UK Karting - 2004 Irish Kart GP Report

Results & Reports
2004 Irish Kart GP

2004 Irish Kart Grand Prix
Nutts Corner Motorsports Centre - 6th/7th August 2004

Report by John Belshaw

Billed as Ireland’s largest kart racing extravaganza, the Irish Kart Grand Prix took place on 6th & 7th August at Nutts Corner Motorsports Centre and blistering weather and blistering racing was the order of the meeting. The Henry Price Building Contractors supported meeting attracted one of its largest entries in recent years with the gaze of the RPM TV cameras also on the meeting.

In the Mini-Max class, 5 Nations champion Wayne Boyd, Rikki Gordon and Craig Stirling all took wins each with London’s Richard Bradley having two top three placings to show that he was also going to be a strong contender. From the off it was Gordon that took the helm when Stirling got squeezed out in the usual first corner mayhem and with two wheels in the gravel trap the bulk of the field got past. A lap later though and it was Bradley that made his move when he stormed through ahead of Gordon. Two laps later and Smith had also squeezed past Gordon only for 5 Nations champion Wayne Boyd to snatch another place off Gordon by half distance. The battle for second raged on and at three quarters distance Josh Gault also entering the action to grab second. But it was short lived and with two laps to go he ran wide allowing both Gordon and Smith back into the battle for second. With one to go, Bradley was well gone, but second was far from definite and in the closing stages Smith forged through again. In the end though it was Bradleys race with a well pleased Smith holding onto second from Gordon in third. Gault regained some ground to take fourth with Boyd settling for fifth.

The Cadets class was without doubt one of the classes of the meeting and in heats Derek Martin took two wins to put him on pole for the finals with Carl Stirling alongside and Kyle Price right behind. From the off Martin set the pace but he was not getting away with Price, Stirling and Stefan Lyttle all in an intense battle. By the fifth lap Kildare’s John Norris joined in, with the early favourite having a bad run in heats to see him starting in twelfth place. The next ten laps saw the lead change hands numerous times, first Price, then Martin, then Norris and with Dublin's Carl Dunne also entering the battle the final laps were sure to be close. With five to go though Norris ran wide letting Dunne through but a lap later and it was Martin back in charge with Lyttle in behind Dunne in third. With two to go Stirling's chain came off and that was him out of the action. The last lap however saw Lyttle forge through and close hard on Martin with Norris now challenging Dunne for third. In the end it went right to the line and on this occasion Martin held on by only 0.06 seconds to win from a well pleased Lyttle. The last lap also saw Norris forge through to snatch third from Dunne with Price right behind in fifth.

The magnificent gearbox classes made a welcome return to the circuit with one of the best entries from the three classes in some time. Crumlin’s Dean Jackson just took pole position in the 125cc gearbox class ahead of James Irvine from Carrickfergus, the opening heat winner. Two heat wins by O Plate champion Justin Doherty should have put him on pole for the finals but a non-finish in his first heat put him onto the second row of the final grid. From the off it was Irvine that forged through to lead but it wasn’t long before Doherty was on the pace and at the front of the field. Two laps in and it was all over unfortunately for Jackson with an unforced retirement robbing his chances of a podium place. Up front though Doherty forged onwards and opened out a healthy lead on what was really developing into a close battle for second between Irvine and Ballyclare's Ian Gilpin. Meanwhile the 210cc drivers were in their own equally tough battle with visiting Dan Bury holding onto a slender lead from local favourite Dese Black. By three quarters distance though Black managed to squeeze past on the straight and from then on pulled away to win from Dan with Tony Bury taking third. Up front in the 125 class Doherty forged onwards and in the end cruised home as comfortable victor. Irvine never gave in to the pressure and took second with Gilpin holding firm in third.

The 250cc Superkarts saw wins each for defending champion Ciaran Peden from Dublin, Stephen McAdam from Richill and Ian Hayburn from Ahoghill. But it was Peden that faired out just the better of the three overall to take pole for the finals ahead of McAdam with defending Northern Ireland champion Liam Fox right behind. From the off Peden took the helm but there was plenty of opening lap drama when McAdam ended up on the grass on the back of the circuit and after connecting hard with the tyres his race ended there and then. Fox managed to avoid McAdams new trajectory and looked strong in the early stages but a bit of sideways activity allowed Matt Campbell to forge through to challenge the lead a lap later. The up front battle was now developing into a close and very fast race with Peden up front from Campbell, Hayburn and Bryan King who was now becoming a strong contender. Just after half way though it was Pedens turn to take to the grass letting Campbell through but as the laps rolled on Hayburn was right on Campbell's bumper. As the pair went onto the last lap Hayburn just got the inside line going onto the back of the circuit but as the pair came onto the twisty river section Campbell took to the grass letting Hayburn away. Fortunately Campbell didn’t collect the same tyres that ended McAdam's day, but in the end there wasn’t enough time left to mount a challenge as Hayburn went on to take the GP title. Campbell recovered well to hold onto second ahead of Bryan King in third. Past champ Colin Menary took fourth ahead of Richard Dewart in fifth. With the front three all retiring for numerous reasons it was certainly one of the more eventful gearbox races in recent times at Nutts Corner.

The Junior Rotax Max class saw defending champion Stephen Rutherdale's consistency put him on pole for the finals ahead of Ray Lusty and Richard McAlorum. However, two heat wins by Isaac Lyons were showing that he was in determined mood and starting in fourth would see him as a big threat. From the off, Rutherdale set the pace from McAlorum and Lusty but by lap five Lusty was now in charge with Lyons up to third just ahead of heat one winner William Cochrane, the defending Northern Ireland Champion. However, Lyons was clearly waiting his time and at third distance he forged through to lead and start to pull away. The battle for second though did not let Isaac get too far away with Lusty and Rutherdale locked in close battle to keep a fast pace. In the end however Lyons stayed well ahead of the competition and forged home with just over two seconds of a win on Lusty and Rutherdale with Cochrane and McAlorum rounding off the top five.

The 125cc Rotax Max class was guaranteed to produce spectacular racing but before the racing got going proper the timed qualifying sessions produced their own story. Gary Turkington, Gary Blair and Super One contender Rayne Eastwood all set equal fastest times but when the assessment of the next fastest laps were considered that was the order that they remained. Two other potential favourites Philip Harkness and Brian McCarte however were well off the pace, which would put them well down their respective grids. McCarte's heats did not work out as well as planned either with electrical troubles forcing him to have to contend the B final. That race was as intense as an A final but in the end McCarte's problems seemed to be sorted with a win ahead of Peter Bracken, another driver that should have been higher up the rankings. Two heat wins were enough though to see Turkington start the finals on pole with Blair alongside and Eastwood and past champion Jason Curran filling out the second row. The opening lap of the finals however saw plenty of drama when Blair and Curran ended up in the gravel traps right at the first corner. Curran got re-started at the back of the grid but Blair was left stranded and had to sit out the race on the sidelines in disbelief. Up front however it was Turkington to lead with Eastwood and Alaistair Jackson in hot pursuit. By the fifth lap Jackson was through to second but Turkington was already pulling away. However, a lap later Jackson clipped the tyre barrier at the chicane apex which forced his retirement leaving Eastwood and Neville Bell to take up the battle. Harkness however was on a charge and already was challenging for fourth. With six to go both Bell and Harkness had forged past Eastwood who was obviously having some sort of difficulty and a lap later he pulled in along with Curran and McCarte. That left Turkington well ahead with Bell just holding off Harkness but with three to go Harkness was through. However, not enough laps were left and in the end Turkington came home with victory by over four seconds on Harkness with Bell a well pleased third. Philip Clements and Steven Connolly rounded off the top five, Connoly's charge from twentyfourth on the grid ending with a particularly good result.

The World Formula Class ended up as one of the closest finishes of the meeting with Andrew Fegan fairing out best in heats ahead of Derek Wilson and Sean Doherty, the latter feeling fit enough to also take on the Pro-Kart class. From the off it was Fegan to lead with Doherty storming through to hold second from Nigel Stewart with Wilson dropping back to fourth. As the race settled, all looked fine up front for Fegan although the rage behind for second was not letting him get far away with second swapping around. The final lap however saw all the activity with Wilson, Stewart and Doherty all over each other, and Fegan as the race closed. The horseshoe loop really saw Fegans lead now under serious threat with all four drivers almost side by side as they charged for the line. In the end, Fegan just held on to win by only 0.02 seconds from Wilson with Stewart only another 0.07 further back in third. Doherty settled for a well deserved fourth ahead of Liam Curran.

The Pro-Kart class again saw a win and two consistent top placings put Tommy Fegan on pole with Doherty again in the thick of things to take two heat wins, only for a bad run in his second heat to put him on second. Jason Morrow, the 5 Nations champion, faired out next best to start in third. From the off though Fegan held firm up front although Morrow had made it through to challenge in second. It wasn’t long though before Doherty fought back to regain second and for the next seven laps the three drivers were locked in a relentless battle. Although the leaders had pulled away from the field, there was an equally tough battle going on for fourth with Vincent McCaffrey and William Armstrong leading an intense string of drivers. With five to go Doherty forged through to lead Fegan and Morrow with McCaffrey now under pressure from Gary Armstrong in what was getting really intense for fourth. With only the final lap remaining Doherty started to pull away as Fegan and Morrow still hammered it out for second. Fourth however was now in the hands of Gary Armstrong with Andrew McAuley right with him when McCaffrey and William Armstrong ran wide to let the raging pack past. At the flag it was Doherty that stormed to victory ahead of Fegan and Morrow. Fourth however still had some action to play and in the end McAuley just snatched it from Gary Armstrong by 0.05 seconds making the class one of the closest overall of the meeting.

The Senior TKM class was again small in number with William Smith fairing out best in heats to take pole for the finals. Laura Taggart however was in strong form to start in second in her hope of being the first female senior class GP champion after being the first ever junior champion in the sport. From the off though it was Smith that took the helm with Taggarts race coming to an end after retiring after five laps. That left Ryan McShane out on his own in second ahead of Conor Maginn but with Smith already opening up a good lead he would be hard to catch. In the end Smith came home with another major title under his belt ahead of McShane and Maginn.

The Max 175 class had one of its best ever turnouts with wins each in heats for Warren Feathers, Jason Taylor and Peter Crossen although Taylor's consistency overall put him on pole. From the off however it was Crossen that set the pace from Taylor and Damien Meeke who moved up from fourth. As the race settled the three up front held that line up with Greg Adams challenging for fourth. With four to go Taylor made his move to snatch the lead but Meeke and Crossen who lost out badly were still piling the pressure on hard. Meanwhile the flying Feathers was also on the move and had now made it up to fourth. As they all went onto the final lap the up front battle intensified more but as they came to the line Taylor held on to win by 0.24 seconds from Crossen with Feathers well pleased with fourth after setting the fastest lap in the process. Adams eventually settled for fifth.

On the whole, the Ulster Karting Club promoted event was again a terrific success and the club would like to formally thank the huge team of marshals, organisers and medics for their efforts. Such was the spectacle that the meeting will feature on two RPM programmes on Ulster Television in early and mid September.

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