Alex Dunne impresses at three day test session in Abu Dhabi
Circuit Agency Season Photo Yas At Formula Post The Marina Dutch Alex At Dhabi 2 Abu Test Dunne Picture:
Territory close to Kilmichael, County Cork proved decisive in the Carbery Navigation Trial, the fourth round of the Motorsport Ireland National Navigation Trial Championship. Over challenging and often intricate terrain the 85-mile event actually concluded on a tie-break between the Subaru Impreza pair of the Longford/Tydavnet duo Shane Dalton/Ryan Treanor and Cork natives Michael “Bones” O’Connor/Denis O’Donovan.
Victory on the “furthest cleanest” rule (the crew that traversed the furthest without incurring a penalty) went to Dalton/Treanor, who move into the lead of the national series at the half way mark.
In ideal conditions, the eventual winners along with pre-event championship leaders Monaghan’s Andy Mackarel and Bruff’s Greg Shinnors and Mallow’s Derek Butler/Aaron O’Regan were the only crews to get beyond TP 10 (between Terelton and Kilmichael) without incurring any penalties. Drinagh navigator O’Donovan, seeking an eleventh victory on this event that also counted towards the Munster series, was one of many to incur a penalty at the location where the Longford/Monaghan pair Pakie Duffy/Evin Hughes dropped four penalties.
By TP 11 (Kilmichael) all crews had dropped time as the Killeagh/Ballincollig pairing of James Fitzgerald/Ken Carmody were only on a single penalty along with Dalton/Treanor and O’Connor/O’Donovan.
As Dalton/Treanor successfully negated the terrain from Kilmichael south to Shanlaragh their main rivals collected penalties. O’Connor/O’Donovan collected their only other penalty at TP15 while Fitzgerald/Carmody were three minutes late at TP18 to the west of Kilmichael. Heading towards the concluding section near Kilmurry, Dalton/Treanor dropped time at TP37 to join O’Connor/O’Donovan with two penalties apiece with victory going to the former following the tie-break rule.
The Ardnacrusha/Sligo crew of Patsy McDonagh/Patrick Corcoran finished third overall on five penalties – the majority dropped at TP’s 10 and 11. Mackarel/Shinnors and Duffy/Hughes both accumulated seven penalties with fourth going the way of the former. Cork born brothers Ray and Stephen O’Neill were the top Semi-Expert crew. Elsewhere, Cork crews dominated the Novice category with Midleton’s Tony O’Keeffe and Limerick’s Derek O’Donoghue taking the laurels ahead of the Leap father and son crew of James and Ciaran French, who lost some 50 penalties for clocking in too early at TP17 to the north-east of Terelton. In the Beginner’s category Ballincollig’s Brian Duggan and his Horse and Jockey navigator Susan Smyth had a comfortable victory.
Meanwhile, Motorsport Ireland International Racing Driver of the Year award winner Offaly’s Alex Dunne (19) impressed in his first taste of Formula 2 during a three day test session at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi that concluded over the weekend. The Clonbulloge teenager, who is a member of the McLaren Driver Development Programme and is viewed as a precocious talent, sampled F2 at the wheel of a Rodin Motorsport car. “I really had a good run on the third day and ended up P2 behind ART Grand Prix’s Victor Martins.”
This year Martins concluded his second season in F2 and was on pole for the final race of the year. For Dunne, his first time aboard an F2 car was a completely new experience. He added, “Moving for F2 in 2025 is the plan. It (the test) worked out better than I expected. You always believe that you will do well. A lot of people had explained to me that the F2 car would be very different to drive that an F3 car. I clicked pretty quickly with it, the car felt really nice, I really enjoyed it and the car was really good. The test with Rodin was very positive and I would be very happy to race with them next year.”
Over the coming weeks Dunne, who was amongst new and experienced drivers that showcased their talent in Abu Dhabi, will crank up his plans and is hoping to make an announcement early in the new year.
1. S. Dalton/R. Treanor (Subaru Impreza) 2penalties; Expert Class: 1. M. “Bones” O'Connor/D. O'Donovan (Subaru Impreza) 2pens; 2. P. McDonagh/P. Corcoran (Subaru) 5 pens; 3. A. Mackarel/G. Shinnors (Subaru Impreza) 7pens; Semi-Experts: R. O'Neill/S. O'Neill (Subaru Impreza) 19pens; 2. B. Oakes/R. Nash (Subaru Impreza) 94pens; 3. D. Burke/E. Longworth (Subaru Forester) 158pens; Novice: 1. T. O'Keeffe/D. O'Donoghue (Honda Civic) 66pens; 2. J. French/C. French (Subaru Forester) 76pens; 3. J. Cooney/K. Hayes (Subaru Impreza) 260pens; Beginners: 1. B. Duggan/S. Smyth (Toyota Starlet) 158pens; 2. S. McHugh/G. Kelleher (Suzuki Ignis) 331pens; 3. D. Forde/B. Hollinshead (Toyota Starlet) 645pens.