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Griffin Extends RIAC Dunlop Hillclimb Championships Lead

26 April 1999

A weekend double in the Galway Motor Club rounds of the RIAC Dunlop Hillclimb championship have extended the lead of the defending RIAC Dunlop Hillclimb champion, Shannon airport-based ATC Donal Griffin. Wins in round 3, Corkscrew Hill and round 4, Ballyalban Hill compliment his first round win in Inistioge in his Formula Opel Lotus.

It was tight at the top for the shortened Corkscrew hill, running at 0.8 mile when Galway's Padraig Forde in a Scott Hillclimber came to within two-tenths of one second of Griffin on his fourth timed run. The Delta T81 of Ronnie Maybin from Antrim was third, just three-hundredths of a second ahead of Dubliner Karl Cleary's Metro 6R4.

Ballyalban is the longest competition hill in Ireland at 2.2 miles and its challenge showed again this year when Griffin set best time on his second run, with Cleary's challenge ending in tears when he swiped the scenery, without serious damage. Forde was 0.45 of one second in deficit. However an earlier oil spill along most of the hill made conditions tricky for others among the 70-strong starters list, while a heavy hail shower and wet road made further attempts impractical.

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