EastwoodinrunningforYoungIrishDriverprize

CHARLIE Eastwood has made it onto the final shortlist for Motorsport Ireland’s Young Racing Driver of the Year award.

The former Porsche Carrera GB champion, who stepped up to the World Endurance Championship this season with the TF Sport Aston Martin team, was one of three Irish drivers selected from an original six nominated across all racing categories this year.

Alongside 23-year-old Belfast man Eastwood in the final selection for the €50,000 bursary are 17-year-old Cameron Fenton from Greystones, Co Wicklow and James Roe (20) from Bodenstown, Co Kildare.

Eastwood has made a strong impression in his debut season in the WEC with three second place finishes in the endurance races and has been broadening his sportscar experience by being included in the TF Sports Oman Racing team in the Blancpain European Endurance series.

Fenton competed in the Pirelli Irish Supercar Championship, winning seven out of 12 races and where he was the unchallenged pace-setter, both in race results and lap times, only missing out on the championship by one point.

Roe moved to the USA at the start of the year to compete in the challenging Pro F2000 series where he was crowned rookie champion and runner-up overall after three wins and seven podium He also broke a 10-year-old lap record at Summit Point.

Eight drivers have been nominated in the Young Rally Driver of the Year category, which also carries a €50,000 prize, including three from Ulster — James Wilson, Jason Black and Jordan Hone.

They face final interviews this week before three are chosen.

The winners in both categories will be announced at Motorsport Ireland’s annual awards lunch in Dublin on December 4.

Meanwhile, Garry Jennings’ bid for a hat-trick of French wins has been thwarted by the cancellation of the Rally La Rochelle. It has been called off for fear it would be disrupted by protests planned against an increase in fuel tax.