A lovely shot of Alec Poole brushing against a bale as he pushes on in Conor O'Brien's Cooper S. Picture from Philip McHugh.
Well well well, what an event! When Donal Griffin rang me and asked me to commentate at this event a few months ago, I readily agreed. I had no idea what to expect but hoped it would be a successful event which after a few years and a lot of hard work, just might develop into something of an “Irish Goodwood”. Having just returned from one of the best Motorsport weekends in some time, I can honestly say that I underestimated Mr Griffin and his team! Upon arrival in Adare Manor on Saturday, I was hugely impressed with the setup and the work that had obviously been done on the venue. The smell of freshly cut grass, the straw bales (or were they hay, John Naylor kept correcting me!) and the slightest whiff of Castrol R (which I may well have imagined) reminded me of the Phoenix Park many years ago…. Everyone seemed in top form and there was little or no last minute panic apparent! Later that evening, whilst walking up the beautiful town of Adare, we were lured into Aunty Lena’s public house by a gang of rowdy reprobates. (No names mentioned as ever on this blog- but you know who you are- Peter Geraghty, Paul Gray, Steven Boden etc!) Obviously I got no further and the fun commenced. Amongst others, I met Niall Mullane and former Tarmac rally Champion James Doherty, both locals in the town and both of whom I had been in the same pub with almost 20 years ago when I used to regularly compete in 100cc karts in Kilcornan! Others spotted were ex modsport racer Don Kissane, in fine form, Leastone boss Paul Heavey, Mondello Chief Instructor Ken Elliot as well as Ian Beatty, who we swiftly discovered won’t be making an appearance on the X factor any time soon! Wayne Douglas entertained us all with his incredibly animated description of a recent test in a National Hotrod, which he admitted was a daunting experience! He has promised to do a round of the Northern Irish Series though and I have a vague feeling I may have agreed to tag along…
Anyway, we all got to bed early (in the morning) and reassembled at the circuit on Sunday morning. After numerous cups of tea and coffee- thanks to ASK Racing and Dan Daly for kindly delivering them to the commentary box- it was time to begin. Oh yes, the commentary box, I forgot about that one. I had asked one of the guys connecting up the PA the previous evening where the box was. He looked over at his mate and shouted “Mick- this fella is looking for his commentary box!! Here is your radio mike- you can stand under that tree over there!” That tree over there actually turned out to be a great spot to stand, right at the start line and close to the hairpin too. As the crowd milled around I managed to briefly to say hi to Des Cullen, Rosemary Smith, Brian Cullen, Plum Tyndall, Liam Plower (making a return to the cockpit after a gap of over 18 years- in the same car!) Tony Dowling and many many more.
There were plenty of familiar faces around the paddock. Picture from Jennifer Tonin
As well as being a round of the Hillclimb championship, which ensured we would have the fastest, loudest single seaters in the country, there were various rally cars, including some lovely Mk2 Escorts- one driven by rally legend Eugene Donnelly! Simon Mckinley, as well as competing in the Sprint in his Lant, was also demonstrating his recently renovated Escort between runs. Predictably, he didn’t disappoint, no doubt earning himself a new legion of fans in the process. He was also quickest on the first run, just a few tenths ahead of Sylvie Mullins in the awsome sounding Judd-powered Gould. Frank Byrnes was not too far away, having lost out with a grassy moment out the back and local man Paul O’Connell was in there too. It was impressive stuff from Paul as he had not even sat into his Pilbeam since it was all but destroyed in a major shunt last year. Sylvie managed to beat Simon on the second run by a few tenths, which gave him the overall win, with O’Connell overhauling Byrnes for third. Alan Kessie was well inside the top ten in his newly works liveried Gryphon C73, Eugene Donnelly was first of the Mark 2s, whilst Peadar Hurson was first rally car in his superbly driven Escort WRC. Eanna Carroll was quickest of the saloons in his amazing Civic Turbo, whilst Stephen Doyle’s BDG powered Elan was best of the historics, since Kessie’s ASK car was running with the single seaters. Kieran White’s TRS was quickest of the oldies, despite the spectacular efforts of Ken McEvoy in his Austin Seven Special. Amongst the drivers doing demo laps were living legends Paddy Hopkirk and Alec Poole both appropriately driving race prepared versions of the iconic Cooper S Mini. Their hectic dice in the middle of the day was the highpoint for many people, myself included. Rosemary Smith watched from a distance at the wheel of organiser Jack Kingston’s Lotus Elan, laughing later that she decided to “let the boys at it!” She wasn’t far wrong, as the two Minis circulated inches apart coming into the hairpin with armfulls of lift off oversteer every lap!
Dan Daly at speed in the Jordan. Picture from Philip McHugh.
The battle everyone was talking about- Hopkirk Vs Poole!
Dan Daly brought his beautiful Sasol Jordan F1 car to the Manor too and predictably, it attracted huge attention all day. Ever the gentleman, Dan chatted to almost everyone who went over to see the car and equally predictably he gave it loads when he took to the track! As the family team nervously looked on, the screaming Jordan left black marks all round the track, even locking up and visiting the grass on one occasion. A broken driveshaft brought the run to an early end but if Dan was there to entertain, his job was certianly done by that stage. The hugely appreciative crowd gave the popular driver a massive round of applause as he and his team wheeled the Jordan back to the paddock. One paddock wag was heard commenting that “that fella drove it harder than Barrichello ever did!
Toni Kelly was another visitor to the IFS, the newly appointed ambassador for Motorsport Ireland’s road safety initiative, proving to be as eloquent as ever as she explained her new role before taking to the track in her Civic Type R for some high speed laps.
This E Type Jag was one of many beautiful cars on display. Image from Yann Clin.
There were some wonderful displays of many different types of cars, from Classics, to Supercars and owners clubs, many of whom arrived in convoy on the Saturday evening. Octane.ie were also present, the petrolhead’s forum as ever having huge variety amongst their display.
The Gala ball on the Sunday evening was hugely enjoyable too- not least because I got to meet and chat with Paddy Hopkirk and Alec Poole- heaven for a self confessed motorsport anorak like me! Liam Plower was announced as the winner of the top award of a wonderful trophy and a Tag Heuer watch, which the organisers stressed they had wanted to award to the most deserving driver, as opposed to the outright quickest. Not that Liam was slow, anything but! Despite not being behind the wheel of his famous Modsport Midget for 18 years, he charged to second in class and looked as if he had never been away. The Midget, nowadays tended to and sometimes driven by Steve Griffin, is a real piece of Irish motor racing history and it looked superb. As you may have gathered, I was pretty impressed with this event and I have no doubt that it will get bigger and stronger in years to come. To Donal Griffin and his team at the Limerick Motor Club, I salute you! I am already looking forward to The Irish Festival of Speed 2012- don’t miss it!
Leo
Having a laugh with Paddy and Alec! Image from Jay Tee Photographic.
Ken McEvoy's Austin Seven Special in full flight.
Liam Plower's Modsport Midget at speed. Image from Yann Clin.
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