DMC Autotest Report
18 March 2017
Mooney is the JRS Star
Reigning NI Autotest Champion Paul Mooney won
the JRS Sponsored DMC Autotest at Loughry College on Saturday. Fast away on Test 1 was Ashley Lamont, with
2015 Champion Paul Blair only 0.3 seconds behind him but by the end of three
tests, Mooney was in the lead, and there he stayed all day.
This was the second round of the 2017 Autotest
Championship, sponsored by Sam Bowden Garage Services of Stewartstown. The venue at Loughry College is a popular one
with competitors, and the on and off drizzle didn't spoil their enjoyment of
the twelve tests. For 2017 a new
category has been added and there were 15 new drivers turned out for the
Clubman class.
Newly crowned 7-times ROI Autotest Champion,
Steven Ferguson, gave chase to Mooney in the Mini Special Class but a fail on
test 2 and a pylon fault later on cost him 25 seconds and he would never
recover. Paul Blair and Ashley Lamont
battled out all day in the Sports Car Class with Blair just overhauling Lamont
on the very last test to take the Class win and runners-up spot overall.
Norman Ferguson and Jonni McDaid were the only
two entries in the small saloon class, both in Minis, and Norman took yet
another Class win. In the Large Saloon
Car Class, Mark King, Jamie
McMillen and David Thompson had a close competition all
day with Mark King coming out tops by just 0.6 second. Mark's penalty free run was enough to just
keep him ahead of the other pair, both of whom clipped pylons during the day.
The new Clubman Class is intended to attract
drivers in road going cars, but also to cater for beginners in Autotest type
cars, and both types showed up and were included in the competition. Dungannon's Mark Stewart tried his hand in a
sports car and won the class, while Damien Mooney brought his Targa Rally car
to runner up position. Colin Hazelton
brought his MX5 along to have a go on the more open test set up for the Beginners,
and he also came away with a Class win.
A great day's Motorsport with fantastic driving
skills on display and a win for Paul Mooney.
This puts him into the lead position in the 2017 Championship, and just
maybe the beginnings of another series title.
Overall Winner - Paul Mooney
Class Winners - Paul Mooney, Paul Blair, Norman
Ferguson, Mark King.
Clubman Experienced Class Winners - David
Jenkins, Richard Earney, Noel Cochrane
Clubman Beginners Class Winners - Mark Stewart,
Jimmy Duggan, Colin Hazelton
Posted by PMcCollum on 20/3/2017; Last updated by PMcCollum on 20/3/2017