Ogier bids for glory Down Under as Breen future unclear

By Martin Walsh

The battle for the World Rally Championship will be determined on this weekend's Kennicks Hire Rally Australia final round that continues until Sunday.

Series leader and reigning champion Sebastien Ogier (Ford Fiesta WRC) bids farewell to the M-Sport outfit before he rejoins Citroen next season.

His rival hand Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) is 12 points adrift. Ott Tanak (Toyota Yaris) is 23 points behind Ogier and has a maximum of 25 points, his task is almost impossible.

While there's no official announcement on Craig Breen's future, it will be a good result for Citroen.

Aside from remaining with the French outfit, he has been linked with M-Sport and Hyundai.

Meanwhile, Armagh peer Jason Black and James Wilson and Derry's Jordan Hone are the finalists for Motorsport Ireland's Billy Coleman's Young Rally Driver of the Year award.

Black (25) won the Triton Junior National Showers Rally Championship and the Sligo Pallets Junior series.

Wilson (24) won the Valvoline Motorsport Ireland National Forest Junior Rally series and also took a podium finish in the Junior British Rally Championship on the Ypres Rally in Belgium.

Hone (23) won the junior section of the Jim Walsh Cork Forestry Rally; The Philip White Tires Young Achievers prize, he was also a class winner in the Lakeland Forest Rally.

The winner will be announced at the Beta Irish Motorsports awards ceremony on December 4.

Elsewhere the 5-Star National Championship Autocross Championship and the Barrett Transport Munster Autocross series dovetail on Sunday Birr Loose Surface Autocross.

Strong interest in this discipline of the sport has resulted in an entry of 50 drivers at the track in Gravelpark near Moneygall just off Junction 23 of the M7.

Although the Semog Buggy is by far the most popular vehicle, Maynooth's McHale Padraic (Yacar Buggy) is close to the national series.

Laois man Anthony Culleton (Semog Buggy) heads the Munster campaign.

The awards ceremony for the Triton Showers National Rally Championship takes place at the Sheraton Hotel in Athlone tomorrow night.

Donegal 's Declan Boyle and Monaghan' s James O'Reilly are the respective recipients of the Vard Memorial Trophy and the Noel Smith Trophy.

Boyle is only the second driver to win three national titles following the tracks of Monaghan's Niall Maguire.

In the World Endurance Championship, the 6 Hours of Shanghai (round five) Matt Griffin's Ballincollig's and his team-mates Keita Sawa and Weng Sun Mok from the Clearwater racing outfit an opportunity to move up the championship table.

Although fifth in the Drivers 'category of the GTE Am class, they are only five points off third spot – a position held by Belfast' s Charlie Eastwood and his team mates in the Aston Martin of TF Sport.