Ballyshannon Hot Rod Club - Martin Callan Memorial Cup Meeting

The Ballyshannon track in County Kildare impressed us so much on our first visit a couple of years ago that it's now becoming an essential stop on our annual schedule. Although some of the independent Hot Rod clubs in Ireland are now struggling for numbers much as the Autograss clubs are, Ballyshannon's well established and superbly prepared venue, along with its welcoming atmosphere, continues to attract healthy fields. The Martin Callan Memorial Cup day, the club's traditional mid-August fixture, followed a couple of weeks when the weather had interrupted the Irish racing season and drew 50 plus entries, who all enjoyed five rounds of class racing on a warm, sunny afternoon interrupted by a couple of quick showers. Close and fast racing was the order of the day until the hotly contested Superfinal saw just one of the ten qualifiers running when the third attempt at the race was stopped, with local favourite Sox Coyne on his roof and Nigel Dooley taking the win despite finishing the race in a different car to the one he started in! A spectacular show that demonstrated why this grass roots venue continues to be so popular with both drivers and spectators - as well as providing a training ground for many future Autograss racers!