Dramatic Win For Meeke At Cultra…
Following the successful return of the event in 2023, the Thoroughbred Sports Car Club (NI), in partnership with Porsche Centre Belfast, staged the Cultra Motorsport Festival 2026 on Saturday 6th June. At its heart was the Cultra Hillclimb, a demanding 640-metre course threaded through the grounds of the Ulster Folk Museum.
The weather may have been wet, but it did little to dilute the atmosphere. Sponsors, spectators and competitors all embraced the conditions, with some drivers positively thriving on the slippery surface. Away from the competition, there was plenty to hold the crowd’s attention: a comprehensive display of current Porsche models, a classic car showcase from local enthusiasts, and celebrations marking the Porsche Owners’ Club’s 40th anniversary. Add in children’s entertainment, food, drink and picnic facilities, and the festival delivered a full day out as well as a packed motorsport programme.
Class 1 for pre-war machinery opened the timed runs in evocative style. Angus Johnson set the benchmark in his Alfa Romeo 8C Monza with a best of 44.14, leading home David Gomes in the MG K3 on 45.02 and Michael Taylor’s supercharged MG TA on 46.88. One of the day’s most memorable sights came from Ali Carver in the 1913 Vauxhall 30/98 A-type Special—the oldest car in the field—who thrilled spectators with spectacular slides in a machine built long before front-wheel brakes became the norm.
Stephen Ross claimed Class 2 for road-going sports cars in his heavily modified Vauxhall VX220, stopping the clocks at 40.41. Adam Hammond followed in a similarly developed Mazda MX-5 on 41.47, while Philip Cardy’s Darrian T9 had the misfortune of meeting the showers at the wrong moment and had to settle for third on 42.07. TSCC Event Director Kieron Smyth was some way off the class pace in his standard road-going Mazda MX-5, but was no less satisfied as the event continued to run smoothly despite the weather.
Class 3 for road-going saloons belonged to Gerard O’Connell and his Millington-powered RSR Escort, which stormed to top spot in 37.96 and also secured overall road-car honours. David Cochrane’s Mk2 Escort was next best on 39.88, while Mark Faulkner hustled his deceptively rapid Peugeot 205 to third with 40.04, making the most of its front-wheel-drive advantage. The unofficial crowd-pleaser of the class, however, was TSCC committee member Colin McBride, whose Citroën 2CV—fitted with a 3500cc Rover V8—provided one of the day’s most entertaining spectacles.
Given the conditions, Class 4 for specials and four-wheel-drive machinery looked tailor-made for grip and traction to dominate. Instead, Barry Meeke took a commanding win with a time of 35.54. Mike Nugent’s shrieking Speedcar Wonder finished second with a 36.02, heading Ian Lancashire’s Subaru Impreza on 36.64.
Robert McGimpsey emerged on top in Class 5 for TSCC road-going cars from 1945 to 1965, guiding his Mk3 Ford-engined Turner—the last car ever built by the Turner factory—to a winning 42.18. Alan Jardine pushed him hard in the tiny but impressive Hillman Imp, finishing second on 42.76, while Trevor McIlroy took third in his Austin-Healey Sebring Sprite on 46.97, improving on his equivalent result from 2025 despite the similarly treacherous surface.
Class 6 for TSCC road-going cars from 1966 to 1975 was won by a genuine piece of rally history: the BMW 2002 used by Achim Wormbold to win the 1975 Donegal Rally. In the hands of owner David Wylie, its potent Formula Two engine powered it to a best of 39.15, just ahead of Jack Brien’s Porsche 911 on 39.49. TSCC committee members Jago Brett and Simon Brien completed the next positions, Brett’s Lotus Elan taking third on 40.62, with Brien’s Porsche 911 fourth on 40.78.
For the second year in succession, Jimmy Dougan headed Class 7 for TSCC road-going cars from 1976 to 1985, his Vauxhall Nova recording 39.41. Friend and rival Ian McCann followed in the Nova GTE on 40.49, with Peter Tolerton third in his Talbot Sunbeam on 41.30. In the wet, the front-wheel-drive entries again looked especially assured.
The revised class structure introduced in 2024 brought the action to Class 8 for Formula Ford 1600, arguably the most evenly matched category of the meeting. Alan Davidson’s Mondiale M89S delivered the decisive performance with a 36.75 run, comfortably clear of Allan McBurney’s Van Diemen on 38.82. Stephen Wishart completed the top three in his Swift SC96 with 39.58.
Overall victory came in dramatic fashion, courtesy of a driver who had only just made it off the reserve list and was tackling the event for the first time with almost no hillclimb experience. Dungannon’s Barry Meeke recce’d the 640-metre Cultra course the evening before by studying in-car footage on YouTube from previous years, then went on to set the winning time in his Speedcar Wonder R. Powered by a 1,000cc Suzuki GSXR engine producing around 180bhp, the car carried him to a 35.54 run, edging established hillclimber David Mutch’s OMS PR by the slenderest possible margin—just one hundredth of a second. Third overall went to another Speedcar Wonder, with Mike Nugent posting a 36.02.
By the end of the day, the verdict from sponsors, spectators and competitors alike was overwhelmingly positive. Those who stayed for the prize-giving were rewarded not only by a belated burst of sunshine, but also by a blast of the whistle from Henry Crosslé’s magnificent 1935 Ransome steam engine. If 2026 is any guide, anticipation for next year’s return is already building.