Two Northern Ireland drivers were crowned Irish champions at Aghadowey Oval on Saturday 31 October, with Limavady’s Liam Wilson and Portadown’s Steven Haugh emerging victorious from a demanding night of racing on a damp and increasingly difficult circuit.
Wilson claimed the Thunder Rods Irish Championship, while Haugh secured the 1600 Rookie Bangers title after a contest interrupted by debris on the track.
The meeting also produced a victory for Scottish driver James Mooney in the Richard Turtle Memorial Cup, a race that formed part of the National Hot Rods World Series Northern Ireland programme.
It was an evening when changing track conditions became an important part of the competition, with tyre choice, restarts and race discipline influencing the results across several categories.
Wilson adds another title to an impressive season
Wilson began the Thunder Rods Irish Championship from the front row alongside James Goldie. The Limavady driver immediately established himself at the front and remained there throughout the championship contest.
Lee McCloy finished second, with Mark McLaughlin taking third following penalties that affected the finishing order. The victory gave Wilson another major result in a successful period of domestic competition.
He also collected the William Bradley Perpetual Cup as the winner of the 2025/26 Northern Ireland Points Championship.
Winning a single championship race and securing a season-long points title are different achievements. The first requires a driver to beat their rivals in a designated contest; the second rewards performances accumulated over a longer period. Wilson’s Aghadowey success meant he could celebrate both.
The Thunder Rods programme continued with the Irish Revenge race, which used a reversed-grid format. Gareth McCrory and Toby Hutton both spent time leading before Andrew McLean moved to the front and secured victory. Wilson finished second, ahead of McLaughlin.
The result meant that the newly crowned Irish champion remained competitive even when the starting order and race circumstances were altered.
Haugh survives interruption to win Rookie Bangers championship
The 1600 Rookie Bangers Irish Championship produced a less predictable contest. Alan Haugh and Steven Bolton started from the front row, but the lead changed several times during the opening stages. Haugh, Bolton and Stephen Boyd all occupied first place as the field fought for position.
The race was then stopped because of debris on the back straight. A stoppage can change the course of an oval race. Any advantage established before the interruption may be reduced or lost, while the restart creates another opportunity for competitors who were previously further behind.
Steven Haugh took advantage when racing resumed. Already established as a Superstox competitor, he moved through to claim the Rookie Bangers Irish title. Bolton finished second, with Karl Smyth third.
The result was particularly notable because Haugh was not simply defending a lead from the opening laps. He had to recover position and respond when the race restarted.
He subsequently won the first Rookie Bangers heat, ahead of Bolton and Lee Booth. Josh Goligher won the later heat, with Alan and Steven Haugh finishing behind him.
Mooney wins as National Hot Rod drivers struggle with conditions
The National Hot Rods encountered their own difficulties as light drizzle left competitors facing changing grip levels. Allen Cherry won the opening heat, narrowly ahead of James Mooney.
Former world champion Derek Martin produced a strong outside-line drive to win the second heat, with Mooney again finishing second. The final brought a different result.
Mooney established an early advantage and maintained it to claim the World Series Northern Ireland final victory and the Richard Turtle Memorial Cup. Derek McMillan finished second, ahead of Glenn Bell and Shane Murray.
The success was significant for the visiting Scottish driver, who had travelled from Perth to compete at the County Londonderry venue. The result also demonstrated how an oval-racing meeting can produce different winners depending on race format, conditions and the way each contest develops.
Local drivers take the remaining feature wins
Dundrod’s Callum Magill won the Stock Rods final after a mixed evening. He had already won the opening heat but was penalised in the second, being relegated to third following contact while progressing through the field.
Magill recovered in the feature race and finished ahead of Harry Minish and Declan O’Connor.
In the Lightning Rods, Lurgan driver Duane Wheelan claimed the final victory. Nigel Jackson took second, followed by Mark McBurney.
Across the meeting, Northern Ireland competitors secured major results in several different forms of short-oval racing. The championship contests were particularly important because they settled recognised Irish titles, while the supporting classes supplied additional competitive races for local drivers.
Aghadowey's place in Northern Ireland motorsport
Aghadowey Oval is an established part of Northern Ireland’s short-circuit racing network. Its programme accommodates different categories of racing, from the highly developed National Hot Rods to more accessible stock-car formulas and contact-based competition.
That variety creates an important distinction from conventional circuit racing. Competitors often race on relatively short tracks where the starting order, traffic management, overtaking opportunities and changing conditions can influence the result within a small number of laps.
The Halloween meeting illustrated those differences. Wilson controlled his title contest from the front, while Haugh needed to respond to an interruption and a changing race order.
Mooney’s National Hot Rod victory followed two second-place finishes in the heats, while Magill overcame a penalty earlier in the programme to win his final.
For Northern Ireland’s domestic motorsport scene, the most important outcome was the confirmation of two Irish champions from Limavady and Portadown. Their titles were earned at a Northern Ireland venue, against competitive fields, in conditions that offered little room for mistakes.