Louth's Logan Hoey keeps title hopes on track with strong showing at Mondello

After a long winter break, the change of the season to spring saw the return of the PartsForCars IRX Irish Rallycross Championship to Mondello Park for rounds five and six of the series, with Co. Louth's Logan Hoey once again at the centre of the action in the ultra-competitive Junior category.

Rallycross continues to grow, especially in the junior classes, with a brilliant grid of 16 cars lining up over the weekend, and with at least two more expected to join them in the near future, the future of the sport looks bright.

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The announcement of Mondello Park hosting a round of the FIA European Rallycross Championship on July 19 has also boosted interest across the paddock.

For Hoey, the weekend marked his toughest test of the season so far, as Tallaght driver Eoin Dooley arrived with a new Mini and immediately showed the pace to challenge the reigning champion and current series leader.

Dooley topped the results in three of his heats across the weekend, but Hoey still showed his class in Saturday's final, taking victory ahead of Hugo Loonam with Dooley in third after a hard-fought contest.

Sunday proved even more intense, with Hoey, Dooley, and Loonam battling throughout the heats before lining up together on the front row for the final.

Loonam made the best start and led early, but a mistake at the final corner allowed Hoey to get a better run down the straight and take the lead before the race was stopped with red flags.

On the restart, strategy played a key role. Dooley again took the joker lap early and used it to his advantage, holding off Hoey on the final lap to take his first win of the series, but the Louth driver still secured valuable championship points with second place.

Dooley said afterwards: "It's been a fantastic weekend. We finally got the Mini finished but didn't know where we would be in terms of pace. I got to grips with the car very quick, and swapped lap records with Logan Hoey all weekend.

"I used the early joker in the first run of the final, and it worked, so I did it again in the re-run, and it proved the right thing to do as it gave me the advantae to hold the lead to the line and take my first win."

Hoey was statisfied with his own performance across the two days, particularly after the problems before the Sunday final.

"The weekend went well, taking the win on Saturday and a second on Sunday. I had trouble on the grid ahead of the re-run final as the car cut out and wouldn't start for a few minutes.

"It did eventually, but I didn't make a good start and dropped to second and then third, but got back to second in the end. It's more points for the final championship rounds in May."

With one win and a second place from the weekend, Hoey remains firmly on course in the championship standings heading into the final rounds of the IRX Irish Rallycross Championship, which takes place at Mondello Park on May 23 and 24.