The Patch Tyre Equipment Junior MINI Challenge continues to grow in 2024 and its fast becoming apparent that this year’s competitors are a highly talented bunch.
The class recently crossed the Irish Sea for the first time, accompanying some of their fellow ICCR classes to the picturesque Anglesey Circuit, just a quick spin from the Holyhead ferryport. After qualifying, it was third generation racer Leo Richardson who took pole position, his immaculate POB Motorsport/Mount Merrion Cars machine stopping the clocks at 1:24.947. Just three tenths behind was round two winner Joshua Henry, a fraction ahead of Logan Hoey who would have Holly Dunnion’s Energia car for company on row two. Kyle Irvine and Jack Fildes would start on row three, ahead of TJ Taffe in the Mondello Park Scholarship car, Daithi Kennedy, Martin Finnegan, Harry Dowling and Leah McManus.
Unfortunately we lost two cars early on as Irvine, side by side with Holly Dunnion in the braking zone for Rocket, made heavy contact with Richardson, who was already turned in. Both cars were heavily damaged and neither would continue. This left Joshua Henry with a strong lead and he immediately got the head down, setting fastest lap of the race, establishing a lap record on the second lap and opening the gap to his pursuers. At the flag, his The Stables liveried car was 14 seconds of Hoey’s FPS machine, with Fildes and Taffe literally right on his back bumper. Leah McManus (below)had her best result of the season in fifth after a great scrap with Harry Dowling and Martin Finnegan for the duration, earning her the first Driver of The Day award of the weekend. 
Somehow the POB Racing crew managed to get Richardson’s car to the grid for race two but such was the extent of the damage, they weren’t expecting miracles from the polesitter. Henry, buoyed no doubt by his earlier win, was soon in the lead, having started from the second row. Richardson was gong well despite the hasty repair to his car, and became embroiled in a hectic scrap with Hoey, with the pair swapping places on a number of occasions.
Jack Fildes completed the opening lap in sixth place but was about to start an impressive towards the front. By lap eight, he was up to third thanks to some impressive overtaking manoeuvres and on the final tour, he somehow managed to squeeze past Hoey to take second. In fact the final few laps of this second race were probably the best racing all weekend at the venue as Henry, Hoey and Fildes went at it. At the flag it was Henry for an extremely impressive double win, from Fildes, whose charging drive earned him the Drive of The Day, and Hoey- with just over half a second covering all three as they crossed the line! Despite all his overtaking, Fildes also managed fastest lap, his time of 1:25.189 eclipsing Henry’s earlier mark to set a new lap record for the class at the Welsh venue. Holly Dunnion was fourth from TJ Taffe. Daithi Kennedy was sixth, with a track limit penalty dropping Richardson to seventh, ahead of Dowling and McManus, with Martin Finnegan retiring with gearbox woes at half distance.
All this means that Logan Hoey still leads the title chase, but the double win brings Henry to within four points of the Dundalk charger. A strong weekend for Fildes means he moves to third, from the improving Taffe and Holly Dunnion. The Patch Tyre Equipment Junior MINI Challenge travel North at the end of the month for rounds five and six at the high speed Kirkistown circuit. Expect highly entertaining slipstreaming battles all the way down the field when the 120bhp machines take to the circuit!
The series then returns to Mondello Park in September for rounds seven and eight at the Leinster Trophy meeting, which runs on the full International layout. For the first time, the class will be streamed live for both races, so it’s a big weekend for these young drivers as they get the chance to showcase themselves to a completely new audience.
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