Stewartstown’s Steven Ferguson took the win at the JRS sponsored DMC autotest at Loughry College on Saturday.  Reigning NI Autotest Champion Paul Mooney was fastest on Test 1, with Ferguson only 0.5 seconds behind him but by the end of three tests, Ferguson was in the lead, and there he stayed until the end of the 12 tests.

After the cancellation of the first round of the championship due to snow, the weather at this second round of the 2018 Autotest Championship, sponsored by McMillan Specialist Cars, was bitterly cold for the drivers and marshals.  With 32 cars lining up to start, it was poised to be a day of stiff competition and proved to be so.

Mooney gave chase to Ferguson in the Mini Special Class but a fail on test 8 and a couple of pylon faults throughout the day cost him time from which he would not recover.  Ashley Lamont and Paul Blair battled it out in the Sports Car Class with Ashley coming out on top to take the class win and finish up in second place overall.

Robin Lyons took the win in the Mini Saloon Class from Norman Ferguson.  In the Large Saloon Class, Mark King, Jamie McMillan and David Thompson had a tight competition with David coming out on top.  David’s penalty-free day kept him ahead of the other pair, both of whom clipped a pylon each during the day.

In the Clubman Challenge, Class A was won by DMC’s Gary Campbell in his Vauxhall Nova and he finished the day second overall in the Challenge behind Class C winner Richard Earney in a Mini.  Richard’s brother Andrew in his Yaris finished second in Class C, just ahead of Ben Colhoun in a Mini.  Class D was made up of the ever popular Mazda MX-5’s, Liam Shaw took the win ahead of DMC competition secretary Colin Hazelton.  In the Legend’s Challenge David Jenkins took the win from Alistair Barker.

A great day was had by all, despite the cold and at times wintery conditions.  A fantastic display of driving skills and a win for Steven Ferguson got the season off to a flying start.  The next round of the championship will be hosted by MG Car Club this weekend at Bishopscourt Race Circuit, Downpatrick were the boys will battle it out again to be fastest on the day.

Full results can be found here ====>  RESULTS