The 2024 motor racing season at Kirkistown Racing Circuit came to a close on Saturday 28th September with the final car and superkart meeting. And what an incredible meeting it turned out to be!
The first race of the day was for Formula Vee. The 2024 Championship was not sorted. The situation was that to win the Championship, Dublin driver, Gavin Buckley, had to win the race, with Tinahely driver, Jack Byrne, no higher than third. Twenty cars took the start and immediately six drivers were fighting for the lead. These were Buckley, Byrne, Colm Blackburn, from Ballyfermot, Anthony Cross, from Bohernabreena, Dan Polley, from Foxrock and Kieran Hannan, from Dublin. After three intense laps Buckley was in the lead. Blackburn was second and Byrne was up to third. Cross was staying out of it in fourth place, as these four broke away. On lap nine Byrne got past Blackburn, to capture the necessary second place that would give him the championship. However, while Buckley was doing all required of him, Blackburn was not giving up his quest for second place, attacking Byrne at every opportunity. On the final lap he succeeded and in doing so, guaranteed that Gavin Buckley became the 2024 Formula Vee Champion!
Second on the bill was the first Superkarts race. Comber driver, Aaron Newell, was out in his new 250cc machine and he had a high-speed battle with Moira driver, Liam Fox, for the entire race. At the end, Newell crossed the finish line less than two seconds ahead of Fox. Third on the road was Gilford driver, Scott Greenaway, who won the 125cc class, from Eoin Ryan, who had made the trip from Cashel. Ballyclare’s Jonathan Adams was third in the 250cc class, while Philip Mills, from Dollingstown, took third in the 125cc class.
Newell did not start the second Superkart race and Fox led from start to finish. Ciaran Peden, from Dublin, and Adams had a great battle for second until Adams’ engine expired on lap eight. Mills dominated the 125cc class, while Hillsborough’s Noel Lindsay and Stephen Drury, from Brittas, fought over second place, with Drury getting the verdict on the final lap.
The final Superkart race was the thirteenth race in the programme. This gave many drivers time to repair sick machines and eight took the start. A fantastic, high-speed battle took place between Fox, Newell and Peden in the 250cc machines. In the end, Newell got his second win of the day. Fox was second and Peden third. In the 125cc class Greenaway took his repaired machine to the win. This time Lindsay got the better of Drury, who secured third.
A thirteen-car field, consisting of five Mini Coopers and eight Fiestas, provided the first Tin-Top race of the day. For the first two laps all the Minis were close together while Derek Graham, from Portadown, was having a mighty battle with his son, Michael, in the Fiestas. The race was stopped on lap three when Strangford driver, Megan Campbell, had a massive accident at the John Crosslé Chicane, rolling several times. At the restart the Minis were still all over each other. Tandragee driver, Peter Bennett was leading but Johnny Titterington, from Saintfield, was sticking to him like an extra coat of paint! Ryan Hogg, from Newtownards, was third but having to deal with the close attention of Darren Gilmore, from Lisnaskea. Craig Gilmore, from Ballywalter, had overshot a corner and was beginning a comeback drive. Michael Graham had assumed a lead over his father that he would not lose, in the Fiestas. On lap nine, Titterington grabbed the lead of the Minis and kept it. Meanwhile Craig Gilmore had passed Hogg and his brother for third place on lap seven and, on the final lap, he demoted Bennett from second. At post-race scrutiny, Titterington was excluded for a technical infringement. Thus, the Mini results were 1st Craig Gilmore, 2nd Peter Bennett, 3rd Darren Gilmore. In the Fiestas, Michael Graham won from Derek Graham. Neville Anderson, from Banbridge, took third place.
When these cars appeared again, later in the day, the racing was even closer than before, especially in the Minis! All five cars were in the hunt. The first three were Titterington, Darren Gilmore and Bennett. They were going through corners side by side, leaning on each other. On lap eight Craig Gilmore got involved, passing Bennett for third. Something had to give and it did, on lap eleven. Going into Maguire’s Hairpin, Titterington was leading. Darren Gilmore was second, Bennett was third, Hogg was fourth and Craig Gilmore was fifth. As they exited, after a commotion, the finishing order was set. Bennett led, Hogg was second. Darren Gilmore was third, ahead of his brother, and Titterington was fifth. The Fiestas were tame, by comparison, but, once again, the Grahams put on a great show, changing places regularly. The result was the same as the first race. Neville Anderson’s third place secured the 2024 Fiesta Championship for him.
The Modi-5-Cup for Mazda MX5s were next and while Rob Kennedy, from Cullaville, stroked away to win by over nine seconds, the battle for second place was intense between Moira’s Francis Allen and Newry’s Damian Moran. Moran had led the race until lap four when Kennedy got past and drove away. Allen was hounding him constantly and on the final lap he squeezed past to secure second place. The second race for these machines was similar. The grid was reversed and Kennedy had to come from the back. Moran had risen from seventh to first on lap one! On lap five, Kennedy took the lead and drove away again. Although Allen had also caught Moran on lap five, he could not find a way past and had to settle for third.
The H.R.C.A. Historic Sports Cars provided two excellent races. In the first Bernard Foley, from Blackrock, led until lap nine in his Crosslé 42S. On that lap William Crosbie, from Foxrock, took his Crosslé 9S into the lead. David Kelly, from Delgany, was shadowing these two, in his Crosslé 9S. On the final lap, Crosbie made a mistake that allowed Foley to take the win, with Kelly second and himself third. In the second race Kelly led all the way from lap two, with Crosbie right behind him. Foley started at the back and fought his way through to take third from Armagh’s Jackie Cochrane, in a Sunbeam Tiger.
With the N.I. Formula Ford 1600 Championship already settled in favour of Jason Smyth, from Celbridge, the first FF1600 was seen as a dress rehearsal for the upcoming Martin Donnelly Trophy race, later in the day. It was ominous for the other drivers that Smyth led from start to finish, winning by over a second! Second place was hotly disputed by Ballymena’s David McCullough, Ballymount’s Stephen O’Connor and Buncrana’s Jordan Kelly. At the end, O’Connor secured second place, with McCullough third and Kelly fourth. Just over one second covered all three.
The most eclectic races of the day were two combined Roadsports, GTs and Libre Saloons races. The Roadsports were the fastest cars and Jim Larkham, from Newtownabbey, dominated both races in his Radical PR6. Newly crowned Roadsports Champion, Mike Ward, from Youghal, took two second places in a similar machine. Bernard Foley took his Crosslé 42S to third in race one but did not finish in race two. In the Libre Saloons, Oisin Clune, from Blessington, took his Honda Civic to victory in race one. Colin Morris, from Navan, in a similar machine was second and Michael Clune, from Blessington, in a Honda CRX was third. Michael Clune won the second race from Morris, with Oisin Clune third. In the GT class, John Cardoo, from Naas won the first from Joe Yates, from Holywood. John Newport, from Loughgall was third. In race two, Yates won from Cardoo.
And so to the two trophy races. Both were totally amazing!
From the off, the battle raged in the Emerson Fittipaldi Trophy Race. Colm Blackburn and Anthony Cross swapped places for the lead on the opening laps, with Gavin Buckley and Jack Byrne in close attendance. The race was stopped at the end of lap three because of oil on the track. At the restart, Buncrana’s Owen Kelly made his presence felt, rising to fourth on lap four, before his car got sick. Blackburn was in the lead before losing it a lap later to Cross. On lap six, Buckley took the lead, with Cross second and Blackburn third. Five laps later, it was Cross in the lead again. A lap later, it was Blackburn. Going into the final lap, it was Cross again, under massive pressure from Blackburn, but the man who had won this trophy three times already kept his head and crossed the finish line to win by 0.333 seconds. Byrne passed Buckley to complete the podium on the final lap. As well as the Fittipaldi Trophy, Anthony Cross won a new set of competition tyres for his car, sponsored by Bill Adair of SW Adair Tyres in Omagh.
The Martin Donnelly Trophy race for FF1600 provided no less a spectacle. On lap one David McCullough took the lead from Jason Smyth, with Jordan Kelly in third place. By lap three Smyth was back in front. On lap six McCullough led but Smyth was back in front a lap later. On lap eight, Kelly moved into second. Every lap after that he tried to go round the outside of Smith at Maguire’s Hairpin. On lap twelve he succeeded and led over the line but Smyth was ahead again a lap later. It all came down to the final corner. The three cars went into Maguire’s Hairpin together, with Smyth defending the inside line, Kelly once again trying the long way with the fast exit and McCullough hoping to jump the two of them, should there be any contact. There was no contact and in the resulting drag race to the finish line Smyth was ahead of Kelly by 0.2 seconds, with McCullough only a further 0.2 seconds behind.
Later in the day, Jason’s father, Neville, was examining the base of the Martin Donnelly Trophy. After a few moments he proudly pointed out the winning name in 2010. None other than Neville Smyth!
This meeting provided a fitting end to what has been a wonderful 2024 racing season at Kirkistown. Massive thanks go to the marshals and officials who enabled it to happen.
Words: DONAL O’NEILL/500 MRCI Photos: JIMMY GRAHAM/BRIAN MILLIGAN/STEVE HAWTHORNE [Images must not be used in any way without prior written consent of the photographer]
