Yokohama Tyres ITCC Rounds 1 & 2 Mondello Park.
With many drivers still to rise from winter hibernation there was something of a depleted field for the opening rounds of the Yokohama Tyres Irish Touring Car Championship. Not that this affected the action, with battles throughout the three classes on track.
With big guns like Johnny Whelan, Dave O’Brien with a new E46 BMW and of course 2012 champion Phil Brennan yet to return Erik Holstein made hay with two dominant victories behind the wheel of the Murray Motorsport BMW M3. The bruising Bavarian was put on a strict diet of winter with many of its exterior panels replaced with carbon or fibreglass, not that the low weight appeared to help in qualifying as Honda Integra driver, Robert Savage, stuck his car on pole.
Savage’s quickest time was over two seconds ahead of Holstein and fifteen ahead of the third Super Touring drive, Erick Carroll. In fact, had all competitors been from one class rather than split across Super Touring, Production and the new Stock Hatch, Carroll would have lined up at the back of the grid.
As it was he tucked in behind Savage and Holstein, ahead of the Production drivers that were led by the Honda Civic of Norman Fawcett and the Race2Race car of Mark Keane. As expected the Stock Hatch class was an all-French affair with the Citroen Saxo Andrew Twomey just getting the better of Philip Lawless’s Peugeot 206 and Fergal Bowes Peugeot 106.
With plenty of weaving and practice starts on the formation lap Holstein certainly seemed to get his tyres up to temperature as he hooked up the perfect start to jump Savage off the line, leaving the Integra driver to fight it out with the similarly shod Carroll. The fact that Holstein had a fresh set of Yokohama tyres (with wets only being used during qualifying) probably helped too, though the field may have wished for wet tyres when the rain began to come down in the early laps.
Perhaps due to the slippery conditions, Norman Fawcett tagged Mark Keane as the novice driver made his way to the head of the Production class, not that it fazed the Integra driver who fended off the Civic’s advances all race to take a memorable debut victory.
Andrew Twomey and Fergal Bowes were close, and sparring like seasoned racers, until the Super Touring drivers began to reel them in; forcing the Stock Hatch drivers to separate while they were being lapped. In the end Twomey finished over five seconds ahead of the Peugeot 106 driver.
Holsetin had an ever bigger winning margin as his BMW was peerless, especially when the rain died off and he was able to use the rear-wheel drive traction to full effect. Over the line he was sixteen seconds ahead of Savage with Carroll a further three seconds adrift.
With a reverse grid for race two there was talk that the twin Integra’s on the front row would work together to keep the BMW behind them, and so Savage and Carroll admitted in the post-race interview. But the plan did not last long; Holstein did have to back out of a move down the inside of Carroll off the line but with a better run out of the Essess Holstein was able to pull alongside Savage on approach to Dunlop and use the BMW’s power to take the position along the straight. He followed this up straight away with a move around the outside of Carroll at Ford to take the lead. Credit to Carroll for leaving a BMW sized gap approaching turn two, but as he later admitted he couldn’t bare to damage his new paintwork. J
While all this was happening Aimee Kershaw was on pole and Ian Radford hot on her heals in second. Ian took Aimee off the line and proceded to lead the production class. Keane tried to follow straight through but Kershaw was alive to the danger and able to close the door. Moments after moving into the lead Drought’s engine went pop allowing Ian Radford to stream though into lead of class followed by Fawcett.
Carroll and Savage very evenly matched as they battle for second in Super Touring with some very close, but clean racing between the two. Two laps in succession Savage threw it down the inside of Ford corner in a ‘last of the late breakers’ move and it seemed contact was inevitable but despite having to take to the grass both Savage and Carroll emerged unscathed. Right to the death the two fought but Carroll always knew exactly where to place his car to keep the blue Honda behind him and claimed second place on the podium behind a rampant Holstein who scored two from two.
At the head of Production, Keane got a better run out of Dunlop corner to relieve Fawcett of second place and then hung it around the outside of Ford – a move ordinarily reserved for experienced drivers – to claim the lead from Ian Radford. Aimee Kershaw and Zeijko Mijatovic duked it out for final few laps with Kershaw always just seeming to have the edge. That was until a mistake at the Essess saw her run wide on the penultimate lap, which was all the Tuning Factory driver needed to take fourth.
With Philip Lawless retiring early on Twomey and Bowes had little to challenge them and with the rest of the field splitting them while lapping the Stock Hatch the two drivers ended up thirteen seconds apart with Twomey recording a second victory of the day.
Round 1
Super Touring
- Erik Holstein BMW M3
- Robert Savage Honda Integra
- Erick Carroll Honda Integra
Production
- Mark Keane Honda Integra
- Norman Fawcett Honda Civic
- Owain Drought Honda Integra
Stock Hatch
- Andrew Twomey Citroen Saxo
- Fergal Bowes Peugeot 106
- Philip Lawless Peugeot 206
Round 2
Super Touring
- Erik Holstein BMW M3
- Erick Carroll Honda Integra
- Robert Savage Honda Integra
Production
- Mark Keane Honda Integra
- Ian Radford Honda Integra
- Norman Fawcett Honda Civic
Stock Hatch
- Andrew Twomey
- Fergal Bowes