Superb Sixth Win for Stewartstown’s Steven
This report is by Grace King, with photos by kind permission of Trevor Foster.
Saturday 10th June saw the competitors from the McMillan Specialist Cars Northern Ireland Autotest Championship head to the Showgrounds in Omagh for the sixth round of their championship which was hosted by Omagh Motor Cub. Again, it would be Stewartstown’s Steven Ferguson who took the Overall win by 18.3 seconds from Andy Blair, with James Wilson settling for third in his Mini Special.
In the Clubman category, it was Roger Gordon in his Mazda MX-5, who took the category win by 0.5 seconds from Lawrence Baird in another Mazda MX-5. In the Advanced category, Gordon Clendinning made a fine return to the challenge having travelled from Scotland for the event, as he pipped Adam McMullan at the post for the overall category win, with 19.6 seconds difference between the two men at the end of the day.
With Steven Ferguson taking the overall win, this left the class honours up for grabs. James Wilson would take the Class A win and third overall in his Mini Special. Peter Grimes gave chase to Wilson but couldn’t quite catch him finishing 12.8 seconds behind him to take second in class and sixth overall. Guy Foster finished third in Class A and rounded out the top seven in the championship event.
Andy Blair in his Westfield took the honours in Class B, finishing ahead of Trevor Ferguson in second with young Mark Ferguson taking the final class award in third.
In the Small Saloon class, Robin Lyons from Drumbo took his Mini to a comfortable win with Andrew Earney taking second in class.
Mark King took his second class win of the season at the Omagh event, where a spirited performance in his Vauxhall Nova seen him finish 9.2 seconds ahead of Manorhamilton’s David Thompson. Again the third spot in class would be a tightly contested battle between Dungannon’s Gary Campbell and Ardboe’s Damian Mooney. It would be Mooney who got the better of the younger, less experienced Nova driver Campbell to take the final podium spot in class.
In the Clubman category classes, Taylor Gribbon in his Nissan Micra would take the Class C win. The overall Clubman category winner, Roger Gordon in his Mazda MX-5 would also take the Class D win. Lawrence Baird would take the runner up spot in Class D with Derek Harrison in third place.
There was a small but highly experienced and competitive turnout in the Advanced Category. Adam McMullan took the Advanced Class A honours in his Toyota Starlet Special. Gordon Clendinning in his beach buggy would take the Advanced Class B honours, alongside his Overall category win. Robert Robinson in his Toyota Yaris would take the Advanced Class C win and Gareth Dillon would take the Class D win in his Mazda MX-5.
In the Production Car Class Omagh’s Ryan McAleer would take the class win, with Andrew Molyneaux Snr in second and Andrew Molyneaux Jnr in third.
With only four rounds to go Stewartstown’s Steven Ferguson continues to maintain a nine point lead over Manorhamilton’s David Thompson, with Andy Blair in third and Mark King in fourth in his Vauxhall Nova.
The next round will take place on Saturday 24th June, prior to the summer recess, with the event hosted by Coleraine and District Motor Club taking place at the Northwest 200 Paddock. Will Steven Ferguson take his seventh win of the season, or could we see a Large Saloon or Rear Wheel driver on the top step of the podium, we shall have to wait, and see?
Full results, including test times, can be found here ==> RESULTS
McMillan Specialist Cars Northern Ireland Autotest Championship Round 6
Overall Winner – Steven Ferguson
Championship Category:
- Class A – James Wilson
- Class B – Andy Blair
- Class C – Robin Lyons
- Class D – Mark King
Clubman Category:
- Class A – No Competitors
- Class B – No Competitors
- Class C – Taylor Gribbon
- Class D – Roger Gordon
Advanced Category:
- Class A – Adam McMullan
- Class B – Gordon Clendinning
- Class C – Robert Robinson
- Class D – Gareth Dillon
Production Car Category:
- Class P – Ryan McAleer