The Irish national championship was won on Sunday 9th September at St Anneâ™s park in Dublin. Taking my third win of the series, the points accumulated so far cannot be surpassed by another driver with only one round left.
The tire wear can be slightly high at this track so I decided to run the car on harder shore tires than I would normally use to ensure the car still performed consistently throughout the 30 minute final. My qualifying lap times were down a tenth or two with the harder tires though I still managed to qualify second for the main final.
(click to enlarge)
Defending Irish champion Chris Steele made a clean start from pole position. I got spun around at the second corner by the third place guy and re-joined well down the order. As the tires wore down the car just performed faster as the race went on. By around 10 minutes I was in second but nearly a lap down on Chris. Luck was on my side, as Chris had to retire at around 24 minutes due to a mechanical problem resulting from contact with a slower car. The NT1 handled perfect throughout and I could easily push it right to the end to take the win by good margin.
My Pitman Andy Smith & I (click to enlarge)
The NT1 has proved itself as a very reliable, strong and fast car. Throughout the championship I have only had to change a set of belts and a few bearings. Other drivers have shown a keen interest in the car and have been impressed by itâ™s performance and quality. I will look forward to defending the title next year.
Top 3 Round 6
1. Steven Hayes - XRAY NT1
2. Eoin Doran
3. Chris Lawlor
Many thanks to XRAY, HUDY, Mirage & AS Designs (Andy).
