1962 Circuit of Ireland (20-24 April 1962), won by Paddy Hopkirk of Belfast.
The footage, presented by Brian Waddell, follows the race around the whole course from starts in Belfast, Omagh and Dublin to Killarney, ending in Bangor. The course went to south Armagh, over to Sligo, through Limerick, Tipperary, Roscommon and Derry, ending in Bangor.
Brian Waddell interviews Paddy Hopkirk, Jack Harris (Hopkirk’s navigator), Thomson Glass, Robert Woodside, Janet & Tom Ellison, Sydney Allard (previous winner of the Monte Carlo), Joan Noble & Pat Egan (one of the women-only team), Cecil Vard.
First time starting in the North which meant an increase in night speed from 24 to 30 mph. The film shows drivers having to present papers at the border.
After a delay of 36 hours, during which the differential of his car was removed and examined by R.A.C. scrutineers as the result of a protest, it was officially announced that Paddy Hopkirk, in a works-entered Sunbeam Rapier, had won the Circuit of Ireland International Rally for the second year in succession. Hopkirk now becomes the only driver ever to win this event three times, having finished first in general classification also in 1958 when driving a Triumph.
The young Belfast driver was placed first when the provisional results were made public a few hours after the end of the rally, but officials of the Ulster Automobile Club refused to hand over his awards, which included the AUTOSPORT Trophy, until they had considered a protest lodged by another competitor.
Voluntarily Hopkirk handed over the car to the club, and the following day scrutineers had the back axle dismantled, paying particular attention to the differential. After the examination, it was announced by the club that the protest had been withdrawn and that Hopkirk was the undoubted winner.
The film includes the launch in Belfast, night driving, navigation tests and on-board footage.
Results (per Brian Waddell’s report in Autosport 4.5.62):
General Classification — Lombank and U.A.C. Trophies:
P. B. Hopkirk/J. Scott (Rapier).
11.5 marks lost;
C. Vard/D. Reynolds (Austin 848
c.c.), 28.2:
G. H. F. Parkes/G. W. Howarth
(Healey 3000), 41.8;
R. A. Clark/J. Porter (Austin 997
cc.), 44.4;
R. L. D. Pinkerton/H. Patton
(Austin 997 cc.). 70.1;
M. J. O’Mahoney/R. H. Tilson (Volkswagen 1,192 c.c.), 74.8.
Touring Cars
Up to 850 c.c.: 1, C. Vard; 2, J.
W. Emerson/B. Doyle (Morris 848 c.c.), 175.7; 3, N. T. Smith/I. L. Conway (NSU
583 c.c.). 210.7.
850 c.c. to 1,300 cc.: 1, Clark; 2, Pinkerton; 3, O’Mahoney.
1,300 c.c. to 1,600 c.c.: 1,
Hopkirk; 2, F. A. Robinson/I. R. Davidson (Volkswagen 1,493 cc.). 83.2; 3. J.
R. McSpadden/I. L. Armstrong (Volkswagen 1,493 c.c.). 116.7.
Grand Touring
Up to 1,300 c.c.: 1, F. P. Johnston/I. D. Turkington (Sprite 995 cc.). 113.8; 2, A. J. L. Boyd/M. N. Johnston (Sprite 960 cc.), 116.8; 3, J. Fildes/Miss S. O’Cleary (MG. 948 c.c.), 142.6.
Over 1.360 c.c.: 1, Parkes; 2, I.
Woodside/E. Crawford (Sprite s/c 995 c.c.). 133.5; 3, C. A. Gunn/B. Cusack (MG.
1,588 c.c.). 194.6.
Touring Class—Open to all types of cars: 1. D. A. Davis/C. Hicks (Ford 997 c.c.). 75.4; 2, R. D. C. Turner/D. Abbott (Triumph 948 cc.). 334; 3, J. Armstrong/W. R. Robinson (Austin 848 c.c.), 478.2.
One-Make Team: Austin-Cooper
(Clark, Pinkerton, Molyneaux).
Team Award and Club Team:
McBurney, Robinson, McSpadden.
Paddy Hopkirk was Northern Ireland’s most successful rally driver of the 1950s and 1960s. He won the Circuit of Ireland three times and went on to win the Monte Carlo rally in 1964.