamie Stephens taking the opening heat over Nigel Jackson by the smallest of margins. Stephens then again got the verdict in heat two to earn himself a rise to the yellow grade, ahead of Jackson once again with Ian Hobson in third.
With Stephens relegated to further back in the line up for the final, Dermot Tynan made a great start to lead early on. Hobson then took over out front, but he had no answer to the flying Jackson who took the honours ahead of Hobson and James McKinney.

Exciting Season Finale at Tullyroan Oval

The racing season at Tullyroan Oval comes to a thrilling climax this Saturday evening, October 28th. There is something for everyone amongst the packed programme, from the super fast National Hot Rods to the Unlimited National Bangers, plus the mouth-watering 2.0 Hot Rods Irish Championship!

The 2.0 Hot Rods Irish Championship is regarded by many as the Blue Riband event of the domestic season, and quite a race lies in store. Bleary’s Drew McKeown will be keen to hang on to his title, but will face a tough challenge from the likes of double World Champion Jordan Rochford, Conor Hughes, British Champion Wayne Woolsey and Adam Best to name a few.

The National Hot Rods, the fastest cars on the local ovals, are also in action as they contest Round 5 of Diemens.com World Series NI. Dungannon’s World Champion Derek Martin scooped the Ulster title at the last meeting and will be keen to continue his dream season, whilst John Christie was on top form in the previous World Series encounter with a round the outside charge to victory. Add in British Champion Adam Maxwell and former European and British Champ Shane Murray and a thrilling evening’s entertainment lies ahead.

The Unlimited National Bangers will also contest their Irish Championship, with Dublin’s Stevo McGrath defending his title. The 2022 World Champion could be tough to beat, but no doubt the likes of Donemana driver Leonard Dunn, Stevo’s nephew Deano McGrath and Coleraine’s Kieran McIvor will be keen to claim the crown. The evening will finish with the annual Stephen Bannon Memorial Destruction Derby, where the last car moving wins!

Completing the programme will be the all action Superstox formula and the Lightning Rods, with the first race due off the grid at 6.30pm.

Dramatic Irish Title Wins For Milliken & Boyd

Two spectacular Irish Championship races topped the bill at Aghadowey Oval on Saturday night. In a 1300 Stock Cars Irish showdown that will be talked about for many years, Crumlin’s Matthew Milliken scooped the title by the slenderest of margins, whilst Garvagh’s Stephen Boyd successfully defended his Rookie Bangers Irish title in another dramatic race.
In the other formulas in action, Dungannon’s Ally Neill won in the 2.0 Hot Rods, Ballycastle driver Andrew McLean took the silverware in the Thunder Rods and Belfast’s Dylan Fegan got the better of his rivals to land the Junior Productions victory.

The tension was at fever pitch as the heavy metal 1300 Stock Cars set off on their rolling lap ahead of the much anticipated Irish Championship. The bumpers went in hard right from the off, with an early caution period with one of the pre-race favourites Gareth Halliday stranded on turn four just after Fionn Donnelly almost ended up on his side. Shortly after there was another caution, when Thomas McCrory went for a huge rollover down the back straight, from which he thankfully escaped unscathed.
At the third time of asking Matthew Milliken settled in to the lead, but he soon had Davy Wright tracking his every move. Wright kept a watching brief on Milliken’s tail, and then went for the kill into the final bend. The two thundered into the wall on the Brown Trout Bend, but Milliken was able to just stay ahead on the run to the flag by the slenderest of margins to take the Irish title. Wright was a gallant runner up with Josh McKinstry in third.
The Irish Revenge was going to have a tough job to live up to the standards of the championship race, and it was Wright who this time took the chequers over Aaron Ward and Milliken.

After the early skirmishes in the Rookie Bangers Irish Championship it was William McFaul who hit the front and began to pull clear. The backmarkers were far from kind to McFaul though, causing him all sorts of bother and allowing Boyd to get back on terms and steal through for a dramatic win. McFaul fought back to take second ahead of Gavin Gamble in third.
The Irish Revenge was another action packed encounter, with the grid reversed from the earlier championship race. McFaul made no mistake in this one as he took the win over Marc Morrell, before Gamble grabbed the chequered flag in the Dash for Cash which rounded off an exciting evening for the Rookie Bangers.

The opening 2.0 Hot Rods heat saw a welcome win for former World Champion Andy Best, who held off Ally Neill and Ryan McCrory at the flag. Andy then had a huge engine detonation in heat two which caused a caution period to clean the track, before McCrory took the win in fine style ahead of Conor Hughes and World Champion Jordan Rochford.
The final was all about Ally Neill though, as he powered clear to win with ease. Drew McKeown was closing but wasn’t just close enough so had to settle for second, with Robbie Barnett taking his best result to date in third.

The opening Thunder Rods heat brought a clear win for Joshua McMullan in a race which saw a big home straight rollover for Samuel Montgomery. Josh Young and Zack McCombe filled out the places. Heat two saw a huge battle amongst the pack, but it was Young who made the most of it to race home to the win from Tom Archibald and Andrew McLean.
Archibald and Gareth McCrory had spells out front in the final, before McLean powered ahead just before the halfway mark. As Andrew took a dominant win, returnee Karl Smyth took second ahead of leading star grade driver Daniel Rodgers and McCombe.

Newcomer Cole McGann led the opening heat for the Junior Production until he lost out to Ryan Abernethy, before Maia Thompson produced the perfect outside line run in the closing stages to snatch a superb win on the line by just 0.015 seconds! Unfortunately Maia then injured her knee and missed the remainder of the meeting - we wish her a speedy recovery.
McGann again led the second heat, but the man on the move this time was recently crowned Scottish Open Champion Callum Doak. He scythed through the field with ease to take the win in great fashion, ahead of McGann and Lauren Berry.
The final saw McGann lead the way until a late race caution was called for a stricken car. Dylan Fegan capitalised as the field were bunched together, the young Belfast ace racing clear to take the silverware ahead of Harry Minish and Doak.

Irish Championship Double Header at Aghadowey Oval

Irish Championship showdowns for 1300 Stock Cars and Rookie Bangers are the headline events this Saturday night (October 21st) at Aghadowey Oval.

The 1300 Stock cars have been on fantastic form, with over 20 cars on track at both their recent Aghadowey outings. The wall is sure to take a pounding as the big steel bumpers get put to good use.

Defending Irish Champion Jonathan Brown from Loanends will be keen to hang onto his title, whilst front row starters Matthew Milliken and Gareth Halliday be keen to grab the coveted Irish crown. Josh McKinstry, Robbie Wright and Fionn Donnelly will also have their eyes on glory, but anything can happen in full contact Stock Car racing!

More contact racing will come in the Rookie Bangers as they also contest their Irish Championship. Garvagh’s Stephen Boyd is the defending champion, and he has qualified on pole position in his quest to retain the title. Cullybackey ace Marc Morrell and Josh Goligher from Limavady will toss a coin for second and third on the grid, with Lucas Goligher up next. The Rookie Banger action is always frantic and it is sure to be a dramatic showdown.

In the Thunder Rods Ballymena rivals James Goldie and Daniel Rodgers will be favourites, with the NI Points Championship crown at stake. The season long battle is currently led by Goldie, but Rodgers will be keen to pounce should an opportunity arise as he is still within striking distance as the title chase goes down to the wire.

World Champion Jordan Rochford, British Champion Wayne Woolsey and Irish Champion Drew McKeown head the entry list in the 2.0 Hot Rods, whilst the Junior Productions will see Loughgall’s Matthew Weir return to the scene of his Irish Championship title triumph just three weeks ago. Also in action will be the recently crowned Scottish Open Champion, Callum Doak from Portadown.

The first green flag of the evening drops at 6.30pm.

Davison Takes Superstox Irish On Dramatic Night At Tullyroan

Birches racer Lee Davison was crowned Superstox Irish Champion on Saturday night at Tullyroan Oval. It was a sensational event packed full of drama, part of a quality evening of entertainment for the big crowd on hand.
In the National Hot Rods, John Christies won the final of Diemens.com World Series NI Round 4, whilst Derek Martin scooped a great Ulster Championship win. Staffordshire’s Jaxon York took a great, last gasp victory in the Ninja Karts Champion of Champions event , whilst the other feature race winners were Randalstown’s Sam McNeice (Stock Rods) and Waringstown’s Ross Houston (Lightning Rods).

The Superstox Irish Championship was the feature event of packed race programme, lined up in points order from the season. In a sensational start the bumpers went piling in hard, with all the top runners careering to the fence on turn one. Pole-sitter and World Champion Craig McConnell rode the wall in dramatic fashion to move ahead, with Jamie McCann and then Lee Davison giving chase.
McConnell was then out with a puncture, handing Davison the lead but he had McCann fighting back hard. Jamie got onto terms and went for a last bend lunge, but he just couldn’t unseat Davison who took the title after a tremendous race. McCann had to make do with second ahead of Stephen Stewart in third after starting right at the back of the line up.
The support Irish Revenge race saw young star Jack Morrow lead early on, until McConnell made his move at the half way mark to take a clear win over Morrow and Stewart.

Dean McCrory passed early Heat One leader Kenny McCann to claim his first ever win in the National Hot Rods formula, with Mark Heatrick and John Christie taking second and third. Heat two was an excellent race, with Simon Kennedy just holding off the onslaught from the pack to take the win over Nigel McCauley and Heatrick.
The final of Diemens.com World Series NI Round 4 saw Kennedy lead early on. All eyes were on the Christie Lotus though, as John worked his way around the outside to take a spectacular win ahead of World Champion Derek Martin and McCauley.
The Ulster Championship race completed the evening, with fastest lap time Shane Murray losing the toss which put him at the very back with McCrory on pole. Martin had the bit between his teeth in this one, going round the outside to the lead. When the competition caution was called with five to go, Glenn Bell chose to go outside ‘on the Cone’ alongside Martin, and gave it his best shot to get past for the lead. Martin just hung on in a great finish, with Murray and Bell completing the podium slots.

The first Ninja Karts event was the annual Individual Achievement Award for the local drivers who hadn’t won a race in 2023. Recent newcomer Austin Grattan was the man to watch in this one, leading from flag to flag for a great victory to collect the Hollytree Rare Breeds Farm Perpetual Award. Ethan McQuillan and Jaxon Cairns impressed in second and third, with all the drivers receiving a goody bag from the sponsors.
They were then joined by a star studded field from right across the UK to contest the annual Champion of Champion event. Irish Champion Charlie Johnston held off Jack Murphy to take heat one, before Scotland’s Rory Wilson won the second heat ahead of Jayden Roff. Heat three saw another Scot on victory lane as European Champion Stuart Shevill claimed the win.
The Champion of Champions final turned out to be a stunning race with Roff ahead early on before Johnston and then Keegan Turtle hit the front. It was a super battle between at times seven karts, and Johnston made his move for the lead only to tangle with Turtle and crash out. That handed the lead to World Champion Mason Carberry, but over the final laps Jaxon York went right around his outside to claim a sensational win in the end. As Jaxon celebrated the biggest win of his career, Riley Dawson-Stirling and Turtle completed the top three podium finishers.

Sam McNeice was first over the line in the opening Stock Rods heat, but he was docked 2 places to third for contact which handed victory to Sam Wilson ahead of Adam Sloan. Heat two saw a very well deserved victory for Ryan Dilly after a great drive ahead of Rab Preston and Jonny Gillespie.
The final saw Preston setting the pace, but nobody had any answer to the speed of McNeice. Sam sped around the outside line to take an emphatic win ahead of the impressive placemen of Preston and Dilly.

A pleasing entry of Lightning Rods saw Ian Hobson grab both heat wins, heading home Ross Houston in the opener and then just beating Mark McCambridge by a fraction in heat two.
The final was all about Houston, the former Saloon Stock Car star claiming his first Lightning Rods silverware over Jamie Stephens and Nigel Jackson.

Fairytale Victory For Stephen Emerson In Mervyn Emerson Memorial Trophy

In a fairytale story even Hollywood scriptwriters couldn’t have come up with, Antrim’s Stephen Emerson returned to racing at Aghadowey Oval on Saturday and went on to win the first ever running of his brother Mervyn’s Memorial Trophy. It was an emotional win, as the former European Champion returned to action driving Mervyn’s car, qualified on pole position and dominated the feature event.
There were also two Irish Championship events on the race programme, with Portadown’s Nigel Jackson taking the Lightning Rods title and Loughgall’s Matthew Weir taking the Junior Productions version. Portadown’s Robbie Wright lifted a bruising 1300 Stock Cars King of Aghadowey, whilst Limavady driver Josh Goligher took the Thunder Rods silverware.

A quality field, including visitors from Scotland and the Republic of Ireland, arrived to do battle for the inaugural running of the Mervyn Emerson Memorial Trophy. His brother Stephen had readied Mervyn’s car to allow himself to compete in the big event, having not been on track for over three years himself.
In wet and difficult conditions he took the opening heat win ahead of Conor Hughes and Adam Weir, before Irish Champion Drew McKeown claimed the second heat over Ryan McCrory, with Emerson again impressing in third.
Those results were enough to claim pole spot for the Mervyn Emerson Memorial Trophy Final for Stephen with Hughes alongside, and after a minute’s applause filled the stadium in memory of Mervyn, the drivers set off to do battle for the coveted trophy. There was nobody able to match Stephen Emerson though, and he powered home to a very emotional win, with McKeown and Hughes filling the podium places. It was fairytale ending to a fantastic event, with prizes handed out to the top five drivers and also the best in each grade.

There was drama before the Lightning Rods Irish Championship event when pole-sitter James McKinney hit car trouble and failed to make the grid. When the green flag dropped it was multi-champion Nigel Jackson who quickly stamped his authority all over the event to regain the Irish title and add it to the World, European, National and NI Points titles he has won already in 2023. Ross Houston and Mark McCambridge followed him home.
Nigel then also took victory in the reverse grid Irish Revenge race, with Houston and McCambridge again the place men.

Also racing for the Irish Championship were the Junior Productions, with Ryan Berry and Callum Doak sharing the front row in very difficult track conditions. It was Matthew Weir who coped best and quickly hit the front, and despite the close attentions of Leyton Hughes it was Matthew who raced home to a fine win and his second Irish title. Hughes, Jake Devlin and Doak filled out the places.
The Irish Revenge race saw Ryan Abernethy lead for much of the distance, only to get bundled out of the top spot on the last lap which earned Devlin a disqualification. That allowed Andrew Russell through to take the win over Dylan Fegan and Joshua Murray.

The hard hitting 1300 Stock Cars again fielded a grid in excess of twenty cars, with Alexander McCreadie leading for much of the distance in heat one before he was relegated late on by the flying Gareth Halliday. As Halliday took the win, McCreadie and formula debutant Shea Duff filled the places. Fionn Donnelly led heat two only for a last lap caution for a stray wheel on track to bring proceedings to a halt. That meant a one lap dash to the flag, and Donnelly hung on for the victory over Robbie Wright and Matthew Milliken.
The closed grid King of Aghadowey was an action packed affair, with the bumpers going in right from the off which led to numerous yellow flags throughout the duration. Through it all it was Wright who claimed the chequered flag, with Milliken and Willie Stewart completing the top three at the end of a very bruising race.

Daniel Rodgers was the star of the opening Thunder Rods heat, the Ballymena driver revelling in the wet conditions to race from the rear of the grid to take a great win over Steven McKane and Josh Goligher. Heat two saw David Reynolds pulling clear to take the chequered flag, with Rodgers and McKane again impressing in second and third.
Josh Young led the final away, but Goligher was on the move this time and quickly slipped ahead to the lead. Josh edged clear and kept the rest at bay for the whole distance, taking the trophy in style ahead of Joshua McMullan and Reynolds.