Blackburn Battles To Win Round 7 - Selco.ie Formula Vee Championship

Colm Blackburn winner of the Selco.ie Formula Vee championship race. Kirkistown Racing Circuit. Picture: Barry Cregg.

The Selco.ie Formula Vee championship circus travelled north of the border to Kirkistown Racing Circuit in county Down for round seven of the series. The top three Colm Blackburn, Jack Byrne and Gavin Buckley were all out to maintain their bid for success. Byrne just back from his honeymoon in time for the round needed a good points haul as he cannot afford anymore bad rounds as he has used up his dropped rounds in the last two events. Blackburn found himself in similar circumstances to Byrne but Buckley doesn't fair much better leaving all three under the same pressure. 

Buckley always goes well in qualifying at Kirkistown but never converts a pole into a victory. He again starred by taking pole, could he keep the number one position this time? Blackburn claimed second with Byrne in third but both were over 0.5 seconds off Buckley's pace. As the lights went out Blackburn looked to have got the jump but Buckley held the outside line to take the lead. Byrne stayed in third but the young newcomers Niall O'Mara and Charlie Hart were not far behind along with 'B' race winner Kieran Hannan.

Gavin Buckley, Leastone, leads Colm Blackburn, Leastone, and Jack Byrne, Sheane, during the Selco.ie Formula Vee race. Kirkistown, Racing Circuit. Picture: Barry Cregg.

It didn't take long for the front three to show their extra pace over the others as by lap three they had broken clear of the pack. The winner would come from one of these three, just who it would be was to be worked out. Despite the edge in qualifying Buckley had no extra advantage in pace during the race. Blackburn and Byrne battled leaving a slight gap to Buckley for a lap but a great run out of the chicane saw Blackburn draw alongside Buckley towards the hairpin on lap four. Buckley held his lie but now all three were nose to tail. 

Jack Byrne, Sheane, leads Colm Blackburn, Leastone, during the Selco.ie Formula Vee race.
Kirkistown Racing Circuit. Picture: Barry Cregg.

By the halfway mark Buckley still leads despite the efforts of Blackburn who set the fastest lap of the race in doing so. Then a mistake by Buckley at turn two where he spun dropping him out of contention but still managed to hold on to third place. Yet again the pole to victory eludes him. Now it was down to two and Byrne set to close in on Blackburn which he did by the end of the following lap. Time was running out though so a move had to be made soon. He did this with an excellent move round the outside of turn one to give him the better line for turn two. It was hard but fair racing between the same guys who took each other out in Mondello at round 5. 

Gavin Buckley, Sheane, leads Colm Blackburn, Leastone, and Jack Byrne, Sheane, during the Selco.ie Formula Vee race. Kirkistown Racing Circuit. Picture: Barry Cregg.

A late move a the hairpin saw Blackburn retake the lead but there was nothing in it. Time was running out but it was shaping up to be another Formula Vee thriller in the final two laps. Sadly we would not get the grandstand finish as Lee Flynn crashed at the chicane due to steering failure, thankfully no harm done to the Kilkenny man but the safety car had to be brought out which meant the race would finish under it due to the allotted race time used up.

Colm Blackburn, Leastone, leads Jack Byrne, Sheane, on his way to winning the Selco.ie Formula Vee championship race. Kirkistown Racing Circuit. Picture: Barry Cregg.

A shame but a win is a win and just shows how important it is to lead of the finish line. 

A happy Colm Blackburn gave his view of his race afterwards: Yeah that my third win this year, it was hard fought and a great race with Gavin and Jack. I struggled here last year but got it together today to take the win. My first win was here so I guess Kirkistown is a good track for me really. Its good to get the win for the championship also".

Charlie Hart, Leastone, during the Selco.ie Formula Vee race. Kirkistown Racing Circuit. Picture: Barry Cregg.

Niall O'Mara, Leastone, leads Paul Lewis, Leastone, during the Selco.ie Formula Vee race. Kirkistown Racing Circuit. Picture: Barry Cregg.

A great drive by Robert Flemming to fourth saw him get a good result after his nightmare 'B' Championship race earlier. Same goes for Niall O'Mara who got a great run after earlier mechanical problems to finish 8th amongst more experienced drivers.

Results

Selco.ie Formula Vee Championship

1st Colm Blackburn

2nd Jack Byrne

3rd Gavin Buckley

Hannan Takes Tyredoctor.ie Championship Win

Kieran Hannan, Leastone on his way to winning the Tyredoctor.ie Formula Vee Race.

Kirkistown Racing Circuit in county Down played host for round eight of the Selco.ie Formula Vee Championship. The torrential rain that came down in testing the day before thankfully cleared off and finally the summer sunshine made an appearance for the drivers come race day. The Tyredoctor.ie and Ability IT championship runners had their own race as well as joining the main national runners later in the day. So first up was the race for the 'B' and Rookies which saw Robert Flemming took pole position from team-mate Kieran Hannan  to lock out the front row of the grid. As always at Kirkistown the long straights can cancel out a good qualifying position by the use of the draft along the straights but the higher up you are the less chance of getting caught up in someone else's mistake. That said it doesn't always work. 

Niall O'Mara leads the field on the opening lap of the tyredoctor,ie Formula Vee Race.

Flemming got a great start off the line and lead the field into turn one. Conor Meila from the second row got a great start also and got into second by turn one as Hannan's car bogged down off the line. However Niall O'Mara in his Leastone went one better and lead the field out of turn three and looked quick ahead of Paul Lewis who also made a good move at turn two to pass Fleemming who ended up locking the front end at turn three and taking to the grass and dropping all the way down to second from last. A disaster for the Kildare man and undone all his hard work in qualifying. 

Kieran Hannan, Leastone, leads Paul Lewis, Leastone, during the tyredoctor.ie Formula Vee race.

Lewis held the lead for the next couple of laps but Hannan got past at the hairpin. Charlie Hart was now up to third to make it a Leastone top three. Hannan began to put his stamp on the race by lap four edging a second over Lewis to open a gap up front. Robert Flemming was done and set fastest time on his way back up through the field picking them off one by one. Sadly O'Mara ran into mechanical problems as a rocker broke ending his fine drive. By midway Hannan led by over two seconds as Lewis began to defend heavily from Hart behind him. An excellent drive by the young Wicklow man in his first year of racing. Sadly fellow county man Ger Byrne spun at the hairpin allowing Flemming through and he was closing in on those in front.

Conor Melia crashes his Sheane out of the tyrdocotr.ie Formula Vee race.

Nearing the closing stages Hanan was safe in the lead but Hart had other ideas for second spot and passed Lewis into turn two. Behind him though Conor Meila and Robert Flemming had a coming together which saw Melia spinning off track but his car dug into the ground, flipping him into the air where rolled the car twice before landing on his four wheels. Thankfully the Dubliner was ok and walked away unhurt, sadly his car wasn't so lucky but will be repaired by the SMR racing team before the next round in Mondello. this brought out the safety car and then red flags. The win was never in doubt and Hannon took the win from Hart and Lewis. 

Paul Lewis, Leastone, leads Charlie Hart, Leastone, during the tyredoctor.ie Formula Vee race.

Robert Flemming, Sheane, leads Conor Melia, Sheane, during the tyredoctor.ie Formula Vee race.

Charlie Hart, Leastone, leads Paul Lewis, Leastone, during the tyredoctor.ie Formula Vee race.

Speaking after the race Hannan was again happy to take another win and help his championship chances. " I didn't make the best of starts but after a couple of laps I got into a rythmn and got passed Paul and Niall and took the lead and built on it each lap and was comfortable. Then the red flags came out and the race was declared a result. Its a good points haul for the championship now ahead of the next race in Mondello in September.

Results: 

Tyredoctor.ie 'B' Championship

1st Kieran Hannan

2nd Charlie Hart

3rd Paul Lewis

Ability IT Rookie Championship

1st Charlie Hart

2nd Simon Rudd

3rd Lee Flynn