Latest News....
Thank You.......
As the Circuit of Ireland rally is almost upon us, here at Crossgar Motorsport have a big thank you to do, to all our sponsors and everyone involved in getting our car ready for the big event.
Patrick and Sam would like to thank all their sponsors and associates with their valued help and continuing support, to make competing in this prestigious event possible.
We are racing in a very rare and unique car, an ex factory Fiat Stilo cup car. This was built in 2004 for the British Rally Championship held in the UK.
First a big thank you, to David and Geard at Walsh Motorsport Ardglass, and Torque-tech engines, for the rebuilding and preparing the car in preparation for the big event, as they have done a fantastic job.
Should you be about during the rally, at the service area or the re-groups, please feel free to come over and have a look, it is an impressive piece of engineering.
We would also like to thank the following local businesses for their continuing support, which is valued and appreciated:
MR ROBBIE THORTON - TDP.IE MAPPING - WICKLOW
MR DALE KANE - KANE TRAILERS - LEITRIM
MR STEPHEN O'CONNOR - O'CONNOR PLANT HIRE - DOWNPATRICK
MR NOEL COCHRANE - CAR SPARES ANNADORAN - DOWNPATRICK
MR EAMON ROGERS - CAR BODY REPAIRS - BALLYNAHINCH
MR IAN DOUGLAS - DOUGLAS AUTOPARTS - BALLYNAHINCH
MR DAVID WALSH - TORQUE-TECH - WALSH MOTORSPORT - ARDGLASS
MR TREVOR MATTHEWSON - STRANGFORD HOLIDAY PARK - STRANGFORD
MR M. VALENTE - CROSSGAR MOTORSPORT (ADMIN)
MR GORDON WILSON - WILSON GRAPHICS - RATHFRILAND
CARAVAN REPAIRS IRELAND - CARAVAN MAINTENANCE - DOWNPATRICK
DAVID ROGAN AND ROBERT MATTHEWSON (SERVICE CREW - PREPARATION)
Once again, a big thank you, to all of the above local businesses and associates.
We would urge you to support your local business as much as possible.
Should you like to be part of the growing team at Crossgar Motorsport and lend a helping hand, please phone or email us on the contact page.
Best wishes
and may all the competitors have a safe and enjoyable rally......
Sam Matthewson.
Patrick and Sam would like to thank all their sponsors and associates with their valued help and continuing support, to make competing in this prestigious event possible.
We are racing in a very rare and unique car, an ex factory Fiat Stilo cup car. This was built in 2004 for the British Rally Championship held in the UK.
First a big thank you, to David and Geard at Walsh Motorsport Ardglass, and Torque-tech engines, for the rebuilding and preparing the car in preparation for the big event, as they have done a fantastic job.
Should you be about during the rally, at the service area or the re-groups, please feel free to come over and have a look, it is an impressive piece of engineering.
We would also like to thank the following local businesses for their continuing support, which is valued and appreciated:
MR ROBBIE THORTON - TDP.IE MAPPING - WICKLOW
MR DALE KANE - KANE TRAILERS - LEITRIM
MR STEPHEN O'CONNOR - O'CONNOR PLANT HIRE - DOWNPATRICK
MR NOEL COCHRANE - CAR SPARES ANNADORAN - DOWNPATRICK
MR EAMON ROGERS - CAR BODY REPAIRS - BALLYNAHINCH
MR IAN DOUGLAS - DOUGLAS AUTOPARTS - BALLYNAHINCH
MR DAVID WALSH - TORQUE-TECH - WALSH MOTORSPORT - ARDGLASS
MR TREVOR MATTHEWSON - STRANGFORD HOLIDAY PARK - STRANGFORD
MR M. VALENTE - CROSSGAR MOTORSPORT (ADMIN)
MR GORDON WILSON - WILSON GRAPHICS - RATHFRILAND
CARAVAN REPAIRS IRELAND - CARAVAN MAINTENANCE - DOWNPATRICK
DAVID ROGAN AND ROBERT MATTHEWSON (SERVICE CREW - PREPARATION)
Once again, a big thank you, to all of the above local businesses and associates.
We would urge you to support your local business as much as possible.
Should you like to be part of the growing team at Crossgar Motorsport and lend a helping hand, please phone or email us on the contact page.
Best wishes
and may all the competitors have a safe and enjoyable rally......
Sam Matthewson.
Mandela star gears up for Circuit of Ireland Rally
World famous actor Idris Elba has been trying out a new role as a rally driver on the roads of Monaghan, before taking part in this year’s Circuit of Ireland Rally in just a few weeks’ time.
Car enthusiast Elba, who played Nelson Mandela in the filmMandela – Long Walk to Freedom, as well as winning a Golden Globe for his role in the BBC crime thriller series Luther, has been test driving in Monaghan to get a true feel of the driving skills needed for the Rally on Easter weekend.
The career change for the actor and producer comes as he embarks on a new and exciting challenge pushing himself to his limit, racing on land, water and in the air for a new 4-part TV documentary series airing on Discovery TV.
Each challenge will see Idris join a team of professionals who will work with him to help him achieve his goals, and this week he was learning the tricks of the trade from experienced World Rally Championship co-driver, Michael Orr from Bangor, County Down.
Elba, 42, will learn the mechanics of British Junior Rally Champion Gus Greensmith’s Ford Fiesta R1 and how to handle pacenotes and practice on closed roads in the most testing of situations.
As part of the series he will also work with seven-time Circuit of Ireland winner and rally legend Jimmy McRae on advanced tuition.
Rally Director Bobby Willis said it was a “major coup” that the acclaimed actor was so keen to take part in the historic international event, one of the world’s oldest rallies, first organised in 1931 as the Ulster Motor Rally.
Mr Willis added, “We are so thrilled to host such a well-known celebrity at the rally as he takes on a new challenge. He will be truly pushed to his limits as he learns the finely-honed skills, precision and dedication needed to take part in the adrenalin-fuelled Circuit of Ireland this Easter.
“In recent years we have built up the rally to become a major event in the sporting calendar of Northern Ireland and last year over 74,000 people came to view the various stages while it was viewed by over 14 million people across the world.
“The fact that Elba’s series will broadcast on the Discovery Channel in the UK, US and across more than 220 countries and territories showcasing Northern Ireland and the Circuit to an audience of many million more viewers is staggering but amazing news!”
The three-day 2015 Circuit of Ireland Rally will get underway on Thursday 2 April when Europe’s top drivers rev up in the heart of Belfast, with a ceremonial start taking place at the City Hall.
The Circuit, which will run across stunning stages in counties Antrim and Down, will be part of the prestigious FIA European Rally Championship for the second year and counts as round two of the 2015 FIA ERC Junior Championship.
The rally will finish back in Belfast on the evening of Saturday April 4 and the winner will be crowned at Belfast’s Titanic Quarter, the site of the Rally HQ and Service Park, which will welcome competitors and team personnel over four days from Wednesday 1 April.
For up to date information on the 2015 Circuit of Ireland visit www.circuitofireland.net
ENDS
For more information contact Andrea Kennedy at JPR on 028 9076 0066 or 07808 761 857
Car enthusiast Elba, who played Nelson Mandela in the filmMandela – Long Walk to Freedom, as well as winning a Golden Globe for his role in the BBC crime thriller series Luther, has been test driving in Monaghan to get a true feel of the driving skills needed for the Rally on Easter weekend.
The career change for the actor and producer comes as he embarks on a new and exciting challenge pushing himself to his limit, racing on land, water and in the air for a new 4-part TV documentary series airing on Discovery TV.
Each challenge will see Idris join a team of professionals who will work with him to help him achieve his goals, and this week he was learning the tricks of the trade from experienced World Rally Championship co-driver, Michael Orr from Bangor, County Down.
Elba, 42, will learn the mechanics of British Junior Rally Champion Gus Greensmith’s Ford Fiesta R1 and how to handle pacenotes and practice on closed roads in the most testing of situations.
As part of the series he will also work with seven-time Circuit of Ireland winner and rally legend Jimmy McRae on advanced tuition.
Rally Director Bobby Willis said it was a “major coup” that the acclaimed actor was so keen to take part in the historic international event, one of the world’s oldest rallies, first organised in 1931 as the Ulster Motor Rally.
Mr Willis added, “We are so thrilled to host such a well-known celebrity at the rally as he takes on a new challenge. He will be truly pushed to his limits as he learns the finely-honed skills, precision and dedication needed to take part in the adrenalin-fuelled Circuit of Ireland this Easter.
“In recent years we have built up the rally to become a major event in the sporting calendar of Northern Ireland and last year over 74,000 people came to view the various stages while it was viewed by over 14 million people across the world.
“The fact that Elba’s series will broadcast on the Discovery Channel in the UK, US and across more than 220 countries and territories showcasing Northern Ireland and the Circuit to an audience of many million more viewers is staggering but amazing news!”
The three-day 2015 Circuit of Ireland Rally will get underway on Thursday 2 April when Europe’s top drivers rev up in the heart of Belfast, with a ceremonial start taking place at the City Hall.
The Circuit, which will run across stunning stages in counties Antrim and Down, will be part of the prestigious FIA European Rally Championship for the second year and counts as round two of the 2015 FIA ERC Junior Championship.
The rally will finish back in Belfast on the evening of Saturday April 4 and the winner will be crowned at Belfast’s Titanic Quarter, the site of the Rally HQ and Service Park, which will welcome competitors and team personnel over four days from Wednesday 1 April.
For up to date information on the 2015 Circuit of Ireland visit www.circuitofireland.net
ENDS
For more information contact Andrea Kennedy at JPR on 028 9076 0066 or 07808 761 857
Unveiled..... The new Crossgar Motorsport addition.
Fiat Stilo.....
MMP Marshal Rewards Day
Marshals are the unsung volunteers in motorsport. Come rain, hail or shine, they stand in the middle of forests, at the side of closed roads, at race circuits and other venues in all conditions, helping to ensure the safe running of motorsport events across the country.
There are literally thousands of these unpaid volunteers across the world and without them, motorsport events would simply fail to run.
It’s rare that they receive a ‘thank you’ for their sterling efforts but in Northern Ireland, an organisation called the Motorsport Marshalling Partnership (MMP) helps ensure that marshals are rewarded for the time that they dedicate to motorsport.
As well as training marshals for their roles, the MMP also organises an annual ‘Rewards Day’, where marshals have the opportunity to get passenger runs in rally cars.
This year’s MMP Rewards Day took place last weekend at Kirkistown Race Circuit and was hailed as the most successful rewards event in the MMP’s history. More than 30 competitors gave up their day to say ‘thank you’ to the marshals, with each bringing their rally cars to the County Down venue to take the marshals for a spin.
More than 70 marshals attended the horsepower fuelled day, with a variety of rally cars giving them the ride of their lives around the race circuit. And after a day of sliding round the track, there were more than 70 beaming faces when it was time to go home.
“It was great to see so many happy faces,” said Northern Ireland’s Go Motorsport Regional Development Officer Jonathan MacDonald, who also took his Evo 1 rally car to the track. “It’s nice to have an opportunity to give something back to the marshals, who put in so much effort during the course of the year.”
“We’re so lucky to have an organisation such as the MMP in Northern Ireland,” he continued. “It was set up 12 years ago with the aim of recruiting more marshals, encouraging them to help at more events, training them to ensure high safety standards, and rewarding them for their efforts.”
“If anyone would like to find out how they can become involved in motorsport, perhaps as a marshal, spectator or competitor, they can log on to GoMotorsport.net or TheMMP.com to find out more,” he added.
There are literally thousands of these unpaid volunteers across the world and without them, motorsport events would simply fail to run.
It’s rare that they receive a ‘thank you’ for their sterling efforts but in Northern Ireland, an organisation called the Motorsport Marshalling Partnership (MMP) helps ensure that marshals are rewarded for the time that they dedicate to motorsport.
As well as training marshals for their roles, the MMP also organises an annual ‘Rewards Day’, where marshals have the opportunity to get passenger runs in rally cars.
This year’s MMP Rewards Day took place last weekend at Kirkistown Race Circuit and was hailed as the most successful rewards event in the MMP’s history. More than 30 competitors gave up their day to say ‘thank you’ to the marshals, with each bringing their rally cars to the County Down venue to take the marshals for a spin.
More than 70 marshals attended the horsepower fuelled day, with a variety of rally cars giving them the ride of their lives around the race circuit. And after a day of sliding round the track, there were more than 70 beaming faces when it was time to go home.
“It was great to see so many happy faces,” said Northern Ireland’s Go Motorsport Regional Development Officer Jonathan MacDonald, who also took his Evo 1 rally car to the track. “It’s nice to have an opportunity to give something back to the marshals, who put in so much effort during the course of the year.”
“We’re so lucky to have an organisation such as the MMP in Northern Ireland,” he continued. “It was set up 12 years ago with the aim of recruiting more marshals, encouraging them to help at more events, training them to ensure high safety standards, and rewarding them for their efforts.”
“If anyone would like to find out how they can become involved in motorsport, perhaps as a marshal, spectator or competitor, they can log on to GoMotorsport.net or TheMMP.com to find out more,” he added.
Our very own car also took part in the annual 'Rewards Day'
Below are the photos of the new addition to Crossgar Motorsport...
Below are the photos of the new addition to Crossgar Motorsport...
IF EVER THERE WAS A RALLY THAT FEATURES EVERY KIND OF CHALLENGE IMAGINABLE, IT IS RALLY ARGENTINA.
Run in the province of Cordoba, Rally Argentina is considered the ultimate test of man and machine. The crew that wins in Argentina will need to overcome the following challenges:
Water splashes
Rally Argentina has more water splashes than any other event on the WRC calendar and they’re considered the stuff of legend.
If there is rain before the start of the event, the rivers are likely to be swollen so the crews will need to exercise caution as they pass through the water.
If they go too fast and their car ingests a large amount of water, it will stop. Immediately.
Unusual obstacles
The El Condor and Mina Clavero stages are littered with ancient iron bridges that pass over deep canyons underneath.
The entry and exit points on the bridges are extremely narrow and the wooden slats that the cars will drive across offer very little in the way of grip.
Precision will be vital. And that won’t be easy if visibility is poor. Early autumn weather in the southern hemisphere often leads to dense fog in the mountains.
Mixed road conditions
The 14 stages that make up this year’s Rally Argentina route are a mix of smooth gravel roads that are typical of Argentina’s ‘pampa’ (vast lowland plains), and the rough, rock-strewn roads in the mountains.
Many of the gravel roads have a soft, sandy base and become heavily rutted for repeat passes. Moving out of the ‘rails’ here can pitch a car off the road.
Tyres will take a real pounding on the stages with a firmer base, and with the longest stage measuring a whopping 51.88km in length, the choice of hard of soft compound tyres will be key.
Altitude
World Rally Cars need air – and plenty of it – to perform at their best.
But, as is the case with Rally Mexico, the air on the highest stages in Argentina is at a premium. The iconic El Condor stage, for example, starts from an altitude of 7,000 ft above sea level.
That’s a long way up and that means the power generated by the 1.6-litre, turbocharged World Rally Car engines will be hugely compromised.
The fans
The Argentine fans will have camped out for anything up to three days in order to get a good vantage point on their favourite stage, so by the time the WRC stars arrive in competitive anger, the excitement on the side of the stages will have reached fever pitch.
The WRC crews will need to be careful they don’t get distracted by the passionate show of noise and colour that is synonymous with Rally Argentina. If they do, they’re likely to face an early retirement.
Water splashes
Rally Argentina has more water splashes than any other event on the WRC calendar and they’re considered the stuff of legend.
If there is rain before the start of the event, the rivers are likely to be swollen so the crews will need to exercise caution as they pass through the water.
If they go too fast and their car ingests a large amount of water, it will stop. Immediately.
Unusual obstacles
The El Condor and Mina Clavero stages are littered with ancient iron bridges that pass over deep canyons underneath.
The entry and exit points on the bridges are extremely narrow and the wooden slats that the cars will drive across offer very little in the way of grip.
Precision will be vital. And that won’t be easy if visibility is poor. Early autumn weather in the southern hemisphere often leads to dense fog in the mountains.
Mixed road conditions
The 14 stages that make up this year’s Rally Argentina route are a mix of smooth gravel roads that are typical of Argentina’s ‘pampa’ (vast lowland plains), and the rough, rock-strewn roads in the mountains.
Many of the gravel roads have a soft, sandy base and become heavily rutted for repeat passes. Moving out of the ‘rails’ here can pitch a car off the road.
Tyres will take a real pounding on the stages with a firmer base, and with the longest stage measuring a whopping 51.88km in length, the choice of hard of soft compound tyres will be key.
Altitude
World Rally Cars need air – and plenty of it – to perform at their best.
But, as is the case with Rally Mexico, the air on the highest stages in Argentina is at a premium. The iconic El Condor stage, for example, starts from an altitude of 7,000 ft above sea level.
That’s a long way up and that means the power generated by the 1.6-litre, turbocharged World Rally Car engines will be hugely compromised.
The fans
The Argentine fans will have camped out for anything up to three days in order to get a good vantage point on their favourite stage, so by the time the WRC stars arrive in competitive anger, the excitement on the side of the stages will have reached fever pitch.
The WRC crews will need to be careful they don’t get distracted by the passionate show of noise and colour that is synonymous with Rally Argentina. If they do, they’re likely to face an early retirement.
Hyundai announces Shell as partner for 2014 rally return
Hyundai has announced Shell as the major sponsor of its World Rally Championship and revealed its 2014 livery ahead of its first event – the Monte Carlo Rally – in January. The official name of the team is the Hyundai Shell World Rally Team.
It also confirmed a new sub-brand to build road-going performance cars, called N, with further details to be announced.
On the rally front, ex-Citroen driver, Spaniard Dani Sordo, is to be final driver in the team’s line-up. Sordo joins 2013 WRC runner-up, Belgian Thierry Neuville, the pair spearheading the 2014 Hyundai campaign alongside Juho Hanninen driving in the Swedish event, and Chris Atkinson joining on his home event, Rally Australia.
Hyundai is returning to the WRC for the first time since 2003, with a brand new operation built from the ground up under the guidance of engineer Michel Nandan. The team will run the i20 hatch, which is both a similar size to the VW Polo that Sebastien Ogier won this year’s title, and also allows the necessary wheel travel for the demands the 13-rally championship. 'Our aims for 2014 are realistic,' says Nandan. 'We want to finish each rally with both cars and build up a database of information and experience so we can develop ourselves into prospective rally winners in the future. If all goes well, we hope to be competing for occasional podiums as the year progresses.'
Shell’s partnership stems from a long tradition in WRC – remember Shell on the Group B Peugeot 205s, and the Ford Escorts of Bjorn Waldegarde, Ari Vatanen and Roger Clark.
The Hyundai Shell World Rally Team’s first rally will be round one of the 2014 WRC, which will be held on January 14-19, 2014.
It also confirmed a new sub-brand to build road-going performance cars, called N, with further details to be announced.
On the rally front, ex-Citroen driver, Spaniard Dani Sordo, is to be final driver in the team’s line-up. Sordo joins 2013 WRC runner-up, Belgian Thierry Neuville, the pair spearheading the 2014 Hyundai campaign alongside Juho Hanninen driving in the Swedish event, and Chris Atkinson joining on his home event, Rally Australia.
Hyundai is returning to the WRC for the first time since 2003, with a brand new operation built from the ground up under the guidance of engineer Michel Nandan. The team will run the i20 hatch, which is both a similar size to the VW Polo that Sebastien Ogier won this year’s title, and also allows the necessary wheel travel for the demands the 13-rally championship. 'Our aims for 2014 are realistic,' says Nandan. 'We want to finish each rally with both cars and build up a database of information and experience so we can develop ourselves into prospective rally winners in the future. If all goes well, we hope to be competing for occasional podiums as the year progresses.'
Shell’s partnership stems from a long tradition in WRC – remember Shell on the Group B Peugeot 205s, and the Ford Escorts of Bjorn Waldegarde, Ari Vatanen and Roger Clark.
The Hyundai Shell World Rally Team’s first rally will be round one of the 2014 WRC, which will be held on January 14-19, 2014.
World Rally Championship seals BT Sport TV deal with live coverage
Two stages of next week's Monte Carlo Rally will be shown live on British television after the World Rally Championship signed a new deal with BT Sport.
The WRC promoter's all-new agreement for coverage of the 2014 series on BT Sport will be officially announced on Saturday.
The pay-to-view sports channel will begin its WRC coverage with a mid-week season preview next week before nightly coverage of the Monte Carlo Rally and then live coverage of both runs over the Sospel-Breil sur Roya stage next Saturday afternoon and evening.
The 10-mile test will be run as the powerstage second time around.
Sources at AUTOSPORT International confirmed the deal on Friday.
The first mention of the WRC will come on the BT Sports Panel show on Saturday morning, when British driver Matthew Wilson will join the presenters in the studio - along with Hyundai's all-new i20 WRC.
Last year the season opener in Monte Carlo was not broadcast on British television at all.
The WRC promoter's all-new agreement for coverage of the 2014 series on BT Sport will be officially announced on Saturday.
The pay-to-view sports channel will begin its WRC coverage with a mid-week season preview next week before nightly coverage of the Monte Carlo Rally and then live coverage of both runs over the Sospel-Breil sur Roya stage next Saturday afternoon and evening.
The 10-mile test will be run as the powerstage second time around.
Sources at AUTOSPORT International confirmed the deal on Friday.
The first mention of the WRC will come on the BT Sports Panel show on Saturday morning, when British driver Matthew Wilson will join the presenters in the studio - along with Hyundai's all-new i20 WRC.
Last year the season opener in Monte Carlo was not broadcast on British television at all.
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