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Dubliner Derek Tohill yesterday clinched the Parts for Cars Irish Rallycross Championship for the third year in a row by taking a clean sweep of victories at Mondello Park in his Ford Fiesta,  writes  Richard Burke .  Tohill qualified for the day’s main race by winning the Supercar Final, eleven seconds clear of former title holder Tommy Graham, and then went on to win the Super Final as well for the fifth time in six events to put the championship out of reach of his rival. Graham also took second place in the main race, giving him a successful return to the sport after a couple of years’ layoff, with another ex-champion, Michael Coyne, finishing third. Ireland’s Autotest team again finished second in the Ken Wharton Memorial International Autotest in Worcestershire, 33 seconds behind Northern Ireland, who won for the seventh year in a row, and 50 seconds ahead of third placed England. Current Irish Autotest champion Ian White from Kilkenny wa...

Eastwood in the Aston Martin Vantage GTE of TF Sport. Charlie Eastwood from Belfast has been selected as the Young Racing Driver of the Month for August, writes Richard Burk e . The 23 year-old shared TF Sport team’s Aston Martin Vantage to runner up position in the GTE Am class at the Silverstone round of the World Endurance Championship, having led earlier in the six hour race. Charlie started his racing career in karts at the age of eight, achieving great success, and won the 2012 Rotax World Final. He added the 2013 Rotax European title to his list of successes before switching to car racing in 2014, driving in the UK Formula 4 series, the New Zealand Toyota championship and the Formula Renault Eurocup during the next two seasons. He began an association with Porsche GB in late 2015, becoming the 2016/17 Porsche Carrera Cup GB scholar, which launched him into the Carrera Cup championship. Charlie won the Rookie title in 2016 as well as taking 3rd in the Pro class, and went ...

Eddie with his daughter Emily and his brother PJ at the mike. You may know him as the Motoring Editor of the Irish Independent, but there is another side to Eddie Cunningham, writes T rish Whelan . He has just written a collection of 20 short stories. Called ‘Letters in the Sky and other stories’, they are described as original, engrossing and unusual in that they pick the lock of the bizarre and the everyday. The book was launched at a special function in City West Hotel last evening with a huge number of well wishers from all over the country including Eddie's family, friends, and people from the Irish motor industry, there to congratulate him on his achievement and to wish him well.  With Eddie’s stories, nothing is as it seems; much is left to your imagination. They can be provocative, dark, warm and entertaining. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself re-reading them several times. A native of Clara, Co Offaly, Eddie is former Senior Deputy Editor...

The latest Mercedes-Benz C-Class is now arriving in dealer showrooms fresh from having undergone a comprehensive mid-term makeover that has seen improvements made in all areas, writes Trish Whelan . Prices start from €37,710. This upgraded C-Class is available in saloon, estate, coupe and cabriolet form and in two style and equipment lines - Avantgarde and AMG. The company says in terms of its design, specifications and technological advancement, this latest C-Class range 'goes well beyond what customers might expect for a car in its segment'.  A host of external design changes give it a distinctly more sporty appearance. These include redesigned front and rear bumpers, new front and rear lights, chrome highlighting, new silver and emerald green metallic colour additions, and diamond pattern grille on AMG versions.  Also new is its electronic architecture, a new generation of four-cylinder petrol engines, and an interior style boost reflected in...

Volkswagen in Germany is offering a special incentive to owners of Euro-1 to Euro-5 diesel vehicles in 14 of the country's most air-polluted cities to scrap them, writes Brian Byrne . The incentive is available across all of the VW Group's brands, including Audi, SEAT, Skoda, Volkswagen and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, and are available for new vehicles and on a varying scale for nearly-new used vehicles. Volkswagen’s first environmental incentive from August 2017 to June 2018 successfully demonstrated that systematic fleet renewal is a swift and efficient way of improving air quality. Throughout the Group, over 210,000 old diesel vehicles were taken off the roads, scrapped and replaced by modern, cleaner models. In combination with the software updates for diesel vehicles, the company says nitrogen dioxide emissions have thus been reduced by over 10,000 tonnes per year.

Citroen Ireland has launched a new service website, www.citroenservice.ie which allows customers to book their service online with their local authorised Citroen dealership and receive a precise quote in advance of their service, writes Trish Whelan . The new website is all about providing customers with a convenient and fast way to book in their vehicle’s service. By booking online customers can avail of exclusive service offers including free bulb replacement and free technical updates and health checks for their vehicle. Services are carried out by Citroen’s specially trained technicians using the latest Citroen diagnostic equipment. Citroen also offer customers a 1-year warranty on all parts and accessories purchased through the brand’s Aftersales dealers and 3 months’ workmanship warranty on all repairs. Joseph Greene, Aftersales Manager, Citroen Ireland, said: “Our main aim is to make the service process as convenient and straight forward as possible and t...