Tin Top Star Michael Cullen Joins Irish Stryker Series
Multiple championship Michael Cullen has made a late decision to join the 2020 Irish Stryker Championship. Having jumped into Murray Motorsport team mate Niall McFadden’s car and taken an impressive win in 2019, he really enjoyed the Zetec powered sportscars and will line up on the grid for the opening round of the 2020 series this weekend at Mondello Park.
Cullen has an enviable record in Irish Motorsport, having won Uno Cup, 205 GTI, Dunlop Saloon and Irish Touring Car Series titles. His father Des was a top saloon campaigner before him, and indeed Michael’s first race was in a borrowed Fiesta- he finished fourth, “right on Dad’s rear bumper!”
Michael moved from Irish domestic racing to UK and even European racing, winning the European Ferrari Challenge twice, in 2004 and 2007. After a few years’ sabbatical, Cullen returned to his old team, Murray Motorsport to compete in the SEAT Supercup, and subsequently joined the Mondello Park run Fiesta ST series and has narrowly missed out on adding to his title tally in recent times. As if this were not enough, a spin in an Appendix K (Goodwood spec) Mini Cooper S got him hooked and last year he purchased a car, which is tended to by, Jonathan Lewis’ Snetterton Speedshop team.
“I’m delighted to be joining the Irish Stryker class. I had never considered the class before driving Niall’s car last September and I found the car a revelation to drive- rear wheel drive and raw! After driving Niall’s, I had to join in!”
This will be a busy weekend for Michael, as he is entered in both the Coffee2Go Fiesta ST class and the Strykers, four races in total. A recent Mondello test in his new Stryker saw him unoffically eclipsing the class lap record, so don’t bet against him taking plenty of silverware home on Sunday evening!
Stryker Images from Michael Chester.
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