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Historic Championship
Race One
March 15th
By Gary Fox
Jackie Cochrane resumed where he left off last season in the Historic Championship by dominating the open race of the season at Mondello.
The man from Armagh in the Tiger Sunbeam led from start to finish as the field struggled to cope with his V8 power. Stephen Doyle, second quickest in qualifying briefly attempted to edge out Cochrane in the first corner but the Sunbeam held the racing line.
Oil spillage in the first turn after the early laps led to a number of spins and ensured the early retirement of ASK Racing’s Philip Jones in an MG Midget after came to rest in the grass after a heavy spin.
Stephen Doyle and David Kelly, both is Lotus Elans, enjoyed a personal battle as they vied for second place. Doyle emerged victorious as Kelly slipped off the pace in the closing stages.
It was role reversal from qualifying to race with Clive Brandon in the Lotus Europa edging out Stephen Griffin in an MG Midget for fourth spot.
The V8 power of Cochrane began lapping back markers mid-way through the 15 laps as he set the fastest lap of the race at 1:01.
Entering the closing stages, the gap between third and fourth by lap 11 was over 2 seconds as the race threatened to become disjointed.
The race enjoyed little of the usual close racing associated with the Historic section as drivers attempted to find their feet in the first race of the season.
As the final laps beckoned, it was Cochrane who opened up a massive lead, as neither Doyle nor Kelly was able to stay with the Sunbeam’s blistering straight line speed.
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