Meath venues on motor club endurance trial

With less than two weeks to go to the first ALMC motor club endurance trial of 2013 on 16th February, Noel Devlin and the ALMC team have been working hard to put together a difficult and challenging event for competitors to tackle. The trial will see competitors visit ten different selective venues as they tackle a total of 60km of competitive distance, the event will start from the Luttrellstown Golf resort near Clonee to the west of the city taking crews through counties Meath, Dublin, and Louth before returning to the finish at the Luttrellstown estate. A number of the selective venues will be familiar to competitors as they have been used for previous events although clerk of the course Noel Devlin assures us that the tests will be very different and have been designed to maximise the distance of the selectives. The event will open with a run through the Luttrellstown estate a now familiar opening salvo of the ALMC spring Endurance Trial, on making it through the opener crews will move to Fairyhouse Racecourse just up the road where a route that resembles a spiders web awaits competitors and maybe even a TV appearance as the RTE TV camera's follow Greg Starr from Operation Transformation around the racecourse. Following the jumps at Fairyhouse is a new venue for this year, with Raystown Business Park in Ashbourne again a short distance away with the addition of a bus or two to create some excitement. Turvey at Junction 4 on the old road north is the scheduled coffee stop followed by a test amongst the plant and machinery supplied as unforgiving pylons provided by the MacHale's famous for their combined six Irish Tarmac rally championship titles. Into the early afternoon and the event gets into full swing and following a road section north west the event moves to Walterstown Farm (near Kentstown) and a reverse run of the very popular test from last year and then a short dash over the road to Harristown Landfill and a chance for competitors to recycle any bits that may have come off their endurance cars. Slane Castle is next up and with Bon Jovi and Eminem due here later this year the wonderful grounds of the world famous concert venue will be alive with the sound of trial cars by mid afternoon as the crews do battle around the castle for the first of two runs through and a chance to perfect the selective notes before darkness falls. Townley Hall joins the list of new for 2013 venues, it is home to the 'School of Philosophy' but the crews will need a lot more than Philo to negotiate the driveway; logging roads and mud tracks on the two and a half kilometre selective. With the afternoon drawing to a close and the dusk turning to darkness Whiteriver Kart Track will be the final test in whatever is left of daylight and the crews will have a chance to display their track skills all be it in something a lot bigger than a kart. The first of the night selective's will be a return to Townley Hall which will most definitely look a lot different in the dark and then the afternoons tests will follow in quick succession Slane Castle, Harristown Landfill and Fairyhouse Racecourse to name but a few. Then the 'piste de résistance' translated as 'Endurance crews worst nightmare in the Dark' 15km of selective around the grounds of the Luttreslltown estate with several laps and cars starting at minute intervals it will surely be a spectacular light show and perfect end to an excellent day and true endurance event. A welcome rest will greet crews at the golf resort beside the final test and for those not driving home and who mastered it all it will be "porter, pie and prizes" to end the day. Entries remain open for the event although places are limited; regulations and event details are available on almc.ie or by contacting Deirdre Gallagher event secretary on 086 336 6186 or by email deirdre@almc.ie