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Mondello International Circuit – Round 5 & 6 Report

Brady impresses in SEAT but Rabbitt and Tracey share the spoils.

Words: Paul Healy

Pics: Anthony Levingston

After their trip to Anglesey the ITCC drivers returned to Mondello Park for the ByDesign sponsored fifth and sixth rounds of the championship. The return to Kildare could not have been in starker contrast to the first two rounds held there with dark clouds and rain replacing sunshine and heat. The weather was not the only thing to change as with the races being run over the International track many competitors would be getting their first experience of the longer, more challenging circuit. The run over the International loop meant that both the Super Touring and Touring classes would be sharing the track with the quicker cars getting a ten second head start off the line.

Before that it was qualifying though and with such a big field all of the drivers were struggling to find some clear air to set a quick time. A dry line was also beginning to form on the track after qualifying from the other series on the cards resulting in a lot of drivers being caught in two minds between slicks and wet tyres. Phil Brennan was the early pace setter, who after ducking into the pits for a change to slick tyres set the early benchmark with a time of 2:04.707 in his M3 powered BMW. This time was enough to give him provisional pole for a couple for laps when Martin Tracey in the Westward Engineering Sierra Cosworth posted a time of 2:04.109. Jonathon Brady was coasting around in the early laps in his new Seat Leon Supercopa but he was the first man to dip below the 2:04 time with a scorching 2:03.077 only to be quicker the next time around with a time of 2:02.730 that looked to have secured pole. But having put in a wet banker Barry Rabbitt dived into the pits for a fresh set of Hankook slicks and stormed around the three and a half kilometre track in a time of 2:00.716 giving him the premium position on the grid for race one.

After impressing early on Brennan’s fastest time ended up being only quick enough for sixth on the grid. The slick tyres, fitted at the pit stop, were fouling on the arches of his car meaning the BMW was more tail happy than normal. Despite this problem he was still only half a second off fourth place man Ciaran Timmons and less than three tenths slower than the VW Corrado of Keith Campbell. Phil Burdock was complaining of a loss of power in his K20 engined Civic on return from Anglesey and he had to settle for eighth on the grid behind the tail happy Impreza of Brian Moore but ahead of the Integras of Tom Fahy and Gareth Hayden.

Danny Calnan’s time of 2:06.211 would have been quick enough to secure him seventh on the grid in the Super Touring class, instead it saw him lead a gaggle of Hondas from the front of the Touring class grid. The little Civic was nearly two seconds clear of the Integra of James Mannion who had ‘Stormin’ Norman Fawcett for company in third. Fran Kearns was caught out on tyre choice with his Toyo 888’s unable to match the pace the car undoubtedly had. His time of 2:09.052 was still over a second quicker than Eric Carroll who would have the Impreza of Mark Nangle and the Silvia of David Walsh filling his wing mirrors when it came to race time.

As the cars left the assembly area there was a light smattering of rain but not enough to warrant a last second change of tactics. Phil Brennan managed to get his fouling issues fixed at the last second and as the lights went off he was right on the tail of a slow starting Brady who was having trouble with the launch control in his SEAT Leon Supercopa. Ciaran Timmons, in Brady’s old Integra, was the real benefactor of the poor start though as into Honda for the first time he was staring at the rear bumper of the Tuning Factory CRX. Martin Tracey got boxed out as the drivers funnelled into Honda but Brennan made a brave move around the outside, held his line into Adelaide corner and emerged from all the hustle and bustle tucked up behind Timmons in third place

Contact between Brady and Tracey as they came around to complete the lap saw the Westward Engineering Cosworth drop to the back of the field in a cloud of tyre smoke. Having finally got his SEAT upto speed Brady was on a charge, passing Brennan through the Tarzan complex and set off in pursuit of Rabbitt. The CRX was down on power from previous rounds as it was running a near standard B18 engine but it did not seem to hinder him too much as proved by a fastest lap of 1:54.664. Gareth Hayden’s Sportchip.ie Integra was handling the wet/dry conditions better than Brennan’s BMW and he just about had the power to pass the M3 powered car. Phil Burdock was having a great dice with Brian Moore until disaster struck out in the country. Pitched into a spin on the wet track Burdock was nothing more than a passenger as it re-emerged from the infield right into the path of Keith Campbell. The resultant collision forced Burdock into the tyre barriers on the far side of the circuit immediately ending both drivers race and bringing out the Motorsport Rescue Services and seeing Burdock sporting a sling for the rest of the day.

Back on track Tracey had the infamous ‘adjustable boost’ turned to 11 as he fought his way from the back of the field. The Enfield man was really on a flyer and dispatched both Hayden and Brennan with relative ease. With the SEAT of Brady within sight he set the fastest lap of the day with 1:51.930. For the last two laps of the race he piled immense pressure on Brady just willing the less experienced driver into a mistake. Brady defended for all his might and even managed to come out on top of the drag race out of Dunlop corner, with the gap of half a car length all that separated them.

When the Touring class got under way it was a sea of red badged cars fighting for position into the aptly named Honda corner. James Mannion got the jump on the Honda Civic of pole sitter Danny Calnan to lead the field around. Francis Kearns managed to jump Norman Fawcett off the line but the traction provided by his Toyo 888 tyres was no comparison to the rubber of Eric Carroll and Keith Rabbitt the latter who got an absolute flyer from eighth on the grid to be piling pressure on Kearns around the outside of Adelaide corner. The tyre choice would prove to be pivotal to Kearns race as he simply had no answer to the rest of the field. Despite some great defensive driving finally had to settle for eighth position with the Prelude of Tommy Holmes coming close to relieving him of that position at the end.

Back at the front ‘Stormin’ Norman was the man to watch who having dispatched of Kearns set off in pursuit of the front runners. The long International track gave him plenty of time to close the deficit and he had caught onto the back of the leading four as they came around to Dunlop for the first time. A better run out of the corner gave him the inside of a three a breast battle and he managed to sneak down the inside of Rabbitt who in turn took the position from Calnan who had been caught out on the outside of the trio.

With the bit between his teeth Fawcett began to apply bucket loads of pressure on Mannion just waiting for his chance. This finally came when Mannion got too defensive going into Lola which gave Fawcett the opportunity he needed with an aggressive move through the Tarzan complex. Mannion’s Integra just did not seem to like the longer track as he was lapping two seconds off the pace. He would eventually relinquish second place to Keith Rabbitt who was having an enthralling battle with Eric Carroll. There was nothing to choose between the two Integras until an off from Carroll at the esses dropped him back to seventh, relieving the pressure on Rabbitt. In a storming recovery though Carroll fought his way back up the positions to be a mere three tenths behind Mannion at the finish. An intriguing three way battle between Mark Nangle, Tommy Holmes and David Walsh was brought to an end when the Subaru and Silvia drivers paid a visit to the kitty litter in separate incidents. Also taking up residence in the gravel was VW Corrado driver Anthony Murtagh who after managing to hold a slide out of turn one was powerless in a similar incident at Bridgestone.

The break between races allowed Keith Campbell to repair the damage to his Corrado following the collision with Burdock. The Bracing Civic was looking decidedly worse for wear but thankfully, despite some stiffness, Burdock himself was walking around the paddock trying to figure out how the accident had happened. Engine trouble in the first race meant that Ciaran Timmons car did not take his pole position for the second race with this causing confusion with the marshals. Lots of faffing about with sheets of paper saw the field sent back around for another formation lap but not before Danny Calnan took an unscheduled pit stop for some last minute repairs to his Civic. When the Super Touring cars left the line for the second time Brady again had a poor start that allowed Rabbitt to get past. The CRX was side by side with the RS500 of Tracey as they approached turn two with the Sierra driver squeezing Rabbitt out of the corner forcing him onto the grass. Gareth Hayden also took the off road option which freed the fearsome power of the Cosworth free to track down and pass Phil Brennan, which he did the next time the drivers came onto the straight to complete their lap. After recovering from the grass Rabbitt then got involved in a great dice with Brady and Brennan. Unknown to him, or the drivers he was battling with, Brennan was actually running with a puncture which made his defensive driving all the more impressive. A great move by Rabbitt, hanging it around the outside of Bridgestone, almost saw him take the position from Brady only to be pinched out on the run in to Mazda. The battle continued for another lap before Brady managed to dive down the inside of Brennan with Rabbitt following suit.

Then disaster for the CRX when its CV joint decided to give up the ghost forcing Rabbitt into retirement and promoting Hayden to third. With free air around him Brady set about closing the gap between himself and Tracey out front. His fastest lap, a 1:59.960, was only 0.004 off that of the more experienced driver but when it came to it Tracey was able to up the pace just enough to maintain the gap and take the chequered flag.

Phil Burdock was an interested spectator in the control tower during the second race of the day having put a lot of time and effort into the Touring class cars of Francis Kearns and Norman Fawcett. And with Kearns romping to the race win from the reverse grid pole position it was a great advertisement for Bracing. With the powder blue Civic away in the distance the main battle was for the rest of the podium positions with Fawcett and Robbie Savage the main protagonists. For three laps the two drivers fought tooth and nail for every inch of tarmac until a move down the inside of Dunlop saw Fawcet snatch second place. This was despite a little bit of ‘kissing’ between the two drivers as Savage fought to regain second place.

Again Mannion’s Integra did not seem too happy with the International loop as he never got within sight of the battle in front of him eventually finishing some five seconds behind it. One man not having any problems with the track was Danny Calnan. Having started from the pit lane the Civic driver was on a mission and was consistently not only faster than those around him but also lapping quicker than race winner Kearns. This pace saw him move from the back of the grid upto an amazing fifth by the time the flag was waved.