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LATEST NEWS
A
WIN TO END THE SEASON
After a very turbulent season with the Xsara,
the final round of the Irish Championship saw
John take his first win of the season. A very
small entry in Mondello meant John's only
serious rival was Championship hopeful George
Tracey in his old Peugeot 306. Once again,
mechanical woes saw the Xsara underperform on
some of the heats but when resolved the Carsmart
backed Citroen was on full song. With Tracey
succumbing to mechanical failure in the A final,
the Superfinal proved to be an easy cruise to
the chequered flag and a victory for the JMC
Rallysport.com team.
Final round- Irish Rallycross Championship-Mondello
Park
SUPER FINAL:
1 John McCluskey (Citroen Xsara) 3m 31.82s,
2 Michael Morris (Impreza) 3m
39.12s,
3 Andrew Morris (Impreza) 3m
43.69s,
4 Michael Coyne (Nova) 3m
43.84s,
5 Lloyd Spendlove (Nova) 3m
44.89s,
6 Seamus Murphy (Escort) 3m
47.56s.
SUPERPRIX CROFT
What
began as a promising weekend on Saturday for the JMC
team, resulted in a true reflection of what has been
a very poor season for John and team. After some
engine tweaks on Saturday pre qualifying by both
Murray motorsport and Kenneth Hansen's team, John
showed his intentions with 6th quickest time
overtaking current champion Christopher Evans in the
process. On Sunday morning's first race, an orange
light appeared to show a jump start and whilst John
stayed on the grid, all other cars began the race
and despite the teams strong objections and request
for a re run, John was left with an uphill battle
for the remainder of the day. After grinding himself
into the semi finals, the mechanical gremlins once
again returned and a bent valve saw John have to
start the final with a severely underpowered Xsara
resulting in 7th place.
CROFT
REVIEW
The last round of the British Championship saw the
JMC Rallysport.com team take a hard fought 2nd place
in the Superfinal at Croft. Drama was once again the
order of the day with a broken steering arm
threathening to put a cap on what has been a fraught
season for the team. That wasn't the case but with a
third row start postion in the Superfinal it looked
like an uphill battle for John. A fantastic start
saw John rocket past Carnegie into 3rd position and
then chase down Pat Doran for the runners up postion.
A mechanical failure on the final lap saw Doran slow
and McCluskey get past to claim his best result of
2006. Next up for the team is a return to Croft next
weekend for the Rallycross Superprix October 29th
IRISH
RALLYCROSS ROUND 7
The
penultimate round of the Irish Rallycross
championship saw John emerge in a freshly fettled
Xsara after the engine woes of the British round 2
weeks ago. A pre event test and shakedown
on Saturday left the JMC team quietly confident for
the Sunday event. This confidence was realized when
John claimed pole for the A final after fastest
times in the heats. A flawless race then saw John
take the chequered flag for the first time in this
frustrating 2006 season. Pole for the Superfinal and
confidence high, John was first into Rallycross 1
but a mistake at the hole in the hedge and a coming
together with old rival Carnegie resulted in a
broken steering rack and another DNF for the JMC
crew. However with the whole days performance
analyzed, John was extremely happy with both the
Xsara's and his own performance and was eagerly
waiting the next two events at Croft.
LYDDEN
HILL
PREVIEW
In what
has been a very poor season for John and the team,
hopes are high that a good result can be achieved at
one of John's favourite tracks this coming Bank
Holiday Monday. The team will also be conscious that
they were victorious at the corresponding event this
time last year where John stunned local favourite
Doran to blast to a comfortable victory in the
Superfinal. However, John will also be aware that
this years events have seen much stronger
competition with nearly twice as many Supercars
taking to the grids this season. This coupled with
young guns Evans and Jordan claiming most of the
wins will see John pushing the Xsara to the limits
in what envisages to be a fantastic event. Action
starts 10am Bank Holiday Monday, August 28th 10am at
the Kent track.P.S Keep an eye out for the new JMC
Rallysport team transporter.. you won't miss it !!
LYDDEN
PREVIEW
The JMC
Rallysport team begin another British Championship
this Easter Monday at the home of Rallycross, Lydden
Hill in Kent. One of John's favourite tracks and
having won the last event there in August 2005,
will no doubt see John hoping for the perfect start
to the season with a win. Immense competition not
seen since the glory days of Rallycross will mean
John facing over 16 Supercar competitors in what is
bound to be a fantastic event. John stunned localman
Pat Doran and his fans last time in Lydden by taking
a start to finish victory in the Superfinal and is
eager for a repeat performance. Full TV coverage
has been agreed with Irish company, On The Limit
Sports which will cover all the championship. This
weekend will also see John officially unveiling his
new sponsor for the season,
The CarSmart
Group
CONSISTENCY THE KEY FOR 2006
John kicks off another Rallycross season this
Sunday with round one of the Irish Rallycross
Championship at Mondello Park. Beginning his
second season with the ex Hansen Citroen Xsara
WRC, John is hoping for a very consistent
season in his efforts to attain the Irish &
British titles which have eluded him since his
Rallycross career began in 2001.
2005 proved that the Dubliner can mix it with
the best of them, with double wins in the
British Championship and winning the final two
rounds of the Irish championship in Mondello. A
couple of low point scoring finishes in both
championships left John unable to challenge for
the titles but with consistency the key for
2006, he hopes 2006 to be his year.
Instrumental in bringing the Irish & British
Championships together for shared events, John
hopes that this will entice more UK competitors
to the Irish Championship and judging by
this Sundays entry, his incentive seems to have
worked.
Action kicks off in Mondello at 10am this
Sunday, February 5th
McCLUSKEY TAKES 2nd WIN OF SEASON
(PIC TIM WHITTINGTON)
“I’m getting used to
this! " exclaimed John McCluskey as he
pulled into the paddock following his
fantastic win in Lydden on Bank Holiday
Monday last. A second win at the home of
Rallycross saw John move to third place in
the championship after a fraught day turned
to elation. John, like most of his Supercar
rivals had a very mixed run through the
heats. Heat one saw a power drain leave the
immaculate Citroen Xsara stagger off the
grid and leave John chasing the pack,
resulting in a 5th quickest time. A clear
run in heat 2 meant second fastest time &
John hot on the heels of local driver and
favourite Pat Doran. With the third heat
proving to be very important
as to who was on pole for the A final, John
was second on the grid with George Tracey on
pole. Another fantastic start saw John get
the edge on George but a slight mistake at
the first corner saw John & George coming
together and the Xsara coming off worse. A
non finish and a lot of work for the team
meant it was touch & go for the JMC
Rallysport team making the superfinal. The
only consolation was that John’s first two
times had ensured him an outside position on
the front row. After 90 mins of frantic work
and effort, the team fantastically managed
to produce the car on the dummy grid for the
Superfinal. The usual mayhem of a Superfinal
ensued and John avoided a first corner
incident which saw rivals Tracey, Carnegie,
Gibson & Grant all miss the restart. John
then coasted to 2nd place behind
a hard charging and on form Pat Doran. At
the restart, John’s renowned rocket starts
once again saw him get in front of pole
sitter Pat Doran and despite his best
efforts, Doran could not catch the cool and
calculated race John produced. “I am gutted
“proclaimed
Doran on the podium but still found the time
to congratulate his rival. Once again, John
has shown that he is force to be reckoned
with in the Citroen and his rivals will be
watching him in the last round in Croft.
John
McCluskey and the rest of the JMC
Rallysport.com team make their second trip
to Wales, UK in a matter of weeks for round
4 of the British Rallycross championship.
After showing great form in the heats and
the A final in the previous round in
Anglesea, John was disappointed to have
finished with a small amount of points but
hopes to continue to show his fellow
competitors that the Xsara WRC is a force to
be reckoned with. Fingers are crossed for
the event, particularly for no tyre problems
which have dogged the Citroen but recent
consultation with Avon should ensure that
this problem is in the past. Action starts
in Pembrey @ 10am Sunday, July 24th.
Pic copyright jkdesign.as
MAIDEN VICTORY FOR JMC
IN BRITISH RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP
John's recent return to
form continued today with his first ever win in the British
Rallycross Championship in Knockhill today. JMC saw off all
competition as he powered from 5th on the grid in the Superfinal to
take the chequered flag in style. His victory was all the more
sweeter as his recent strain of bad luck looked to have returned
when he suffered a puncture on the last lap however a focused John
kept the shoe in and claimed victory ahead of Pat Doran and Dermot
Carnegie.
FANTASTIC 12TH FOR JMC
IN EUROPEAN RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP
It was a fantastic
return to form for John as he secured 12th place in his premier
appearance in the ERC. A superb days racing culminated in John
coming a close 2nd to Local Hero Jean Luc Pouiller in the C Final
in Essay, France.
MORE FRUSTRATION!
Another frustrating weekend ensued for the JMC
Rallysport.com team for round 2 of the British & Irish Rallycross
championships yesterday. Despite a magnificent day which saw the biggest
attendance in Mondello for quite some time, it proved a fruitless weekend
again for John. A broken gearbox at a pre event shakedown on Saturday
afternoon meant the team had a busy Saturday night re-fettling the Xsara WRC.
Blue skies on Sunday morning saw John posting 2nd fastest time in Heat 1
which put the team in high spirits. Unfortunately, John was drawn in the
first group of Supercar heats for Heats 2 & 3 and the organisers had watered
the track
resulting in slippery conditions & times 2/3 secs off the subsequent
Supercar heats. Despite this series of events, JMC put the Citroen on the
front row of the grid for the Superfinal A. John was not to be rewarded
though as the Front differential burst as the cars launched from their grid
positions, leaving John to limp around for the five laps with a time that
saw him missing the opportunity of a Superfinal place. Motorsport can be a
cruel sport as the JMC Rallysport team discovered last weekend but positives
can again be taken from the perforamance and John will continue to pursue
his debut win in the beautiful
Xsara
IRISH RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 1
A troubled debut with the new Xsara WRC left
John & team with a steady 3rd place finish in the 1st
round of the Irish Rallycross championship in Mondello park on Sunday, March
6th. Despite a fantastic summer like day, the dark clouds
descended on JMC Rallysport.com with a series of successive teething
problems with the beautiful new Xsara WRC. A broken shaft and anti-lag
problems resulted in John being in 4th position after the first 2
heats. Trojan work by Murray Motorsport and the JMC mechanics resulted in
the problems being resolved. The familiar rocket start from John in heat 3
resulted in quickest time for John and elevated him onto the front row for
the final alongside Carnegie & pole sitter, George Tracey in his Ex - John
McCluskey Peugeot 306. In the Superfinal, another anti lag problem resulted
in a delayed start of the grid and an uphill battle but John grinded out a
solid 3rd place which was just rewards after such a fraught debut
in his new acquisition. More testing and tweaking will proceed the opening
round of the British Championship on Easter Monday in Lydden, UK.
Tuesday 7th December 2004
JMC RALLYSPORT goes Swedish!
7th December 2004
Irish RallyCross star, John McCluskey from Rathmichael, Co.Dublin has purchased Kenneth Hansen’s 2003 European RallyCross Championship winning Citroen Xsara WRC.
The Dubliner will use the works spec car to contest the Irish & British RallyCross championships in 2005, along with selected European and Super series events. Commenting on his new car John said, “ We are all very excited about the Citroen Xsara. Kenneth has built the car to a very high specification and we really feel that we have the right car to win! ”
The car is currently being fully overhauled by Hansen Motorsport in Sweden and should be ready for pre season testing in January. John’s team, JMC RallySport.com now plan on running a two car team in the British Championship with the news that former group N runner, Mark Watson has committed to renting JMC RallySports Peugeot 306 for the 2005 championship.
The Citroen Xsara WRC will be the first ERC works car to enter the British series for many years. John, who has been a regular on the RallyCross scene since 2001, has come very strong in second half of 2004 with wins in both the Irish and British series. A mechanical fault in the last race of the Irish series meant John was just pipped to the post by arch rival and friend, Dermot Carnegie.
“ I am extremely happy the way the last few months went,” said John. “ We are up there challenging for wins now and the experience we have gained on the various tracks over the past few years is starting to show dividends. 2005 should be a great season!”
Monday 29th Nov 2004
Mondelo bites back in thrilling end to Season
A cold winter’s day in Mondello Park greeted the JMC RallySport.com team for the final round of the Irish Rallycross Championship. Though sunny, the practice was very slippy and John found the going tough as did Dermot Carnegie, his main challenger for the title. Things were to get worse though when the gearbox cried enough in Heat one, giving John an uphill battle for the rest of the day. Down but not out, the team of mechanics solved the gearbox problems and with just minutes to spare, had the 306 fettled and ready for heat 2 where John had a good clean run to lie fourth. Another quick run in heat three saw John finish close behind Holfeld but on the 2nd row of the grid for the final behind pole sitter Manning, Carnegie and Holfeld.
Knowing that he needed to finish ahead of DC to win the championship, John made a super start in the final to stay close behind Manning heading into the first corner. Manning made contact with the tyres and in turn distracted DC to let Holfeld away in the lead followed by John, DC and an ailing Manning. With the JMC team ecstatic John continued to push and keep Dermot at a safe distance only for the ultra reliable Peugeot to drop onto three cylinders on the 2nd lap. Dermot eased past on the main straight and although John did his best to keep the gap respectable, the championship was lost. A sad end to what has been a brilliant run for the team over the last three months, which saw John winning two rounds of the Irish championship and breaking his British championship duck by winning round eight. Watch this space for 2005!!
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