ITCC Championship Finale Preview

Ciaran Denvir, Honda Civic, takes the chequered flag at round two at Kirkistown in March. Photo: Barry Cregg.

Looking ahead to next weekend's Leinster Trophy meeting at Mondello Park, it is hard to believe that the final round of the 2019 ITCC championship is upon us. It has been a very quick year ( no pun intended ), and one that has brought close racing throughout the grid up and down the country. It also has seen the emergence of two new northern stars both of whom have dominated at the Kirkistown meetings in March and June.

Ciaran Denvir, Honda Civic, on his way to winning round one at Kirkistown in March. Photo: Barry Cregg.

The ITCC rookies carried their Northern Ireland Saloon Car Championship form over from last year and made others stand up and take notice. Ciaran Denvir's double race win at that first meeting certainly was no fluke, as it was backed up at rounds three and four at Bishopscourt with a win and a second place. Stephen Potter also made the southern drivers lives difficult by taking his second double at Mondello Park in July, as well as finishing on the podium on four out of the five other races. Only for mechanical problems which prevented him starting round four he might have made it five out of five. Keith Campbell has been the only southern driver who has managed to win this year with a great display of driving in his faithful Volkswagen Corrado at the last round in Mondello Park. Maybe his track knowledge helped him somewhat, as it was his northern rivals first visit to the county Kildare track. However we will have to wait and see if this was the case next weekend.

Stephen Potter, Honda Integra, leads Ciaran Denvir, Honda Civic, on his way to winning round five at Kirkistown in June. Photo: Barry Cregg.

While not wanting to tempt faith, each round has been dry which is quite unique for a championship held in Ireland! If it does break and conditions are wet it will certainly help add an extra element to the championship finale. Ciaran Denvir has a twenty-four point lead of fellow Honda driver Stephen Potter, going into next weekend. This is effectively like having one hand on the trophy, but anything can happen in motor racing and bringing it home is not always as easy as it seems. A bad qualifying could lead to being stuck down the pack and increase the chances of getting caught up in somebody else's accident, driver error and also a mechanical fault are all situations that could take turns the table around. Potter finished ahead of Denvir in boths races last time out in Mondello Park, so on paper it looks like he has the edge at the track. If it is a repeat he can only hope that enough people are between him and his fellow county Down man or that something forces Denvir to have a non finish.

Keith Campbell, Volkswagen Corrado, on his way to a double win at Mondello Park at rounds seven and eight in July. Photo: Barry Cregg.

In Class 'B' Keith Campbell has already taken the title after his double race win last time out. In second place Robert Savage who drove so well in round seven still needs a good performance to seal the runners up spot in the championship from Gareth Hayden. While the championship is decided, the battle for second and third is surely one not to miss.

Tony Gallagher, Honda Civic, on his way to winning round one at Kirkistown in March. Photo: Barry Cregg.

In Class 'C' it is even more tight at the top, with only nine points separating the top two men Tony Gallagher and Daniel Faherty, in the championship. Just like Class 'A' the top two are driving Honda cars which highlights the reliability and performance of the Japanese manufacturer. Both men shared the spoils at the opening meeting by taking a win and a second each. It rounds three and four at Bishopscourt in May, it was Faherty who took both wins but Gallagher was there to take the runners up spot in both rounds. For the second visit to Kirkistown, both men took a win away with them but in race two Faherty finished third which gave Gallagher a slight edge in the championship table. At the last round in Mondello Park, Faherty struggled with gearbox problems but managed to take two third places but Gallagher did the double to increase his championship lead. Again anything can happen in the final two races and with the two men closely matched it will be exciting to see who comes out on top in a closely fought year long battle.

Daniel Faherty, Honda Civic, on his way to winning round two at Kirkistown in March. Photo: Barry Cregg.