Major win for Jack
Byrne claims Holmpatrick Trophy
‘I’M delighted to take my first win today and also this lovely trophy and now I may have a rethink about the championship after this result today!’ was the reaction from Annacurra’s Jack Byrne who claimed his first ever national victory along with it the prestigious Holmpatrick trophy after the Leinster Trophy Races in Mondella recently.
The month of September usually sees the curtain fall on the motor racing year with the highlight meeting of the season, the Leinster Trophy Races, bringing to an end each championships campaign.
This year however, sees it being right in the middle of this strange season. For Formula Vee, it attracted their biggest grid to date with 22 cars lining up for qualifying. It’s the one meeting where all the classes share the paddock over the race weekend.
While the Emerson Fittipaldi trophy is the Formula Vee drivers’ big class trophy the chance to claim the prestigious Holmpatrick trophy is one not to be turned down.
Weather was on the competitors’ side as while a bit cool, the sun came out and track conditions were perfect ahead of qualifying. Mondello Park expert Anthony Cross was favourite to grab pole as he had done at the previous meeting at the county Kildare track. However, it was rookie Jordan Kelly who surprised all by taking pole and by 0.345 seconds ahead of Cross with Wicklow pair Philip Sheane and Jack Byrne in third and fourth respectively to lock out the front two rows of the
grid. It wasn’t all good for Kelly however, as his front right steering arm broke and forced him into the bank on the outside of the penultimate corner.
It also broke the front beam but thankfully for Kelly, his mechanics were able to fix the problems for the first race.
‘There was oil down in a lot of areas and then I had an off when the steering arm broke but will we will have it ready for the race so all is good,’ said the young Donegal man.
The same could not be said for Conor Molloy when his rear track rod arm snapped and caused further damage to the rocker cover of the engine forcing him to withdraw from the event.
Cross got the whole shot and lead the field into turn one with Kelly tucked in behind in second with Sheane in third. Mark Reade made a great start and moved up
ahead of Jack Byrne to move into fourth from seventh on the grid. Cross lead didn’t last long as he ran wide on the exit of turn five and lead Kelly get a better run down to turn 7a. It didn’t last long as Cross got back past Kelly to regain his lead by the end of the lap. This was shaping up to be a thriller, as not only did the lead change but also behind the following trio of Sheane, Byrne and Reade. Kelly dropped back behind the trio as Reade managed to get past Sheane for a brief moment until Sheane retook him while allowing Jack Byrne up to second.
The leader, however, could now put his head down and try and gap the rest, but before he could put a string of quick laps together the red flags came out as Donal Downey put his car into the gravel trap at turn four and with time running out the race was called at the end of lap three as his car was in an unsafe place. What a shame, as it was easily shaping up to be the best race of the year. In the end it was Cross who took another win from Reade with Philip Sheane in third.
For race two Cross got the best start and got into the lead by taking Kelly around the outside of turn one. It got worse for Kelly as Byrne, Reade, Sheane and Buckley got past through turns two and three. Cross aimed to make a break but Byrne wasn’t letting him go and got by on lap two leaving Cross to deal with Mark Reade. Byrne got the head down and start setting some quick times and broke clear of the field. Cross remained in second but Reade pushed him hard throughout the race and got by on lap three and but lost it a couple of laps later only to regain it before they crossed the line. Karl O’Sullivan drove brilliantly to get up to fourth place and was right behind the battling two of Reade and Cross.
Cross got by on the last lap to take another first and second place, a repeat of the previous visit to Mondello. Reade had to settle for third but it was a close-run thing and O’Sullivan was right there in fourth. It was a commanding performance from Jack Byrne however, to take the race win by seven seconds and also take his first ever national victory and along with it he took the prestigious Holmpatrick trophy.
Another two rounds down and both hotly contested for the most part in each, but it also marked another new winner in the series and the second maiden victor in as many races. The next race takes on October 10.