The inaugural 'Champion of Mondello' Car Race series came to a close at Mondello Park on Sunday October 12th.
Five new champions were crowned, joining Formula Ford 'Champion of Mondello' Stephen Daly who picked up his title at September's Leinster Trophy event.
The first title to be decided on Sunday went to Kevin Grogan who took the Formula Vee series. Grogan entered the final 'double points' race of the season with plenty of work to do as six drivers still had a mathematical chance of becoming champion. The idea of just finish and picking up the required points never entered Grogan's head however, as he battled for second place throughout the race with Ken Elliott. Having overtaken Elliott at half distance Grogan's championship win was sealed when Elliott suffered brake failure, leaving the new champion to cruise to the chequered flag behind race winner Dave Kelly.
The Formula Vee class produced two champions as the concurrent 'Rookie Cup', for newcomers, was settled in favour of Anthony Cross. Cross's championship win was secured with his fifth class victory of the season as he raced to third overall in Sunday's race. Cross's performance was all the more impressive for a rookie as he also finished second to Grogan in the overall championship.
The next class to be settled was the Formula Sheane series which, due to having two double points races went down to the final race. Kevin Sheane dominated both races and with main rival Brian Hearty retiring from race two, finished the season with a massive fifty seven points margin. Hearty had enough in hand to stay ahead of third placed Enda O'Connor in the title chase.
The Formula Libre class was small numerically but produced very close racing at the front between three Formula Renault cars. Single seater rookie, Darragh Daly, came into the weekend needing to finish ahead of both Fergus Faherty and Cian Carey if he was to join his cousin Stephen as a 'Champion of Mondello'. The three Renault racers fought closely throughout the weekend but both races produced the same result with Daly ahead of Carey and Faherty. The results gave Daly the hoped for win with Faherty doing just enough over the season to hold off Carey for the runner-up spot.
The final title to be decided went to Alan Auerbach who was comfortably the quickest Stryker competitor all weekend. The current lap record holder decimated the opposition on his way to a pair of wins. Having started from pole, with his main title contender Dave Griffin alongside, he pulled away to leave Griffin trailing in second in both of the races and the final championship standings.
The first ever 'Champion of Mondello' proved to be a huge success for Mondello Park and a popular addition to the local Motorsport scene. Ninety seven different drivers scored points and all of the events which counted for the 'Champion of Mondello' series saw increased entry levels compared to 2013.
The series will return next year and details of the classes which will race for 'Champion of Mondello' points will be announced early in 2015.
