Doherty Dominates to take Leinster Trophy Glory

Ronan Doherty was on a mission last weekend.  The disappointment of 2023, when he had to pull in with a mechanical issue, still rankled the Ballymena man and he and his compact team came to Mondello Park with just one aim; to add his name to the long but exclusive list of Leinster Trophy winners.

It was never going to be easy, one would have thought, as Formula Vee is nothing if not competitive at the sharp end and, with a chance of joining Senna, Hakkinen and others on the most famous trophy in Irish Motor Racing, it wasn’t as if anyone was going to leave their A game at home.

Despite the fine foreccast, race day dawned to a soaked, and foggy, Mondello Park. There was no sign of it drying as the 22 Formula Vees took to the track. When the chequered flag was waved, it was Doherty at the top of the timesheets. He was 7 tenths clear of fellow sim racer and Vee/FF1600 star Jordan Kelly with Dan Polley, Gavin Buckley, Colm Blackburn and Jack Byrne next up.  Race one was held in the same, decidedly tricky, conditions and, despite a stoppage and subsequent restart, it was Doherty who was first across the line, setting himself up beautifully for the big one later that afternoon.

The officials and marshals had a tough time on Sunday afternoon as it seemed sod’s law -anything that can go wrong, will go wrong, was in full force. Wet conditions didn’t help of course, but the safety car must have needed new tyres and a few tanks of fuel during the day and the red flags were almost worn out. This, allied to a complete power cut at the circuit, meant that the lunch break had to be cut and the Junior MINI Grid Walk and the Pre Leinster Trophy grid chats were also casualties of the revised timetable.

None of this bothered Doherty though, as he rebuffed a strong challenge from former Leinster Trophy winner Dan Polley down into Turn One for the big race.  Any hopes that his competitors had that Doherty’s pace was rain related were soon scuppered as the navy Sheane began to leave the pack behind. Such was the Ballymena man’s dominance that when Fergus Brennan waved the chequered flag to signal the win, Ronan’s closest challenger was over 20 seconds behind. That is unheard of in a class when wins are often decided by who has the longest nosecone on the drag race to the line!

“It was a dream weekend from the first session on Friday, we had the pace in all conditions and it’s just a relief to get over the line” he told Cregor Elliott afterwards. “Big credit to my Dad and Alan Whitty and all who help with the car, those lads make this car a dream to drive in all conditions.”

Images PMG/ICCR

Paddock Team Image: Ronan Doherty Racing