HOLSTEIN’S COMEBACK WIN, WHILE BARRABLES SHINE
Erik Holstein made a winning return to the Fiesta ST series on Sunday. The 2019 champion eased away from Michael Cullen for an impressive win.
He then elected to sit out race two. Series leader Eddie Peterson took the honours from Max Turley and Cullen. Keith Dawson took the Fiesta Zetec opener, and set a new lap record, with Michael Barrable moving closer to the title with a racetwo win: helpfully, son Robert was acting as rear gunner in second. Michael Cullen won both Stryker races on the track but a mechanical defect flag, followed by a black flag on the final lap of race two, meant he was excluded. That handed the win, and the title, to Johnny Taylor. Noel Robinson took the BOSS Ireland opener but, in race two, he spun off and caused a red flag. At the restart, Michael Connolly sprinted away to inflict a rare defeat on the F3 cars in his Radical SR8. Owen Kelly took an impressive Formula Vee win from pole and beat all the regular frontrunners, while Garett McKenna and Mark Keenan shared the Formula Sheane wins. David Travers won the first Junior Mini race and Codey Keogh the second. Travers led the third race but slid off, which handed Keogh a double win. Dave Griffin held off Jackie Cochrane’s V8 Tiger to take the first HRCA win, while in race two, Cochrane just held off David Kelly’s Crossle 9S for victory. Richard Shattock’s Honda Civic and Aidan Byrne’s Toyota Celica took a Future Classics win apiece. Second in race two was enough for former Fiat racer Paul Flanagan to clinch the title in his Clio 172. After an opening-lap accident eliminated two cars, and a subsequent red flag, Shane Murphy took the first Seat Supercup race. However, in race two, class novice Harry McGovern led Graham McDonnell home with Brian Berry charging to third on slicks as the track dried out. Charlie Linnane and Alan Watkins took Supercar wins, with Linnane clinching the title. Alan O’Neill took two ITCC wins in his unusual Mazda RX-7, Adrian Dunne his closest challenger in race one and Owain Drought taking runner-up spot in race two.