In just a few days time the final round of the 2011 Connaught Engines Irish Hillclimb Championship concludes in Donegal, the location, the spectacularly scenic Knockalla Hill. And so, as we look back on another high octane high speed year, where records were spectacularly smashed, and some  cars too. We ponder briefly at Last years  battle that went down to the wire between Paul O'Connell and Simon McKinley on this very hill, Paul had a very scary off that ended his chance of victory, Handing the championship to Simon McKinley.

 

 

 

Wexford Fethard-on-Sea 26th March 2011 

 Day one Wexford:

Wexford kicked off the 2011 championship and Simon McKinley blasted right out of the starting blocks, throwing down the gauntlet to one and all, battle raged on day one between Simon and David James in his ultra fast Evo, with John Byrne in his Jedi nipping at their heels. Paul O'Connell in his older Delta finished forth on the day.

 

Wexford Day two Duncannon:

Again Simon blitzed the opposition as he stamped his authority on the 2011 championship, even a late charge by Paul O'Connell was not enough to pip Simon. Paul was followed home by John Byrne in third, with Joe Courtney in his OMS Hornet finishing fourth.

 

 

 

 

  

Round three The Corkscrew Hill: 

Corkscrew, deceptively technical, synonymous with legends such as Richard Young, and a Mecca for spectators;  And nothing prepares the senses for the sound of V8 growling on the start line. Before launching into heavenly a symphony as the car blasts its way up this Tarmac stairway.

Sylvie Mullins in his Judd powered Gould set a pace that even Simon McKinley could not match, spectators jumped to their feet every time Sylvie and Simon took to the hill, their speed was amazing, their driving seemed to defy the laws of physics. Even  Frank Byrnes in his V8 Pilbeam could not match the outright speed of Sylvie and Simon. 

Sylvie won by a mere blink of the eye from Simon, with Frank Byrnes finishing third. Joe Courtney in his OMS Hornet finishing fourth. 

 

Round four Ballyallaban Hill: 

 

  On Sunday the action moved to Ballyallaban Hill, arguably the most feared hill in the championship, and the location of many spectacularly off road excursions; its bumpy  abrasive tarmac, and  2.2 miles off camber corners with granite like shark teeth. Lie in wait to catch out drivers who push that bit too far, or foolishly underestimate this hill. 

From early morning spectators made their way up the hill, eager to find the best vantage point, as drivers prepared in the paddock for the days battle.

From the word go Simon McKinley set a mind binding pace, you could visibly see Simon wrestle with the wild horses as he made his approach to the carpark, the car getting visibly sideways,  corrected by cat like reflexes from Simon. On his second run Simon smashed his previous record by over a second, setting a new Hill record for a second year in a row. It appears the laws of physics don't apply to Simon; at times, he appears to be able to bend space and time at will. Either way, spectators and competitors alike were astounded by his times. Frank Byrnes finished the day in second, even he could not match Simon's pace. With Brendan Keane in his Swallow R14 coming home third.

Once again Ballyallaban Hill claimed her victims, Ian Quinn in his Mini had a very scary moment when the bonnet flew open on the fastest part of the hill, the Mini suffered substantial damage from the hard granite walls,  thankfully Ian was shaken, but unhurt. later on in the day the Nolan car got out of sorts after the carpark and it too suffered heavy damage. Again Thankfully, the driver walked away from the car, looking back just briefly to study the carnage wrought on the car.  

Once again Simon McKinley was crowned King of this Hill in Ballyvaughan, adding yet another paragraph to Irish Motorsport History & The McKinley Legend. 

Carrick-on-Suir Rounds 5 & 6. 

Simon McKinley continued his onslaught on the championship in Carrick-on-Suir, again he blitzed the opposition,  nobody it seems has an answer to McKinley's speed, Simon took the win on day one with Brendan Keane coming home in second. And third place went to Rory Stevens in his wonderful looking & sounding Radical. 

 

 

 

Day two ended almost exactly as day one, Simon again took the win, and stamped his authority on the Championship, He was again followed home by Brendan Keane in second. With third place going to John Byrne.

With Simon now six for six, it was unlikely the champion would be overtaken in points, never mind on the road!

Rounds 7 & 8 Carlow: 

Round 7: Ardskull 

Once again Simon delivered another devastating blow to the other competitors as he continued to astound everyone with his speed, much head scratching in the paddock by his fellow competitors failed to deliver an answer. Or even halt his relentless championship march. He was followed home in second by John Byrne in his Jedi in second, with Brendan Keane taking third. 

 

 

 

Round 8: Bagenalstown 

Bagenalstown sprint is another unique round of the championship that runs practically in the middle of a town, this  allows spectators unhindered views of the high speed action, and after a bit of tweaking to the chicane alongside the river the action commenced, again Simon McKinley annihilated the rest of the crews, his speed past the swimming pool was simply breathtaking. Yet again John Byrne was second. With Rory Stevens coming third in his Fab looking Radical.