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Mondello - May 9th
Historics
Race 2
By Gary Fox
Stephen Doyle dominated the second Historic race of the day to take a deserved win from David Kelly in second spot.
It was the second win on the bounce for Doyle after he comfortably clinched the opening race earlier in the day.
Yet again it was the Lotus Elan one-two of Doyle and Kelly on the front row of the grid. Kelly must have gained an in-depth knowledge of Doyle’s Elan after spending most of this afternoon staring at the rear bumper as he never found a way past the rampant man from Delgany.
Effectively the race was broken down into two key battles, the two Lotus Elans at the front and the three MG Midgets at the rear with the rest of the field sandwiched somewhere in between.
The massive gulf in power and class was further evident when from a standing start after just one lap; the Elans were seven seconds ahead of the rest of the chasing pack.
Those spectators who missed race one need not have worried as race two was almost a carbon copy of the first, the two Lotus Elans streaking to the front with the lonely Clive Brandon in third. Brandon was left to feel very much the off man out as he meandered around the Mondello track with no one in sight, either in front or behind.
Edmund Cassidy in the Sunbeam Tiger gave everything in an attempt to reel in Brandon in third spot but he couldn’t get near the racer from Dun Laoghaire.
The story of the race revolved around the battle for top spot, with Doyle and Kelly enjoying a titanic battle up front.
Doyle claimed the lead on lap three and once in front he never looked in any danger of letting it slip as he began putting masses of track between him and his fellow Elan.
In slipping back to second spot, Kelly appeared to dramatically lose momentum, either deciding he wasn’t able to keep up with Doyle or as a result of technical issues.
The race effectively reached a conclusion on lap five with the rampaging Doyle marching into a commanding lead of 14.4 seconds.
Back in the battle for third, Ed Cassidy was unable to close the five second gap to Clive Brandon who continued to plough a lonely furrow in third place.
Further back the field Barry Smith and David Moloney were engaged in a battle of the MG Midgets for sixth spot.
Notable omissions from the starting grid included the family duo of Jackie and Pamela Cochrane who were absent today due to Pamela’s pending nuptials.
It was a Doyle, Kelly, one two with Clive Brandon cruising home for a comfortable third place, with Ed Cassidy 29 seconds back in fourth spot.
Star Performance: Stephen Doyle
Fastest Lap: Stephen Doyle 1:56.949
Final Classification
- Stephen Doyle
- David Kelly
- Clive Brandon
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