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Anthony Cross holds up the Emerson Fittipaldi Trophy after a successful defence in round 7 of the Selco Formula Vee Championship. Photo: Barry Cregg.
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Last year's final visit to Kirkistown Racing Circuit saw Anthony Cross claim the the trophy double by winning Selco.ie Formula Vee championship and the Emerson Fittipaldi trophy in what was a very dominanament year. This year there is still a round to go after this visit, so the championship would have to wait but the chance to retain the trophy named after the former Formula 1 champion was up for grabs. He would have to put in another hard shift like the last years race, as the young guns in Jack Byrne and Philip Sheane who pushed him then, had both now got their first wins under their belts. Cross took drew first blood as he lined up on pole position ahead of Byrne.
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Jordan Kelly, Sheane, runs wide on the exit of the chicane which lead Gavin Buckley, Sheane, through. Photo: Barry Cregg.
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He also got the better start and lead the field into turn one but it was close as the top three were nose to tail with not an inch given. By lap two Philip Sheane had moved into third pushed Mark Reade down a couple of places in the process. Jordan Kelly moved into fourth under pressure from Gavin Buckley, Mark Reade, JB Farrell and Donal Downey. Once again Kelly made a mistake at the chicane as in the round six earlier in the day and ran onto the grass letting Buckley and Reade through. Reade's bad luck in Kirkistown continued as yet again his car suffered mechanical problems dropping him down the field until he was forced to retire later in the race.
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Top picture, Anthony Cross, Sheane, leads Jack Byrne, Sheane, into the chicane. Bottom picture, two laps later Jack Byrne, Sheane, broke clear. Photos: Barry Cregg.
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Up front Byrne made his move into the hairpin and got into the lead determined to make up from his brake problems in round six earlier in the day. It looked like a repeat performance of the Mondello Park meeting two weeks previous as he began to edge out a gap over Cross. Cross had his hands full with Sheane who was setting faster times but could not use it to his advantage as he could not get by the Dubliner. As Byrne reeled off the laps and his advantage grew so did the plume of smoke from his VW engine although it didn't seem to hamper the Wicklow man. Further down the field Michael O'Callaghan crashed and with his car in a dangerous place the safety car was deployed.
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Jack Byrne, Sheane, leading the Fittipaldi Trophy race with smoke trailing out the back of his car. Photo: Barry Cregg.
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All Byrne's hard work was undone but it left Cross behind, with a chance to get back into the fight for the win. With the races ran by time, the clearing of O'Callaghan's car meant on the restart it would only leave race with two laps to the finish. Cross had to time his attack with precision and could not afford to waste any opportunity if it arose. Byrne backed the field up on the the start/finish straight as soon as the safety car pulled in. However it was the experience of the current champion and Fittipaldi Trophy holder Cross, who made the best of the restart. He timed his restart perfectly and got a better drive than Byrne and made a move down the inside into turn one to take the lead. Sheane tried to follow but Byrne held him off. Again there nothing in it between the first three, with Cross soaking up the pressure and using all his skill and knowledge to hold off the young chargers behind.
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Anthony Cross, Sheane, leads, Jack Byrne, Sheane, and Philip Sheane, Sheane, after the restart during the Emerson Fittipaldi Trophy race. Photo: Barry Cregg.
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Byrne tried to get by at turn one as they began the final lap but could not make it stick. This left the final corner to get the lead back and one last to defend for Cross. Byrne did try a maneuver to get by Cross at the final corner but Cross was too wise to let Byrne repeat his earlier successful move and held firm. He got a better drive towards the line and took the chequered flag to retain the Emerson Fittipaldi Trophy. Philip Sheane also got a better run over Byrne due to this and grabbed the runner - up spot.
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| Anthony Cross, Sheane, celebrates after winning the Emerson Fittipaldi Trophy race. Photo: Barry Cregg. |
In the end it was business as usual with a successful defence of the Emerson Fittipaldi trophy for Cross but what shows on the results sheet hides what was yet another action packed race put on by the Formula Vee men. Speaking to the top two after the race it was far from straight forward for either men at any stage of the race.
Cross gave me his reaction first. " That was a tough race! Jack got passed me at the hairpin and then his car started letting oil out and began to cover the front of my car and front wheels. I had to drop back a bit as I was loosing grip when turning in and had to access the situation. Then the safety car came out so I knew I would have only one chance to get back past Jack so I had to judge the right distance to get the jump which I managed to do and got by at Debtor's."
Not one for jumping for joy after a win but you could see Cross was happy after his plan came together to take the win.
Unfortunately for Byrne his plan didn't come together. If the safety car had not come out he would have took another nice piece of silverware home with him to add to the Holmpatrick trophy from the previous round. " I got past Anthony and set out to pull a gap which is hard around here, but managed to start make a lead. The car then felt wrong but I didn't know what was wrong, then the safety car came out and Anthony got by me again."
One title that has been decided is the Motorsport.ie 'Star of Tomorrow' championship which went to Karl O'Sullivan after shaking off his bad luck from last year he was a deserving winner and he did it with a round to spare which was lucky for him as he will miss the final round as he starts his masters in composite materials in the UK next week.
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| 2020 Motorsport.ie 'Star of Tomorrow' championship winner Karl O'Sullivan. Photo: Barry Cregg. |
With the final round taking place in two weeks time on October 10th the championship is far from over. Will Cross retain his title to make it three in a row or will Gavin Buckley, Jack Byrne or Philip Sheane take their first title? It will be hard for them but anything can happen in motorsport but it makes for an exciting season finale!
Results:
Selco.ie National Championship
1st Anthony Cross
2nd Philip Sheane
3rd Jack Byrne
VW Spares 'B' Championship
1st Philip Sheane
2nd JB Farrell
3rd Ger Byrne
Motorsport.ie 'Star of Tomorrow' Championship
1st Jordan Kelly
2nd Donal Downey
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