Mondello Park is revved up for the biggest race meeting of the year this weekend as the ICCR Leinster Trophy event runs on both Saturday and Sunday this weekend.
A host of Selco.ie Formula Vee drivers will once again compete for the famous trophy on Sunday afternoon won in the past by the likes of Ayrton Senna and Mikka Häkkinen who went onto become F1 world champions.
Indeed in the past, but sadly not in the present, the Leinster Trophy has been contested by some of the greatest names in motorsport history.
Three former winners have gone on to win the Formula 1 World Drivers Championship.
The 1957 world champion Mike Hawthorn won in 1951 at Wicklow in a Riley sportscar while Senna, a three-time world champion (1988, '90 and '91) won in 1982 in a Formula Ford 2000 and double world champion Häkkinen (1998 and ’99) won in 1988, both at Mondello, Häkkinen in the Formula Opel Lotus series.
Racing on the full international track, Formula Vee once again takes on the challenge of running for the 'Leinster' due mainly to the fact that other single-seater classes simply do not have the number.
Formula Ford ceased to be an all-Ireland series a number of years ago and there hasn’t been overseas class invited to race for the trophy since England’s Simon Walker Hansell won it in the BMW UK series 20 years ago.
Last year, Formula Vee also raced for the Leinster Trophy which turned into a farce with numerous red flags and ultimately an appeal and a tribunal before Lee Newsome emerged victorious and his name was added to the illustrious list of winners.
It will be the fifth time that Formula Vee, the clubman single-seater class, will have raced for the Leinster Trophy having previously run in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2023.
"(The) Leinster Motor Club are pleased to announce that Formula Vee Ireland have yet again been selected to race for the Leinster Trophy in 2024," said Brian McLoughlin, president of Leinster Motor Club.
"Last year’s race was a very close encounter and demonstrated the competitive nature of the Formula Vee Championship.
"It was felt that they deserved their opportunity to race for the coveted trophy again this year.
"We look forward to working with ICCR, Mondello Park and Formula Vee Ireland to put on a great race for the Leinster Trophy at the 14/15 September Leinster Trophy Car Races."
As in previous years, Leinster Motor Club will award further perpetual trophies, again steeped in history, to the many support classes in attendance at the event.
Outside of Formula Vee, there are also many other championships nearing their conclusion as the end of the season looms.
Much interest centres on national hunt jockey Danny Mullins, who joins the biggest grid of the weekend, the Siltex Fiesta Zetecs, and his pace at a recent test a recent test suggests he may give some of the regulars a hard time on his debut.
The Patch Junior MINI Challenge for drivers from 14-17 continues to grow and they will be streamed live for the first time ever on Sunday afternoon.
Meanwhile, following a weekend off, Irish driver James Roe and his No. 29 Topcon Andretti Global team roll ready for an oval battle in the Music City Grand Prix – the final contest of the 2024 INDY NXT™ by Firestone season.
The Nashville Superspeedway promises high-intensity, wheel-to-wheel action across its banked, 1.33-mile D-shaped concrete oval.
This year marks the first oval finale in a decade for the NTT Indycar Series championship and caps off a challenging oval stretch for the series. Roe has showcased speed and poise across those ovals – including a pole, a track record, and a podium at Iowa Speedway – and looks to capitalise on that experience in Nashville.
"I'm excited for this weekend in Nashville," noted the Irish racer. "We had a great test there a few weeks ago and we're planning to carry those good results over to the race this weekend. I'm looking forward to finishing the season strong."
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