Images: Ed Fahey

Joe Foley has emerged as the early favourite to take the 2010 Irish Time Attack Pro Class Championship after scoring his second win of the season at the championship’s third round in Mondello Park recently. The Couture Auto customer saw off the challenge of Westward Engineering’s Martin Tracey in the first single-lap final of the year, held in very warm conditions. A healthier entry list, as well as a booked-out trackday and a show and shine competition, made for a much busier paddock than had been seen at previous rounds, and plenty of spectators to follow the ongoing battles in both classes.

Neil Dunne filled out the final spot on the Pro class podium, but like many drivers was frustrated at being over a second off his best time from previous rounds, which was probably down to the very hot track temperatures experienced on the day. Dunne was trying out a new final drive in his S13 Silvia and put in a time of 1:03.412 in the single-lap final. Martin Tracey had the Westward Engineering Lancer Evo on its first Time Attack outing of 2010, debuting a new rear-mounted fan setup designed to improve engine cooling and shift more weight to the rear of the car. Joe Foley’s run to victory was not entirely a smooth one, as he had to rectify a minor gear linkage issue during the qualifying sessions, but the Couture car was on song for the single-lap final and he set a time of 1:01.068.

Dean Reilly just missed out on the podium but scored a decent haul of points with fourth place, a result he will be pleased with given that he had to double-drive Chris McConnon’s Club-class Civic after mechanical issues sidelined the TDP.ie Lancer Evo, which he drove in the qualifying sessions. Elsewhere, Cillian Matthews put in another solid performance in his EG Honda Civic, which was sporting a new TDP-built engine for this round. The Pro Class also welcomed two first-time Time Attack competitors at this round – Peter Killeen in a rally-spec Subaru Impreza and Thomas Kirwan in his distinctive blue-and-orange Lancer Evo. They finished sixth and seventh respectively, with Killeen managing to improve an impressive three seconds on his best qualifying time in the single-lap final. JOMO Engineering’s two cars were sporting a new Gulf Oils livery at this round, but the team’s Pro class driver Brian Moore unfortunately suffered more bad luck when he had to retire the Evo during qualifying with internal engine trouble. His misfortune was compounded in the final when his ‘backup plan,’ the Peugeot 106 that had been driven by Patrick McDonnell in Club Class, refused to fire up when the time came for his single lap. Despite the best efforts of the JOMO crew, however, Moore missed out on the lap and thus came away from the weekend without any points.

In Club Class, Chris McConnon survived a scare in the second qualifying when a brake line burst going into Dunlop corner. McConnon’s JStone Racing crew worked hard to have the car ready for the single-lap final, where Chris was quick enough to win, but did not approach his lap-record time from the previous round due to the aforementioned very hot track conditions. Consistent podium finisher Jason Carolan followed him home in second, having remedied the driveshaft problems that plagued him at the last round and fitted stiffer front suspension to his Civic. Darryl Scully rounded out the podium in third in his older EF-shape Civic, after an eventful day that saw him struggle with tyre temperatures and overshoot Dunlop corner in qualifying.

Just off the Club podium, Nigel Maguire continued his solid debut season in fourth, matching his qualifying time with his single-lap effort. Tuning Factory customer Kevin Doran had one eye on the rest of the season as he worked on the setup of his Honda CR-X, while Shaun Clarke came home sixth with a time of 1:07.039 in his EK Civic, just ahead of Gordon O’Duinn in his Toyota Starlet, who put in a great single lap to go a tenth quicker than he had in qualifying. Patrick Kwan was trying out some new brake bias settings and bushings on his McConnon’s-sponsored Civic, while Patrick McDonnell rounded out the Club finishers in the newly repainted JOMO Peugeot 106.


RESULTS

PRO CLASS

Pos Driver Car Time
1 Joe Foley Couture Auto Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 1:01.068
2 Martin Tracey Westward Eng Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 1:02.076
3 Neil Dunne Team Kanjiuma Nissan Silvia 1:03.412
4 Dean Reilly Honda Civic (double drive) 1:03.995
5 Cillian Matthews Honda Civic 1:06.282
6 Peter Killeen Subaru Impreza 1:07.419
7 Tom Kirwan Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 1:07.998


CLUB CLASS

Pos Driver Car Time
1 Chris McConnon Honda Civic 1:03.823
2 Jason Carolan Honda Civic 1:04.697
3 Darryl Scully Honda Civic 1:05.924
4 Nigel Maguire Honda Civic 1:06.605
5 Kevin Doran Honda CR-X 1:06.668
6 Shaun Clarke Honda Civic 1:07.039
7 Gordon O’Duinn Toyota Starlet 1:07.524
8 Patrick Kwan Honda Civic 1:09.577
9 Patrick McDonnell Peugeot 106 1:10.927


CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (AFTER ROUND 3 OF 7)

PRO CLASS

Pos Driver Total Points Points (Lowest Score Dropped
1 Joe Foley 42 34
2 Dean Reilly 27 27
3 Neil Dunne 24 24
4 Cillian Matthews 18 18
5 Brian Moore 17 17
6 John Curistan 6 6

CLUB CLASS

Pos Driver Total Points Points (Lowest Score Dropped
1 Chris McConnon 46 34
2 Jason Carolan 32 24
3 Darryl Scully 20 20
4 Keith Quille 17 17
5 Nigel Maguire 22 16
6 Shaun Clarke 20 15
7 Gordon O’Duinn 10 10
= Kevin Doran 10 10
9 Patrick McDonnell 7 7
= Patrick Kwan 7 7
11 Mark McGarrell 3 3