Mondello Double Vaults Fildes into Junior MINI Title Contention!

The Patch Tyre Equipment Junior MINI Challenge continues to grow- and continues to impress. Thus far in 2024, the cars look great, the drivers have been superb and it appears we have no shortage of talent in our Junior ranks either.
At the recent Leinster Trophy meeting at Mondello Park, the young drivers got their chance to step into the limelight, as they raced on the Sunday of a two day meeting for the first time.  The drivers, and their sponsors also enjoyed their first ever live streamed races and unsurprisingly, they didn’t disappoint!

When the MINIs took to the track for qualifying, the rain had come and the track was decidedly slippery. Quite a few names showed at the top of the timesheets, but Jack Fildes was fastest when it counted and it was he who would start from pole position in front of the See It Live Cameras later that afternoon. He would be joined on the front row by Leo Richardson in the POB Racing machine with series leader Joshua Henry and Holly Dunnion taking up the second row. Henry and his team did well to make the start, after a heavy shunt on the exit of Nordic Spirit corner which had brought out the red flags in qualifying. The third row comprised of Jayden McBrearty and TJ Taffe in the the Mondello Park scholarship car. A delighted Leah McManus was seventh, her best qualifying position of the year and she was followed by Dean Deasy, Lucca Mullins and Ailish Sexton in the Midlands 103 car. next up were Harry Dowlling and Martin Finnegan. Logan Hoey,, Daithi Kennedy and Kyle Irvine were all relegated to the back of the grid for various reasons, meaning Race 1 certainly wouldn’t be short of excitement.

On a considerably drier track, the two front row men made good starts and they headed down to the newly named Castrol Corner door to door. Fildes had the inside line and it was he who led the pack as they headed through Campion Corner and down towards Turn Three for the first time. Richardson was on the attack though and eventually, with a move that seemed to take almost a full lap, managed to grab the lead. He initially opened a small gap to Fildes with Holly Dunnion having moved up to third. Joshua Henry was on the move though, his Stables liveried car deposing Dunnion’s Energia machine for third at Lola before setting fastest lap as he closed down the two leaders. As he closed them down, Fildes closed up on Richardson, and when the leader slowed briefly on the exit of Turn Three, was through into the lead. Jayden McBrierty was also on a charge, getting by Holly Dunnion with a brave move at Nordic Spirit corner. typically though, Holly launched it down the inside into Southside to briefly take the place back, but McBrierty sat around the outside to claim the place on the exit.

With just a few minutes to run, the lead trio were bumper to bumper. When Fildes didn’t defend into Southside, Richardson dived down the iniside to grab the lead, Fildes did the perfect switchback though and they ran side by side down the straight, with Fildes having the inside line for Castrol and taking it back. Henry was right with them too and looking for a gap whilst behind them, the charging McBrearty was closing them all down! Holly Dunnion was in fifth, until a grassy excursion at Lola dropped her back allowing a battle raged between TJ Taffe in the Mondello car and Kyle Irvine, who had charged up from the back, through. Lucca Mullins was next up, from Kennedy, Hoey and Leah McManus.. That’s how they ended up, with Fildes just pipping Richardson to the line, with Henry right with them. McBrearty was fourth after a great drive, from Taffe and Irvine, then Dunnion, Mullins, Kennedy and a disappointed Hoey, finding his borrowed engine to be down on power compared to his usual unit, which had expired earlier in the day.
Leah McManus was next up and Ailish Sexton just pipped Dean Deasy to the line after a great battle.

Fildes and Richardson were together again on the front row for race tow, with Dunnion in third, from the ever improving TJ Taffe. Leah McManus had Ailish Sexton for company on row two while Dean Deasy and Harry Dowling would start from row four. This meant we had some really fast drivers well dwon with plenty of work to do
Fildes got the drop again, and was followed by Richardson and Taffe, with Holly Dunnion and Leah McManus next up.
McBrearty and Henry were already charging though and were fourth and fifth respectively at the end of the opening lap . Hoey, was right there too in the FPS car and he took sixth from Dunnion in a move that started at Southside and was completed at Campion Corner!
On the approach to Southside, Richardson went down the outside of Fildes and managed to switch back into the inside on the exit to take the lead into Castrol. Taffe in third, was doing well to hold back the Donegal Armada behind, Henry managing to slip by McBrearty at Lola, with Hoey taking the opportunity to launch by into 7A too.
Henry got the run at Taffe out of Lola but with waved yellows for Ailsh Sexton’s stricken car, he had to back out of it. Hoey had closed up on both too and all three were together as they started another lap. Henry finally made it by Taffe with a nice move into Castrol, with Taffe rebuffing an effort by Hoey to get by too!
From the fifth row of the grid, Henry was now up to third and on a charge, eclipsing leader Richardson’s fastest lap as he tried to close the leading pair down. Hoey got by Taffe at 7B with the Mondello Scholarship car being sent wide in the process.

Starting the final lap Richardson had a lead of almost a second from Fildes and the fast closing Henry but appeared to have it all in hand. Until Turn Three……  Unfortunately he missed a gear and as the Mount Merrion Cars machine slowed, Fildes, for the second time of the day, was past and away. As he gathered speed once again he had one eye on the mirrors as Henry closed right up to his rear bumper. On the final corner Henry took a last minute stab down the inside for second place. Richardson fought back on the run to the line but Henry got the verdict by just .03 as they broke the timing beam. All this meant a delighted Fildes took his second win of the weekend, and moved right into title contention with just one meeting left to run.

Images from Cregor Elliott/LNP