Exciting racing at Aghadowey

The meeting was kindly sponsored by Lester McCloy of LMC Auto Spares Garvagh.

The promoters are delighted that there is such an interest in the sport in this area and this is evident with the number of new drivers and spectators coming to the stadium each meeting.

A Speed Weekend is planned for Friday 25 June and Saturday 26 June with Aghadowey Championship for all classes and a Destruction Derby to top it all off on the Saturday afternoon. Racing starts on Friday night at 7.15pm as usual and on Saturday at 1.00pm.

2L Sierras

Ronnie White number 741 had the worst possible start to his 2L Sierra career as he crashed his brand new car in practice leaving him unable to race. Hopefully the number 741 machine will be back out next meeting to do battle.

Two new faces were on track for Heat 1, Ex 1600 Banger man, Peter Henderson and Promoter Adrian Stirling and both were on the pace. Dessie Kearney was clear of second place man Stirling with 5 laps to go. However Stirling closed the gap between them finishing on Kearney’s back bumper across the line.

Dessie Kearney took the win ahead of Adrian Stirling and Campbell Percy who finished third.

Heat 2 and Adrian Stirling took up pole position with Dessie Kearney beside him on the front row. Stirling got a good start and opened up a 5 car length lead over Campbell Percy and Dessie Kearney. Percy was catching Stirling in the closing stages but could not get close enough to mount a challenge for the lead.

Stirling took his first win of the 2010 Season with Percy in a close second and Kearney in third.

In the Final Campbell Percy and Peter Henderson lined up on the front row with Stirling & Kearney in the second row. Percy and Henderson got a great start with both Stirling & Kearney sleeping on the start.

The Randalstown man, Campbell Percy number 955, opened up a good lead over Stirling and Henderson but they caught up and passed the number 955 machine. This left Stirling and Kearney, 2 ex Rally men, to fight it out for the lead. Stirling pulled away from Kearney and took the flag. Kearney finished in second with Percy in third.

Open Hotrods

In Heat 1 Richard Stewart number 818 took the early lead with Davy Gurney number 935 closely following. Davy Gurney made his move on the number 818 machine and nipped up the inside. In the closing stages of the race Davy Gurney slowed with a mechanical problems and this left Richard Stewart back in pole position to take the win ahead of Paul Nevin number 82 and Terence McConlogue number 95 in third.

Heat 2 and Lindsay Ferry number 963 led the field away with Richard Stewart & Davy Gurney closing in. Gurney passed the number 963 car and opened up a good lead over the rest of the field. Davy Gurney took a comfortable win with Lindsay Ferry holding on for second and Richard Stewart in third.

In the Final Lindsay Ferry again led the field off and opened up a gap between Richard Stewart and Davy Gurney. The Dungannon man, Lindsay Ferry, was opening up a gap while Stewart & Gurney were having a good dice for second spot. Stewart & Gurney caught Ferry but couldn’t find a way round the number 963 car.

Davy Gurney decided to use his front bumper and made contact on Lindsay Ferry pushing him wide on the Pit Bend corner. Gurney was black flagged for contact but decided to ignore the black flag and carried on racing. Davy Gurney again made contact on Lindsay Ferry and the two ended up in the wall at the Brown Trout corner. This left local racer Richard Stewart to take the flag, his first final win of the 2010 Season. To celebrate his win he performed some doughnuts at the Pit End of the track to the delight of the spectators.

1600 Bangers

Heat 1 saw another two new faces out on track, Samuel Purdy number 16 & Ex Rally man John Joe McAfee number 100. McAfee took up his White roof start and led the 16 car field away.

Mark McLaughlin number 142 & Lee McCloy number 841 made progress by making their way through the field and took up second and third spot. McAfee came across mechanical problems on lap 6 and was forced to drive the rest of the race in third gear.

This didn’t hinder the Sierra man and he took his first win of the 2010 Season on his first outing in the Formula. Mark McLaughlin finished second with Lee McCloy in third.

In heat 2 again John Joe McAfee led the field away with Brian McMullan number 56 in second. McAfee opened up a good lead over Karl Smyth number 999 who had made his way up to second spot.

Leading points scorer Lee McCloy caught the number 999 car and spun him out. McAfee took his second win of the night as McCloy who couldn’t catch McAfee finished the race in second place ahead of Karl Smyth in third

In the Final John Joe McAfee and Brian McMullan shared the front row with Clint Murray number 24 on the second row. McAfee took the early lead ahead of Clint Murray and Karl Smyth.

Clint Murray and Roy White number 43 made contact with each other on the Brown Trout corner and both cars ended up in the wall, the rest of the field came round and as most cars collided with the stranded cars of White & Murray the yellow flags were brought out.

This left John Joe McAfee leading with Jamieson Tweed in second and Mark McLaughlin in third. Jamieson Tweed went in hard with the bumper and sent John Joe McAfee up the wall and both had to retire due to the damage caused to their cars. This meant Mark McLaughlin was the only driver left on the track and he took a very easy win.

Junior Stocks

Christopher Moore number 69 led the field away in Heat 1. Moore opened up a good lead over Steven Kerry number 93. Curtis Greer number 11 and Lauren McIlroy number 25 caught and passed Kerry to take up second and third spot. With two laps to go Curtis Greer made his move on Christopher Moore but the two cars collided and the race had to be stopped. This left Stephen Moore taking the chequered flag ahead of Curtis Greer in second and Lauren McIlroy in third.

Heat 2 and Steven Kerry led them off with Glen White number 42 in second. Glen White caught Steven Kerry and passed him on the outside and so took the lead. Curtis Greer and Aaron Brunton number 85 also passed Steven Kerry and set off to catch the lead man Glen White. However Glen White had opened up a good lead and took the win by a full straight from Curtis Greer in second and Aaron Brunton in third.

The final came and Steven Kerry was on pole position from Glen White in second. Steven Kerry took the early lead and was caught by White. Glen White nipped up the inside of Steven Kerry going in to the Brown Trout corner but Kerry regained his lead coming out of the corner and took up first spot again. Glen White went to the outside next lap, passed Kerry and took the lead. Steven Kerry then retired with mechanical problems and this left Curtis Greer and local girl Lauren McIlroy in second and third. Glen White took the chequered flag, his third final win in a row, with Curtis Greer in second, his third podium of the night and Lauren McIlroy in third.

1600 Lightning Rods

With the new roof grades in order tonight Jason Smyth took up pole position for Heat 1. Jason Smyth opened up a good lead over Greg McMullan. Sammy Stewart was on rails tonight as he made his way up to third spot from his red roof start. Sammy Stewart managed to nip up the inside of Greg McMullan and took second spot. Jason Smyth took his first win of the 2010 Season, much to his delight as we all seen. Sammy Stewart finished a fine second with Greg McMullan in third.

In Heat 2 again Jason Smyth led the field away and opened up a gap over Clifford Nevin. Dermot Donnelly was making good progress through the field and took up second spot behind Jason Smyth.

At the Brown Trout corner Jason Smyth spun himself so Dermot Donnelly took up the lead. Jerome Doherty and Ballymena man Mark Dewar took up second and third spot chasing Dermot Donnelly.

Mark Dewar made contact with Dermot Donnelly on the last corner but Donnelly held on for the win. Mark Dewar was docked to third place for making contact so this left Jerome Doherty taking second place.

In the Final Jason Smyth and Clifford Nevin led the field away. The yellow flags were brought out early on for Heat 2 winner Dermot Donnelly who was stranded on the Brown Trout corner against the wall. On the restart Jason Smyth led from Robert McIlroy. Coming out of the Pit Bend corner Robert McIlroy put himself up the wall and was forced to retire. Jerome Doherty caught Jason Smyth in the closing stages and made his move on the Brown Trout corner and took up the lead. Kyle Tannahill and Mark Frew followed Jermone Doherty through and Jason Smyth dropped to fourth place. Jermone Doherty took the win with Kyle Tannahill in second and Mark Frew in third.

Practice Day is being held on Saturday 5 June 1.00 – 5.00pm All drivers welcome.

Next meeting to be held on Friday 11 June at 7.15pm