The 2017 Parts for Cars Irish Rallycross Championship reaches its climax at Mondello Park this Sunday, November 26th, as round seven of the series takes the drivers back to the home of Irish Rallycross. Following a long season, which saw the championship race on three different tracks and combine with the British series for a Summer double header, the championship arrives at it’s finale with all but one of the class titles still to be decided.
At the head of the Supercar field its been all about Reigning Champion Derek Tohill and his main challenger Noel Greene. Tohill’s Fiesta has won every round so far this season with Mitsubishi driver Greene usually in the runner up position leaving him twenty points off the top spot. If Greene were to win on Sunday, with Tohill out of the points, he would draw level with his rival, but Tohill would still be crowned champion due to his superior number of race wins. The two front runners will face opposition form a varied field of Supercars this weekend which includes Derek Jobb’s Escort Cosworth, a second Fiesta for Declan Kelly and the Subaru of Michael Morris.
The Modified Division will be a straight fight between Willie Coyne’s Opel Corsa and the Lotus Exige of Lloyd Spendlove. Spendlove needs to win on Sunday, a feat he has not achieved all year, with Coyne out of the points in order to lift the title. The top two will not have things all their own way, especially with returning former champion Michael Coyne out to get back to winning ways, and the likes of Pearse Browne and Peter McGarry also on the entry list.
Of the remaining championships the Production and Fiesta classes are two of the closest. In Production Ciaran Murphy leads Adrian Farrell with the two Peugeot drivers separated by just five points. The Fiestas are even closer with Dennis McCrudden four points clear of Sean Hession. The very competitive Junior Rallycross class has seen four different winners this year and goes to its final round with Jyles Harding and Ben Mullins both in contention for the crown. The Rallycar class is also close going into the final event with Thomas O’Rafferty just two points off championship leader PJ Doyle.
The final Rallycross action of the season gets underway on Sunday morning with the first of three rounds of heats from 10:15, with the all important finals set to begin at 15:30. Admission to the ‘Parts for Cars’ Irish Rallycross Championship can be booked on-line for the reduced price of just €12:50, compared to €15.00 on the day, by visiting www.mondellopark.ie. Accompanied under sixteen’s are admitted free.
For further information on Irish Rallycross follow the championship at facebook.com/irishrx or see www.irx.ie.
