Mayo and District Motorsport Club return to action this coming Sunday, August 9 when the first Loose Surface Autocross (LS ) for 2020 takes place in the Valley.
The first LS event for 2020 was originally scheduled to take place in May but was postponed due to the Covid-19 lockdown; the club also postponed two subsequent events which were scheduled for June and July.
Earlier this year the Motor club ran a very successful event, when in early March the Mayo Stages Rally took place in Castlebar. This was one of the last motorsport events to take place in Ireland before the country went into lock down due to the pandemic; now five months on, the Mayo club are one of the first Motor clubs back in action since the country started to open up and sporting organisations attempt to get back on track.
The Mayo and District Motor Club Autocross events are exceptionally popular and attract competitors from all over the country; Monaghan’s Derek Mackerel who won the Frank Harrington Championship in 2018 and again in 2019 has been competing in Mayo for many years in addition to competitors travelling from Limerick and Kerry.
The event is also an opportunity for club members to test their driving skills as autocross is a perfect introduction to motorsport where competitors get to test their driving and car handling skills in a controlled and safe environment.
Many club members have progressed on to competitive rallying after perfecting their skills in autocross. Winner of the Mayo and District Motorsport Club Young Driver Championship in 2018 and again in 2019 was Castlebar’s Patrick McEveney jnr; Patrick together with his father Pat and sister Shauna are regular competitors in the Valley.
Current Covid-19 restrictions require every sporting organisation to put additional measures in place prior to running an event. Mayo and District Club officials have been busy over the last few weeks putting these measures in place to ensure that this event is run in keeping with both Government and Motorsport Ireland guidelines.
Entries forms are to be completed and submitted electronically and will all be in place in advance of the event, no entries will be accepted on the day of the event and unfortunately on this occasion no spectators will be allowed. Mayo Motorsport Club would like to thank Frank Harrington and Victor Tenor for their ongoing support and their cooperation in facilitating this event.
The revised 2020 Autocross schedule includes an extra date for August, with the next event taking place on August 30, followed by one on September 27 and the fourth and final event for the year taking place on Sunday, October 18.
