Weldon Makes His Mark As Rookie Bangers Star At Tullyroan

Some fantastic entertainment from a very healthy entry of cars was the order of the day at Tullyroan Oval on Saturday evening. From a near fifty car entry Crumlin’s Mark Weldon took a hard earned win in the Rookie Bangers final after a bruising event, whilst Portadown’s Steven Haugh came through to claim victory in the Superstox final.
The feature race for the Thunder Rods was the Tullyroan Challenge Cup which fell to Cullybackey’s David Wilson, whilst other final victories went to the impressive duo of Portadown’s Dylan McCann (Lightning Rods) and Randalstown teenager Sam Percy (Junior Productions).

To get the night off and running, the huge field of Rookie Bangers contested two heats, each featuring half the cars on the entry list. Dublin’s Paul O’Connor, a long time star man in the formula, took the opener from William McFaul and Jack Murray, before Limavady’s Josh Goligher powered through the carnage of heat two to take the chequered flag ahead of his father, John Goligher.
Heat three was for all available cars, with a huge grid of almost forty taking the green flag. Sam Stewart went for a huge roll into the Tullyroan Bend, as there was action all around the circuit. Leonard Dunn from Donemana came through the chaos to take the win over McFaul and Mark Weldon.
Some sterling work in the pits saw another great field return for the final, and it turned out to be a spectacular race. A big turn one crash brought out an early red flag, before Kevin Moran then went for a huge rollover in the same spot just a few laps later. Dunn surged ahead before he got turned aside, handing the lead to William Donnell. William unfortunately then tagged a parked car and picked up damage, allowing Weldon to move him wide to come through for a fantastic win at the end of a sensational night’s racing. Donnell limped home in second ahead of the recovering Dunn, with James Goodman and Dan Dooner next over the line.

Another fine field of Superstox saw Scottish ace Dean Johnston and Luke Wrench from England join the fray. Alan Haugh led the opener before British Champion Lee Davison moved ahead to claim the win over David Beattie. Beattie went one better in heat two, heading home Davison and Jordan Robinson for a well deserved win.
There was an early yellow flag in the final as Paddy Murphy took a big knock on turn one, and at the resumption of racing Steven Haugh moved ahead and pulled out a huge lead he would never relinquish. Steven took the flag to continue his rich vein of form with another win, with young Graham Meek excelling in second ahead of David Beattie and Kyle Beattie.

The Thunder Rods made their first trip of the season to Tullyroan Oval to contest the Tullyroan Challenge Cup, with the usual graded order start dispensed with in favour of the reversed grid qualifying system. Dean Catherwood pulled clear from the front of the opener to take the victory over Samuel Murphy and Norman Purdy, before the second heat fell to David Wilson over Irish Champion James Goldie and Adam Graham.
Wilson and Purdy annexed the front row of the grid for the final on aggregate points from the heats, and Wilson quickly took charge from pole position. The Cullybackey man comfortably kept the challengers at bay to race home to victory over Catherwood and Goldie, with Chris Baird catching the eye with a steady drive to fourth.

Like every other formula on the night, the Lightning Rods also gridded a full field of cars, with Portadown’s Dylan McCann taking the opening heat win ahead of Neil Capper and Dermot Tynan. Capper went one better in heat two to take a great win having just returned to the formula, with Mark McCambridge showing great pace to land second ahead of Martin O’Flaherty.
Peter Wehrly set the pace in the final early on before losing out to McCann, who really did look to have the bit between his teeth once again. Dylan quickly moved ahead, but with Capper and now O’Flaherty tracking his every move. The gap between the front runners ebbed and flowed for many laps, with Capper losing out just as it looked like he was about to mount a challenge for the lead. World Champion Nigel Jackson and the star men arrived on the scene too to set up a great finish, but McCann had enough in hand to take the win in some style to complete his double and earn an upgrading for the next meeting. Capper completed his great night in second, with O’Flaherty, Ricky Shaw and Jackson completing the top five.

With welcome Scottish visitor Declan Dixon on the grid, it was Ballymena’s Aaron Ward who showed great speed in the opening Junior Productions heat to take the win over Lexi Crooks and Sam Percy. Heat two followed a similar pattern, with Ward again passing early leader Andrew Woods to take the win over Woods and Crooks.
The final saw Ward upgraded back to the blue grade, allowing Woods to stretch clear out front from the off. Declan O’Connor stepped forward to challenge for the win, but then Percy arrived on the scene and effortlessly pulled himself right around the outside to take the lead and the win, in a drive that even his senior counterparts would have been proud of. O’Connor, Woods, Crooks and Chelsy Rainey rounded out the places.

Latest Points Update - McKeown & Hughes Claim NI Points Championship Victories

The points standings and driver gradings have been updated for 2.0 Hot Rods & Ninja Karts.

The 2.0 Hot Rods have now completed the 2020/21 Racemart NI Points Championship with 743 Drew McKeown coming out on top ahead of 977 Jordan Rochford & 922 Curtis Greer. Drew will now wear the silver roof of points champion for the next 12 months and will also lead our qualifiers into the World Championship in July.

In the Ninja Karts, 929 Leyton Hughes has won the 2020/21 Cars Bought 24/7 NI Points Championship ahead of 974 Riley Dawson-Stirling and 959 Ryan Berry. Leyton now leads our qualifiers into the World Championship, originally scheduled for Ipswich Spedeweekend, with a new date still to be confirmed.

To view the latest points charts, click on 'Drivers' in the menu bar above and then select the desired formula from the drop down under 'Points & Grades'.

Just The Job For Johnny At Aghadowey Oval

The fantastic start to the local short oval racing season continued at Aghadowey on Saturday night, when Garvagh’s Johnny McCloy took the honours in a keenly contested 2.0 Hot Rods Final. Young Antrim ace Leyton Hughes held off a strong cross-channel challenge to land the King of Aghadowey title in the Ninja Karts, whilst Loanends driver Jonathan Brown was crowned King of Aghadowey in the bruising 1300 Stock Cars.
The Superstox final saw a last gasp victory for Steven Haugh from Portadown, whilst Limavady’s Josh Young scooped a heat and final double in the Thunder Rods.

Another excellent field of twenty four 2.0 Hot Rods rolled out onto the grid for their first heat, with Gary Grattan pulling clear from the front to land a deserved win, just holding off Johnny McCloy at the line with Jordan McCann in third. Heat two saw Grattan and Dean McFarland disputing the lead until they clashed, handing the lead and the win to former Stock Rod star Gary Butler.
Veteran racer Davy Potter held sway out front in the feature race final, before McCloy pulled off a superb pass on the difficult outside line to take the premier spot. Recently crowned British Champion Conor Hughes made it through to second, but McCloy was already well down the road and he took a fine, first ever final win in the category. Behind Hughes, Stuart Cochrane, Adam Heatrick and Michael Woods took the other top places after a night of excellent racing. The year long Racemart NI Points Championship also came to a thrilling climax during the night, finally falling the way of Drew McKeown.

A modest field of 1300 Stock Cars lined up for the King of Aghadowey title, with Ryan Nixon leading the first heat until Jonny Patterson took over to claim the chequered flag ahead of Jon McQuillan and Matthew Milliken. Nixon again relinquished the win in heat two to Patterson, before Milliken barged past to grab the glory, with Patterson and Michael Logan filling the places.
The closed grid title race was always sure to produce a thrilling event, with Patterson impressing as he pulled clear out front early on. He led until the final stages, when NI Points Championship leader Jonathan Brown bumpered his way past into the Brown Trout Bend. As he took the flag and the crown, Ivan Elliott grabbed second ahead of Patterson and Gareth Halliday.

A great field of 22 Superstox enjoyed their first Aghadowey outing of the year, with a caution period playing into the hands of British Champion Lee Davison in the first heat as he took the win over Kyle Beattie and Ethan Dilly. The second encounter was action packed too, as a number of cars clashed right as the off and Keith McAreavey was very lucky not to roll. There was more drama shortly after with Graham Meek in the wall, as once again Davison powered home to land the victory, this time over Jordan Robinson and Dilly.
Having impressed in the heats, Dilly went clear in the final as Davison’s hat-trick bid faltered when mechanical issues slowed him for a lap or so. Steven Haugh was the man on a mission, moving forward at a fast rate of knots to chase down Dilly as they entered the closing stages. In a grandstand finish, Haugh went in with the bumper on the final bend to dislodge Dilly from the lead and grab the win in sensational style. Ethan had to settle for second spot, ahead of David Beattie and Davison.

A number of English and Scottish challengers joined the Ninja Karts for their King of Aghadowey, with Ben Hawe leading heat one until Irish Champion Leyton Hughes soared past to win ahead of England’s Jake Ashby and Scottish ace Hamish Plenderleith. Hawe and Charlie Johnston disputed the lead in heat two, but again it was Hughes who powered ahead to take the win over Wilson and Caolan Fegan.
The final paired Hughes and Ashby on the front row, with Leyton moving clear of another English star in Murray Hall. Hughes hesitated when a backmarker spun ahead of him, allowing Hall to nip ahead before the caution flags came out. As Hall led them back into battle at the restart, Hughes found a way past and completed his hat-trick after a fantastic performance. Hall took a well deserved second, with Plenderleith third. The ‘Cars Bought 24/7’ sponsored grade awards fell to Hughes, Ryan Berry, Hawe and Ronan Ward, with the sponsors also giving all the kids that competed a momento, sweets and ice cream!

A packed grid of Thunder Rods was always going to produce action galore, with the Race Stewards kept busy all evening handing out a raft of penalties. There was a morale boosting flag to flag win for Ryan Fleming in the opening heat, with Josh Young and Graham Loughlin chasing him home. Young went one better in heat two to take the chequered flag over Brendan Doherty and Loughlin, before the Limavady lad made it a double for the evening by taking the feature race final as well in his Peugeot. Doherty and Loughlin were the placement once again behind Josh, with Irish Champion James Goldie the first of the star graders home in fourth.

Latest Points Update - McFall Crowned Stock Rods NI Points Champion

The points standings and driver gradings have been updated for a number of our formulas.

The Stock Rods have now completed the 2020/21 Calvin Tyres NI Points Championship with 903 Adam McFall coming out on top ahead of 47 Jonny Cardwell & Stevie McNiece. Adam now leads our qualifiers into the World Championship, originally scheduled for Ipswich Spedeweekend, with a new date still to be confirmed.

In the National Hot Rods, 20 Derek Martin has won the Simpson Race Exhausts World Series NI and becomes 2020/21 NI Champion, all subject to confirmation and the final points being published by the NHRPA. Derek also leads the Cirrus Plastics DMC Points chart for National Hot Rods.

The 2.0 Hot Rods 2020/21 Racemart NI Points Championship comes to a thrilling climax this Saturday night, June 19th, at Aghadowey Oval with a number of drivers still in contention. 743 Drew McKeown leads the pack of seven drivers still with a mathematical chance of taking the silver roof, with a regrading going into the final round set to shuffle the pack somewhat.

The Lightning Rods have also seen a regrading with World Champion 902 Nigel Jackson now ahead in the Ryan Wright Signs 2020/21 NI Points Championship, whilst teenager 888 Jonathan Brown has built a healthy lead in the latest chart for the 1300 Stock Cars Autoweld NI Points Championship.

To View the latest points charts, click on 'Drivers' in the menu bar above and then select the desired formula from the drop down under 'Points & Grades'.

Bell At The Double As Martin Clinches World Series NI Title

A fantastic evening’s short oval racing thrilled the fans at Aghadowey Oval on Saturday night. Portadown racer Glenn Bell took his new Fiesta to a heat and final double in the headlining National Hot Rods, but it was Dungannon’s Derek Martin who ran out a convincing winner of the year long World Series points.
The competitive Stock Rods division saw a great 27 car turnout, and after retaining his European title last weekend Kells star Derek McMillan once again came out on top. Their NI Points Championship fell the way of Craigywarren’s Adam McFall. Other feature race winners during the evening’s racing were Antrim’s Stephen Emerson (2.0 Hot Rods), Portadown’s Nigel Jackson (Lightning Rods) and Jack Morrow from Rathfriland in the Junior Productions.

The final round of the Simpson Race Exhausts World Series NI for National Hot Rods gridded 15 cars, with Glenn Bell stealing past long time leader Ian McReynolds late on in heat one to take the victory. Ahoghill’s Philip McCloy was the star of heat two, as he held off the pack to take a fine win over Andrew Stewart and Davy McKay.
Bell really had the bit between his teeth in the final, getting his head down early on to make great progress forward. After a few laps side by side with McCloy, Glenn edged into the lead with Derek Martin now making chase. Martin closed to within touching distance at the end, but Bell had all under control to win whilst Derek was crowned victorious in the World Series NI after a year long points chase. Adam Hylands, McCloy and Ben McKee rounded out the top five.

In the highly subscribed Stock Rods division, 16 year old Junior Productions graduates Mark Crawford and Sam McNeice contested the lead for the duration of heat one, with Crawford taking the win after they pulled well clear of the pack. McNeice led the way in heat two with Crawford tracking him, before they well all called up short by a late race caution period with just two laps to go. McNeice’s car cruelly let him down at just the wrong moment and he couldn’t take the restart, allowing Crawford to take another win ahead of multi-champ Derek McMillan and Samuel Wilson.
The final was lined up on points order from the heats, and had the contrast of novice Crawford on pole and World, European, British and Irish Champion McMillan alongside! Crawford led them off with McMillan initially dropping back, but Derek fought back to return to the tail of the young Nutts Corner ace. The slightest gap appeared and McMillan was through, only for Mark to come straight back and make an audacious attempt at retaking the lead! McMillan had all under control and took yet another emphatic victory, with Crawford’s drive surely making everyone sit up and take notice – a star of the future for sure. Jonny Cardwell netted third ahead of Jonny Gillespie, whilst Craigywarren’s Adam McFall claimed sixth which was enough for him to clinch the Calvin Tyres 2020/21 NI Points Championship.

Donegal’s Trevor McConnell led a packed field of 25 2.0 Hot Rods into battle for heat one, before he lost out to a squabbling Jordan McCann and Johnny McCloy. McCann took the flag and survived a lengthy Stewards Enquiry before getting to keep the win, with Michael Woods and Curtis Greer filling the places once a number of penalties had been handed down. The second heat saw heartbreak for Gary Grattan as he looked all set to claim his maiden win in the formula, only for his car to mysteriously cut out with just two laps to go. That gifted the lead, and the win, to McCloy over Greer and McCann.
The final, the opening round of the Hoosier Racing Tyres Series, saw McCann set the early pace in what turned out to be a thrilling race. He was challenged hard from behind by the pack, until Greer got right alongside him into the Brown Trout Bend. As the lead duo drifted wide, Antrim’s Stephen Emerson grabbed the opportunity and nipped underneath them both to take the lead, the win and the new Hoosier race tyre courtesy of the series sponsors. Greer, Ryan McCrory, Adam Heatrick and Drew McKeown completed the top finishers in a fantastic event.

The reversed grid qualifying system was in operation for the Lightning Rods King of Aghadowey, with Stuart Agnew pulling well clear to take the opening heat over Vince Litter and Ricky Shaw. Former World Champion Gordy McKee hit the front early in heat two, before Mark McCambridge powered past to take the win over current World title holder Nigel Jackson and Aaron Stewart.
Jackson had qualified on pole position on aggregate points, which looked very ominous for the rest of the field. The Portadown based World Champion then produced a masterclass to leave the rest trailing in his wake to land the King of Aghadowey crown. Aaron Stewart and his cousin Richard Stewart completed the podium, the latter having the best result so far for his new BMW.

The young aces in the Junior Productions were competing for The Young Trophy, presented each year at Aghadowey for many years now by the Young and Hosie families. Ballymena’s Aaron Ward took the opening heat in some style after edging past leader Andrew Woods around the outside. Heat two had plenty of talking points, with Alexander McCreadie the early leader until he tangled with Sam Percy, with Jack Morrow also getting involved too in the mix. Morrow emerged from the back straight chaos to land the win over Stewart Hanna and Chelsy Rainey.
The final saw Ward and Morrow share the front row, although the unfortunate Ward went out early on with a puncture. Morrow pulled clear to record a fine win and claim the fantastic Young Trophy, with Rainey just getting the better of Percy for second. Declan O’Connor claimed the best white/yellow grade award, whilst the Merit Award went to the welcome Scottish visitor Declan Dixon.

Murray Shines In The Sun At Tullyroan Opener

Recently crowned National Hot Rods European Champion Shane Murray continued his run of top form at Tullyroan Oval on Sunday, when he completed a polished heat and final double at the Co Tyrone venue. The MOR Motorsport racer produced a stunning performance in the final to reel in and pass long time leader Ian McReynolds. Donemana’s Leonard Dunn was victorious in the National Bangers King of Krash event, Portadown’s Lee Davison scooped the honours in the Superstox NIOvalTV Series Final, Aghadowey’s Aaron Stewart won the Lightning Rods final and Larne youngster Charlie Johnston took the Ninja Karts silverware.

The penultimate round of Simpson Race Exhausts World Series NI for National Hot Rods saw McReynolds set the early pace before he was overhauled by Broughshane’s Jaimie McCurdy. McCurdy took the flag but was demoted by the Stewards for contact during the race, elevating Murray to the win ahead of Gary Woolsey. McReynolds made no mistake in heat two, leading from flag to flag ahead of Adam Hylands and series leader Derek Martin.
McReynolds again pulled well clear in the final, with Woolsey coming through to second whilst Murray made a great start from the star grade to work his way up to third. Murray quickly demoted Woolsey on the outside, before running down McReynolds to take the lead, and a great win, after a sterling drive. McReynolds, Woolsey and Carl Sloan filled out the places.

Davey O’Connor avoided the chaos to take the early lead in the Unlimited National Bangers King of Krash event. He retired after a restart though, handing the reigns to Stevo McGrath until he too went out having fallen victim to Stephen Doyle. That opened the door for local points Champion Leonard Dunn to take the win over Mike Flaherty and Rodney Herron.
The Allcomers race saw former World Champion Steven Bolton from Ballymoney take the win over Flaherty and Bolton, before an ill-disciplined Destruction Derby also fell the way of Bolton.

The opening Superstox heat saw a fantastic grid of cars produce a fine spectacle on the sun-drenched Tullyroan bowl. Local racer Alan Haugh led for most of the distance, before being edged wide late on by his brother Steven who went on to take the win ahead of David Beattie. Alan Haugh again led heat two, until British Champion Lee Davison worked his way past with three laps to go to take a telling victory over Jordan Robinson and Ethan Dilly.
The final was for the NIOvalTV Series Grand Final, with the points from last year’s Covid interrupted series added to the scores from the two heats. Davison was on pole position, and when David Beattie attacked him at the start of the main race it only resulted in the other front row man, Steven Haugh, finding the wall and retirement. Davison settled into his rhythm and pulled clear to take the win and some new race tyres courtesy of the sponsors, with David Beattie and Kyle Beattie next home.

A fine field of 20 Lightning Rods gridded for heat one, with Ronan McNally setting the pace until he lost out to Martin O’Flaherty. As Martin took the win, World Champion Nigel Jackson inherited second after a number of penalties were handed out for jumping a mid race restart. Heat two saw novice Alister Robinson set a great pace out front, but he had no answer to flying Antrim driver Ricky Shaw who stormed past to take the win over Mark Corry and Robinson.
The final turned into a fantastic race, with former World title holder Aaron Stewart demoting Robinson to go ahead, but he had Corry and Shaw all over him like a rash. Jackson arrived on the scene late on to make a four way scrap for the lead, and despite his best intentions on the outside line it was Stewart who held on to take the win over Shaw and Corry.

The young Ninja Karts stars were joined by Jake Ashby from England for the afternoon, with Irish Champion Leyton Hughes from Antrim grabbing the opening heat win ahead of Ben Hawe and Ashby. Charlie Johnston had gone out of the opener whilst leading, but he made amends by stretching well clear in the second heat to take the win over Ryan Berry and Hughes.
Johnston then repeated his great form in the final, well and truly throwing away his novice status by taking his second race win of the day, and by quite a margin too! A great places scrap saw Hughes land second ahead of Berry and Ashby.

Online Ticket Sales - Aghadowey Oval 12th June 2021

AGHADOWEY OVAL 12th JUNE 2021
ADVANCE TICKETS ON SALE SUNDAY 6th JUNE AT 8pm

*The event is to be run whilst following the NI Executive guidelines regarding COVID-19 and spectator attendance will be restricted.

*Please note that this event is strictly ADVANCED TICKET BOOKING ONLY. Tickets will not be issued on the day. Failure to produce a valid ticket will cause you to be refused entrance to the stadium. There are no exceptions to this rule.

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Latest Junior Productions Points Update

The latest regrading for Junior Productions after Saturday's race meeting is now available on our website.

Portadown's Alex Milligan tops the chart and moves to the red grade, with Abbie McKinstry and Callum Magill tied for second spot.

To View The Latest Points Click Here

Martin Stars As Racing Returns

A fine late Spring evening saw a great turnout of cars for the return of short oval racing at Aghadowey Oval. Dungannon’s Derek Martin drove a superb race to claim victory in the National Hot Rods final after a thrilling race, whilst the other feature race winners were Antrim’s Conor Hughes (2.0 Hot Rods), Glenavy’s Joe Largey (Stock Rods), Nutts Corner’s Chelsy Rainey (Junior Productions) and Donegal’s Brendan Doherty (Thunder Rods).

Amongst the sixteen strong grid for the seventh round of Simpson Race Exhausts World Series NI for National Hot Rods were the pristine new cars of Glenn Bell and John Christie, as well as a formula debut for Gareth Bevan.
Philip McCloy led the opening laps of heat one, before becoming embroiled in a scrap for the lead late on with Nigel McCauley and Bell. Bell came out on top after a terrific late run to give his new Fiesta a dream debut. McCloy again led heat two, and this time he was able to hold the rest at bay to take a fine win over Andy Stewart and McCauley.
In the final Bell found a way past McCloy to hit the front just a third of the way through the contest and began to stretch clear. But Derek Martin was making big strides towards the front and when Glenn hit late backmarking traffic Derek was suddenly right with him. Martin made an audacious swoop around the outside to take up the lead whilst they were still surrounded by the traffic, only for Bell to draw right alongside once again on the final bend. Martin held on to take a great win, with Bell delighted with his new mount in second ahead of Adam Hylands and Christie, the latter another to show well with his new machine.

The 2.0 Hot Rods included Scottish driver Jason Secker on a track debut, as Garvagh’s Johnny McCloy took a morale boosting win in the opening heat ahead of Curtis Greer. Antrim driver Ryan McCrory then pulled off a fantastic outside pass on leader Trevor McConnell to take victory in the second heat, ahead of Stephen Emerson and Conor Hughes.
An early skirmish in the final brought out the caution flags, and this time it was Hughes who hit the outside to drag himself past McConnell to take the win in some style. Adam Best and Jordan Rochford filled the podium places.

The Stock Rod heats were dominated by two 16-year-old graduates from the Junior Productions. Mark Crawford claimed victory in the opening heat despite engine trouble on the final lap which sidelined him for the rest of the night. That opened the door for another teenager in Sam McNeice to add the second heat win to his runner up spot in heat one, heading home Larne’s Samuel Wilson and Mark Kilpatrick from Antrim.
A huge crash at the start of the final eliminated a number of cars, including pole-sitter McNeice. At the resumption Joe Largey hit the front and never looked back all the way to the chequered flag. Former World title holder Stevie McNiece chased him home with Jonny Cardwell inheriting third place after Dan Shannon was dropped places for contact.

A fine field of young stars in the Junior Productions included four newcomers in Lacey Bevan, Aaron Dynes, Stewart Hanna and Odhran Monaghan amongst a nine strong novice grade. In a frantic finish Alex McCreadie crossed the line first but was demoted for contact by the Stewards, handing the win to Jack Morrow over Alex Milligan. Heat two saw Abbie McKinstry break clear to record a fine win over Matthew Weir.
The final was an action packed affair, with Chelsy Rainey driving superbly to pass Weir for the lead and race clear to take the victory. Milligan, impressive debutant Hanna and Callum Magill filled out the places after a fine night’s entertainment from the young drivers.

A huge field of Thunder Rods kicked off the new season with David Baird guiding his immaculate machine home to victory in the first race of the night over Darren Curran and Graham Loughlin. Heat two saw Ryan Fleming set the pace before he had to give best to a flying Brendan Doherty. Doherty went on to lift the chequered flag ahead of Fleming and Simon Lamont.
Once again the star graded drivers struggled to make an impact in the final, with novice Doherty again bursting clear to take his second win of the evening and secure a rise to the yellow grade for the next outing. David Wilson and Josh Young filled the podium positions, ahead of Baird and Fleming.

Latest Points Update

Our latest points update has now been published, including the latest standings for Ninja Karts and National Hot Rods.

In the 2020/21 ASC Cars NI Points Championship for Ninja Karts, Irish Champ 929 Leyton Hughes tops the points standings ahead of last weekend's final winner 974 Riley Dawson-Stirling and impressive novice 718 Caolan Fegan. The second and third drivers will now see themselves starting much further back on the grid.

In the 2020 Cirrus Plastics DMC Championship for National Hot Rods, 20 Derek Martin continues to lead the chart, now 26 points ahead of 54 Adam Hylands. Simpson Race Exhausts World Series NI sees Martin also lead the way over Hylands and Ben McKee.

To View the latest points charts, click on 'Drivers' in the menu bar above and then select the desired formula from the drop down under 'Points & Grades'.

Christie Back On Form To Win Richard Turtle Memorial Cup

Former World Champion John Christie bounced right back to form at Aghadowey Oval on Saturday night to win the Richard Turtle Memorial Cup for the National Hot Rods. John held off spirited late advances from Shane Murray and Derek Martin to grab the spoils during an excellent evening’s racing.

Other winners at the McKinstry Metal Recycling sponsored event were local Aghadowey man Aaron Stewart in the Lightning Rods King of Aghadowey event, Scottish visitor Siobhan Martin in the Stock Rods, Crumlin’s Riley Dawson-Stirling in the Ninja Karts and Limavady’s John Goligher in the Back to Basics Bangers.

Glarryford’s Philip McCloy led the National Hot Rods away for heat one, but he lost out to a fast moving Nigel McCauley who went on to take the victory over John Christie and Derek Martin. Heat two saw the first wet race of the night, with McCloy holding sway out front until well into the second half of the encounter. Shane Murray found a way past to take the victory over Carl Sloan and Martin.
The final doubled up as Round 6 of Simpson Race Exhausts World Series NI and the Richard Turtle Memorial Cup, with McCloy again the leader from the off until Christie worked his way ahead. At the half way mark Martin and Murray joined Christie at the front, and from then on the fans were treated to an enthralling three-way battle for the win. Christie used all his experience though to take the victory, ahead of Murray, Martin and Sloan.

The opening Lightning Rods heat saw a flag to flag win for Portadown’s Mark Corry ahead of Aaron Stewart and World Champion Nigel Jackson. In the damp heat two, James McKinney showed best to take the flag ahead of Jackson and Ricky Shaw.
A frantic start to the King of Aghadowey final saw Stewart squeeze ahead on the opening lap, and he put in a wonderful performance to take the victory in the wet conditions he rarely excels in. McKinney took second ahead of Jackson and Jordan Rochford at the flag.

A huge field of 27 Stock Rods arrived in the pits, including welcome Scottish lady racer Siobhan Martin. Recent returnee William Taggart led the way for much of heat one, before he lost out to a hard charging Adam McFall in the closing stages. McFall took the win over Marc Morrell and Taggart, after third on the road Dan Shannon was docked for contact. Heat two saw Ryan Andersen impress early on out front, before Broughshane’s Adam Weir moved past to take up the running. As Adam cruised to an excellent win, Micky McFall and Shane McMillan grabbed second and third ahead of visitor Martin.
The final saw an early battle for the lead between Morrell and Shane McMillan, with never any more than a hair’s breadth between them. Martin worked her way up to third, and when the lead duo tripped over each other into the Brown Trout Bend Siobhan duly accepted the gift of the lead. Proceedings got rather messy in the closing stages with a number of penalties handed out, but Martin took a well deserved final win over Stevie McNiece, Shannon and Shane McMillan in the final analysis.

Some great racing was served up yet again by the young 6-11 year olds in the Ninja Karts, with Noah Teggart unlucky to lose out on the heat one win as he collided with a spun kart within sight of the line on the last lap. That opened the door for Scottish visitor Dougie Kidd to take the win over Irish Champion Leyton Hughes and Caolan Fegan. Heat two saw Hughes get the win after leader Charlie Johnston hit trouble whilst ahead, with Leyton leading home Andrew Hawe and Fegan.
Fegan led the final early on until he lost out to the fast charging trio of Riley Dawson-Stirling, Hughes and Kidd. The three circulated as one for the final laps, with Dawson-Stirling ahead when it mattered most to take his first ever feature race win over Hughes, Kidd and Fegan. Fegan also received the top white or yellow grade award presented by track marshal Ian McClelland.

A good field of the entry level Back to Basics Bangers saw some great fun and frolics throughout the evening. Josh Goligher took the opening heat ahead of Paddy Hannigan, before his father John Goligher took the second heat over Josh and William Donnell. The final saw another win for John Goligher over Simon Lamont and Hannigan, with the end of meeting Destruction Derby falling to Matthew McKinstry.

Many thanks to our meeting sponsors, MMR McKinstry Metal Recycling

Latest Points Update - Rookie Bangers & Superstox

In our latest points update, the final points for Rookie Bangers have been published, plus the latest on the Superstox NIOval TV Series.

In the Rookie Bangers, whilst the points scoring stretched from last December, there were only a handful of qualifying meetings due to the Coronavirus pandemic. It came down to a thrilling climax though, with Conor Finegan snatching victory by just one point from Josh Goligher. To add to the drama, that was only made official once CCTV had been studied and Josh unfortunately was docked in the analysis of Saturday's meeting final.

In the Superstox NIOvalTV Series, after the opening round British Champion Lee Davison leads the way after a trio of consistent finishes. Steven Haugh and final winner Kyle Beattie are next up. The round one points will be added to the two heats at the next meeting to form the grid for the all important Grand Final.

To View the latest points charts, click on 'Drivers' in the menu bar above and then select the desired formula from the drop down under 'Points & Grades'.