It was a busy weekend for motorsport championships all round with a number of championships being decided. In a great weekend for Irish motorsport, two Irish pairings won major rally championships in Britain and Italy and a Meath driver is the favourite to take an American racing title. Keith Cronin from Bantry and his Limerick co-driver Greg Shinnors scored their third International win of the year, to clinch the British Rally Championship, the first Irish crew to take the title since the legendary Billy Coleman, 35 years ago.

The 23 year old West Cork driver, the 2007 winner of the Billy Coleman Award for Young Rally Driver of the Year, won three of the six rounds in his Cremins Coaches Mitsubishi Evo 9 and finished second in two more behind three times champion Mark Higgins.

Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle won Rally San Remo in Italy in their Peugeot 207 to take the Intercontinental Rally Challenge even though one round remains next month. Their title rival, Czech ace Jan Kopecky, crashed out on the opening day leaving the Tyrone-Kerry combination in an unbeatable position.

In the United States, double Young Racing Driver of the Year Peter Dempsey from Ashbourne, Co Meath, scored his fifth win of the year at Road Atlanta to increase his lead in the Star Mazda Championship as it heads for its final round at Laguna Seca in California in two weeks.

Dempsey qualified in pole position ahead of Conor Daly, son of Ireland’s former Formula 1 driver Derek Daly, and dominated the race, with Daly finishing in second place. Britain’s Adam Christodoulou, who took third place, is the only one who could beat the Irishman to the title but sixth place for Dempsey would be enough to become champion.

Closer to home in Fermoy on Sunday Mike Deane wrapped up the Prodrift Irish Series, the results from the day
1st James Deane
2nd JP McCarthy
3rd Jonny Power
4th Dean Karnage

Congrats to all the lads ! Check out the Motorsport Forum for images from the weekend !