Kirkistown Circuit

25th July

Abarth Championship

By Gary Fox

The Fiat Abarth Championship moved to the Northern Ireland venue for the first time this season as the Championship moves into the concluding rounds.

Two meetings remain in the 2009 Fiat Abarth Championship with the final round scheduled for the 12^th and 13^th of September with the Leinster Trophy at Mondello Park.

Current Championship leader Alastair Kellett went into today’s meeting buoyed by his recent commanding performances at the Anglesey circuit in Wales.

A strong performance in the mornings qualifying session resulted in Liam Denning starting on pole, with Simon Quinn, Gordon Kellett and Clive Pratt making up the rest of the top four positions.

Liam Denning needed two big performances at the Kirkistown venue to keep up the pressure on Alastair Kellett at the top of the Championship leader board.

Kirkistown offers a fresh challenge to drivers at this stage of the season, the blisteringly fast circuit, dubbed “the fastest circuit in Ireland” was formerly an RAF base before transforming into a race track in 1953.

Located on the Ards Peninsula, one of the most scenic locations in Northern Ireland, it attracts crowds from all over the country.

Measuring just 1.5 miles, the circuit has two trademark long yearning straights; broken only by three turns and a tricky chicane, and if not given enough respect will surprise the less experienced driver.

The opening laps of race one found little to separate the pack, drivers acclimatising to the demands of the scorching hot circuit.

Crowds gathered at the focal point of the chicane to see the Abarths kicking up swirling clouds of dust as they went through side by side.

Clive Pratt and Noel Greene were engaged in a frantic battle for track position, the instantly recognisable green Abarth of Greene was piling on the pressure on Pratt.

Arthur McMahon, Darragh Brennan, Paul Copeland, John Denning and Barry McMahon were literally bumper to bumper on lap four. The group provided the crowd with a gripping spectacle as the five way battle raged.

Lap six saw waved yellows and the introduction of the safety car for an Escort which found itself marooned on the entrance to Colonial corner. The stranded Ford was deemed to be situated in such a dangerous position that it demanded the introduction of the safety car to facilitate its removal.

The field was instantly bunched up behind the safety car as Liam Denning found the lead he had fought so hard to establish, swallowed up in seconds.

Due to the location of the stranded Escort, it took an extended period before it could be removed safely, all this resulting in more and more laps behind the safety car.

When racing finally resumed on lap ten, Simon Quinn, sensing time was running out, manoeuvred his Abarth out wide of Liam Denning but found the door slammed shut, Dennings concentration obviously not affected by the extended delay.

This was to be the last notable action of the first race as the chequered flag dropped after just one lap free of the safety car.

Quinn took second position from Denning in first with the Kellett duo of Gordon and Alastair, third and fourth respectively.

The grid reshuffle for race two saw Alastair Kellett start on pole, Noel Greene, Clive Pratt and Gordon Kellett making up the rest of the front two rows.

Liam Denning, winner of race one saw himself starting back in sixth position.

Clive Pratt was the man to watch as he grabbed the attention and second spot from Noel Greene in the opening stages. It quickly turned from elation to devastation for Pratt when he ended up on the grass and this off track experience saw him shooting back down the grid to last place.

This was to begin the start of a remarkable fight back for the man from Carlow as he fought his way through the field to finish a respectable fifth spot.

Simon Quinn was quietly making progress throughout the day and snatched second spot from Liam Denning on lap four after being all over the bumper of the Dublin man in the opening laps.

The McMahon brothers who provided such entertainment for the crowds at Anglesey were once again drawing plenty of attention. Barry and Roger this time duelling for family pride as Arthur continued his charge through the field.

The mixture of Saloon cars with Abarths no doubt made life more challenging for the Fiats as the engine sizes in the Saloons varied wildly across the class but this merely added to the spectacle for spectators.

Simon Quinn made the decisive move at the start of lap nine when he streamlined past Alastair Kellett, gaining the lead which he would hold until the chequered flag, adding a pole position to his second place from earlier in the day.

Gordon Kellett was struggling with gearbox problems resulting in him finishing in the unusual position of sixth.

Roger McMahon has begun to flourish in the Abarth class, continuing to show improvement with each passing meeting. He claimed a highly respectable seventh spot and with it victory in the private McMahon family battle.

The Abarth Championship table now sees leader Alastair Kellett, Liam Denning, Clive Pratt, Noel Greene and Gordon Kellett separated by just 22 points at the top of the table.