Posted July 31, 2024 by leonulty Motorsport

Barnes and resurgent Cullen Share Alloy Repair Centre Fiesta Wins at Mondello

Series leader Ross Barnes once again topped the times when the Alloy Repair Centre Fiestas took to the Mondello Park International circuit for qualifying ahead of rounds five and six of the Championship. He was joined on the front row for the opening race by Michael Cullen, Trojan work from the LOH Motorsport squad having traced and eradicated the issues which had held the Beacon Hospital car back in recent rounds. Roy White was next up, showing his famed wet weather prowness early in the session and he would have the second Beacon car of Victor Cullen alongside. Row three comprised Darragh McMullen and Brendan Fitzgerald, whilst Bobby Turley and Tim McQuaid were seventh and eighth respectively, with Cian O’Brien and Christopher Grimes Jnr rounding out the top ten. Others of note included class newbie Charlie McKillen (below), son of former Irish rally star Max, who did well to qualify P13 on his first time out.
When the lights went out, Barnes made a cracker and he led down into turn one, with the rest pretty much in grid formation. McMullan displaced Victor for fourth at Turn three, with Fitzgerald squeezing past too. Up front, Cullen Senior looked like he meant business, making a big effort to relieve Barnes of the lead into Lola for the first time. Barnes held him off but had to go defensive into 7A again as the Beacon car moved around in his mirrors, with White shadowing them both. It was all action into Southside at the end of the opening lap with McMullen slicing beautifully down the inside of White to grab third, whist Turley and Fitzgerald tangled heavily just behind. Marcus Hayes was also caught up in avoidance but rejoined, as did Turley, albeit with some damage sustained.

This allowed the lead pair to make a break and from then on they were in a class of their own, both obviously pushing hard but easing away from the rest from the duration. A concerted effort from Cullen on the final lap wasn’t quite enough and Barnes was first across the line for an impressive victory. McMullen was next up, some seven seconds back, from White, Cullen Junior and Cian O’Brien.
As ever the top six were reversed to form the grid for race two, meaning that young guns Kian O’Brien in the Protune/SWR car and Victor Cullen in the LOH machine would start from the front row. white and McMullen would be on row two, with Michael Cullen, carrying the live stream onboard camera all alone on row three after Barnes didn’t appear in assembly. O’Brien made the best use of his pole, but leading the pack away with Victor in close attendance and White right there too. Right behind them Michael Cullen was already on the attack, weaving around behind McMullen on the way to Turn Three.

Behind them, Grimes had to use all his Autotest experience and car control to hang on to a massive slide into the first part of Turn Three, the red Fiesta almost travelling backwards at one point! Former karter John Eliffe was moving up too at this point, as he gradually became more comfortable with his beautifully presented newly built car. On the run out of Birrane’s Bends, McMullan tried a move on White. As White held on, McMullen was slowed slightly and that was all it too for Cullen to get alongside on the run back to Nordic Spirit Corner. The two Blue and white cars ran door to door until the corner, where Cullen, on the inside line, took the place, moving himself up to fourth. Up ahead, O’Brien had the head down, the reigning Kirkistown MINI Cup Champion beginning to ease away from the rest. A lap later, Cullen pretty much replicated the move, slicing down the inside of White and making the move stick at Nordic Spirit once again. Fast forward just one more lap and Michael sliced down the inside of Victor into Southside as if they were mortal enemies. Victor wasn’t going to be a pushover and gave his dad the big squeeze on the main straight as the crossed the line side by side.

Michael though, was on a mission. Revelling in the handling of his newly sorted car, he got the head down and began to reel in the leader, with Victor coming under attack from the Murray Motorsport car of White and McMullen, who was right in there too.
There were shades of the heady days of the Dunlop Uno Cup some thirty years ago as Cullen, carrying the onboard camera, tricolour on the helmet, tracked the leader up to the final corner. Having ensured that O’Brien defended, he darted to the outside, preparing for his trademark switchback. There must be some old VHS tapes of the RPM coverage of the Unos in the O’Brien household though, because O’Brien covered it beautifully, placing his car exactly where Cullen needed to be on the exit, the pair coming onto the main straight absolutely together. It was tin top racing at its best, as Cullen went for the inside on the straight and O’Brien calmly blocked him again. Going under the bridge though, Cullen was faster and had the nose ahead as they came into the braking zone. O’Brien came back at him on the brakes though and they rounded the corner side by side. They rounded Campion Corner still side by side and it appeared O’Brien would hang on. Cullen wasn’t to be denied though and somehow sat around the outside at Turn Three to emerge in the lead. All this had brought Victor onto their tails and when he tried a move on O’Brien into Lola, it slowed both him and the following White, with McMullen immediately pouncing and grabbing fourth on the run to 7A.
A few spots of rain on the closing lap did nothing to stop Cullen taking an excellent win, over three seconds to the good at the flag. O’Brien, having had a difficult start of the season, was happy to be back on the podium, with Victor in P3, followed by White who had taken fourth back from McMullen in the closing stages. Next up were Grimes and Eliffe, with Fitzgerald and Turley having charged to eighth and ninth from the back of the grid.