Over the coming days we will be getting some thoughts from the top runners in the R2 category of the Clonakilty Blackpudding Irish Tarmac Championship. Four drivers are still in with a chance of taking the class which has Campsie Karting as an associate sponsor, and has provided some exciting and intense battles throughout the season with many giant killing acts being performed. First off is the championship leader Callum Devine who has Keith Moriarty on the notes and who has an eighteen point lead with two rounds to go in their Opel Adam.
Callum Devine & Keith Moriarty – 1st Class 2
“We had a lot of bad luck during the 2015 season in terms of reliability, and we went to Galway with the aim of taking it steady, building up confidence and hopefully score some championship points. As it turned out, things were better than expected, winning the class and taking maximum points for Class 2 in the Tarmac Championship. West Cork was the second round and we struggled for a while with a faulty throttle sensor, and even when this was sorted we were pushed very hard by William Creighton. It was only in the last three stages of the event that we finally pulled away, which gave us another maximum score and increased our championship lead.
The Circuit of Ireland proved to be a big disappointment with a retirement on only the second stage when a driveshaft broke. We rejoined under Rally 2 and eventually took fourth place points, but it was frustrating not to be able to race against those in the BRC and ERC categories as well. Killarney was much kinder to us as we took a top ten over position all for the second year in a row and extended our lead further in the class.
Donegal saw another very good result for us, and after the disappointment of retiring due to a jammed exhaust last year things worked out much better this time. Once again we were pushed very hard by William Creighton before he unfortunately retired on the second day. At this stage we have taken four maximum scores from the five rounds to date and are very much looking forward to the Ulster Rally where the pace will be very quick with the BRC boys also on board for this event.
After Donegal I decided to go try another European event, this time in Ypres. Unfortunately we retired while going very well and holding a strong position, but it was nice to see that the times were there. I am currently undecided with regards to plans for 2017, but the Tarmac Championship in its current form is an attractive championship to do at the moment. The structure is very good and allowing two dropped rounds from seven works well. I’d also like to thank my sponsors who have supported me throughout the year”.