Inside Line- Tonya Fortune Wexford Hillclimb Blog!

Having signed up for the Irish Hillclimb championship for 2017, last weekend saw me take on the Wexford Hillclimb in Carrig on Bannow. Saturday turned out to be a day of mixed fortunes! Having completed both the practice run and my first timed run, leaving the start line on run two saw a recent VTEC problem from the Carlow rally resurface, and ended my day’s driving. Luckily, run one was enough to take a class win on the day. Thankfully some work on the car that evening found the root of the problem was a faulty speed sensor, and with this replaced, I was back on track for Sunday morning.

Day two proved to be a good day, taking in five runs on the hill. I started off on a steady run, and gradually improved my times throughout the day. I finished up with another class win, and taking the ladies award. Big thanks to Wexford Motor Club on running a great event, to Damian for servicing for the weekend, and to NCRS for getting me up and running again Saturday evening. Next up will be the Imokilly Hillclimb in Dungarvan on 10th and 11th of June, where I’ll be hoping for another good haul of points towards the championship.

WEXFORD M C HILLCLIMB AT CARRIG-ON-BANNOW, CO WEXFORD (ROUND 3 OF NAYLOR
ENGINEERING NATIONAL HILLCLIMB/SPRINT CHAMPIONSHIP) (DAY 1):
1 Joe Courtney (Reynard 913-Peugeot) 57.75s,
2 Rob Dwane (OMS 25) 58.86s,
3 Gary Egan (Mygale-Renault) 63.95s,
4 Rory Stephens (Radical SR8 Hayabusa) 64.41s,
5 Russell Stanworth (Reynard RF81 Opel) 65.97s,
6 John Donnelly (Reynard SF80) 66.46s,
7 Billy White (Mygale-Renault) 67.69s,
8 Peter Cummins (Darrian T90) 68.69s,
9 Gary Cunningham (Global GT) 69.69s,
10 Martin Flanagan (BMW M3) 70.23s.
Class winners: Dara Fay (Suzuki Swift), Danny Herlihy (Cinquecento), Willie
Barrett (Civic), Tonya Fortune (Civic), Ben O’Brien (BMW M3), Gary
Cunningham, Ed Cassidy (Iona Special), John Whitley (Swift FF1600), Rob
Dwane, Rory Stephens, Georgie Bell (Civic), Peter Cummins, Martin Flanagan.

WEXFORD M C HILLCLIMB AT CARRIG-ON-BANNOW, CO WEXFORD (ROUND 4 OF NAYLOR
ENGINEERING NATIONAL HILLCLIMB/SPRINT CHAMPIONSHIP) (DAY 2):
1 Joe Courtney (Reynard 913-Peugeot) 49.40s,
2 Rory Stephens (Radical SR8 Hayabusa) 54.35s,
3 John Donnelly (Reynard SF80) 55.18s,
4 Russell Stanworth (Reynard RF81 Opel) 57.63s,
5 Gary Cunningham (Global GT) 58.32s,
6 Peter Cummins (Darrian T90) 58.92s,
7 Seamus Morris (Darrian GTR Millington) 59.69s,
8 Ben O’Brien (BMW M3) 60.19s,
9 Martin Flanagan (BMW M3) 61.50s,
10 Dara Fay (Suzuki Swift) 61.75s.
Class winners: Dara Fay (Suzuki Swift), Damien Walsh (Cinquecento), Willie
Barrett (Civic), Tonya Fortune (Civic), Ben O’Brien, Gary Cunningham, Ed
Cassidy (Iona Special), Michael Nicholson (Sheane VW), John Donnelly, Rory
Stephens, Brian Harney (Escort), Peter Cummins, Seamus Morris.