Motorsport Ireland Weekend Preview – Griffin heads east after wrapping up Blancpain Endurance Series Championship

Griffin heads east after wrapping up Blancpain Endurance Series Championship

Ferrari GT driver, Matt Griffin, has triumphed in Pro Am class of the 2015 Blancpain Endurance Series Championship which saw them finish the year with 88 points, a fantastic 25 point lead on the second place drivers . The Irishman now heads off to China for Rd 8 & 9 of the GT Asia Series held at Shanghai Grand Prix International Circuit. Griffin will rejoin the Clearwater Racing team alongside Richie Wee racing the Ferrari 458 GT3.

Matt Griffin: “It’s always great to join Clearwater Racing. After grabbing a podium last time out, hopefully we can get to the top of the podium this weekend.”

Times are tense in Tynagh – Karting Champions to be crowned at final round in Galway

The ninth and final round of the Motorsport Ireland Karting Championship will take place in Tynagh in Co. Galway this weekend. After an exciting race meeting in Cork a few weeks ago, 6 out of 7 class champions will be crowned at the season finale. Sam McDonnell in the X30 Junior class is the only driver with an unassailable points lead heading to Galway. Having already hosted a round at the height of Summer, all drivers will be looking for vital tenths of seconds at the technical Tynagh track.

Autocross returns after Summer Break

This Sunday will also see the return to action for the competitors of the MC Blinds Autocross Championship after the Summer break. The event will be held, as usual, at the purpose built track at Hutcross Quarry between Latton and Cootehill. Competitors will face a total of 4 runs of 3 laps with their best 2 runs added together to count. As ever, the event has attracted a great blend of machinery, from rally cars to purpose built motorbike engined buggies. The event is also a counting round of Cavan Motor Club’s own club championship. Gates on Sunday will open at 8.00am with the first timed runs taking place at 10.30am.

Carlow Car Club will host rounds 3 and 4 of the Hewison Autotest Championship this Saturday and Sunday. Following on from a successful opening weekend to the championship a few weeks ago in Cork, competitors will descend on the Milltown Engineering premises near Beagnalstown for a series of challenging tests. Following his double win in Cork, Robin Lyons is the early championship leader. For those looking to witness the speed and precision of Ireland’s top autotest drivers, proceedings will start at 11.30am on both Saturday and Sunday.

Motorsport fans in Munster are also catered for this weekend with Tipperary Light Car and Motorcycle Club hosting a grass surface autocross on Sunday at Kilmanahan near Clonmel where racing will start at 11.30am. Meanwhile, Kerry Motor Club will run an autosolo at Tralee Racecourse on Sunday. An ideal introductory form of motorsport, autosolos provide a cheap, fun and safe avenue into the sport. The event will be round 3 of the 4 round Kerry Motor Club Autosolo Championship and more information can be found by visiting www.kerrymotorclub.com