As ever, the Siltex Safety Fiesta Zetec Championship had the biggest grid of the weekend at the TengTools Leinster Trophy weekend at Mondello Park.
Sean McGovern snatched pole but it was closer than ever, in fact the next five drivers were all within three tenths of the pole time, so, as ever in Zetecs, we were going to be treated to some great racing! Sam Doyle would start alongside Sean on the front row with Andy Kavanagh and Christian Brennan on row two. Next up were Ian Fishbourne and Keith Dawson. Mick Kehoe and Alan Dawson shared row six from fast returnees Keith Lenihan and Phil Lawless.
Rookie series leader Jack Duke was pipped to class pole by Mondello Scholarship winner Phil Moloney with the second Mondello Scholarship car of Patrick Fitzgerald in third. Dylan Jones was fourth in Rookies ahead of the returning LolaRose Turley, Jack Beggy, Jason O’Brien and Reuben O’Neill.
Kelsey Kirby, above, was a welcome visitor back to the Zetec grid after a lengthy sabbatical and the Motorsport Ireland Sport Development Officer would line up P16, complete with the See It Live onboard camera.
Neil Murphy led the huge grid around the full International Circuit in his immaculate Siltex Safety Zetec pace car and, with both Championships approaching their conclusion, there must have been plenty of anticipation in the cockpits as the five second board was held aloft. When the lights changed, Doyle made a fractionally better start but the reigning champion McGovern wasn’t going to relinquish it that easily and he held on as the exited Castrol for the first time, with the pair rounding Campion still side by side. Kavanagh was third from Fishbourne, Brennan and Keith and Alan Dawson. Moloney had already rebuffed a challenge for the Rookie lead from Duke into Castrol. “Kelseycam” was almost around the outside of both but Moloney gave her the squeeze exiting Castrol and she had to lift or take to the grass.
As they came into Turn Three, Kavanagh sliced down the inside of Doyle to try and take second, with Fishbourne looking to follow him through. As the pack streamed through, Mick Kehoe’s immaculate Donegan Auto Services car was making its way back towards the tarmac, having uncharacteristically slid off into the boonies on the way in. Chloe Kellett was also on the move and had got by Kelsey before being squeezed off on the way up to Lola. 
Back at the front, it was all going wrong for Sam Doyle. Wrong footed by the Kavanagh move, he was boxed out at Lola and Fishbourne was through, with Keith Dawson also easing up alongside the Tara Racing machine. Christian Brennan and Phil Lawless were also on the back of this train as they headed down to 7A. By the end of the opening lap, McGovern had taken advantage of the scrapping in his wake and opened a big, by Zetec standards, gap back to Kavanagh, Fishbourne and Dawson, with Doyle a few lengths back after an opening lap that really didn’t go his way. Then it was Lawless, Dawson and Brennan in close formation, from Keith Lenihan, who was going well, Lorcan McGivney and Moloney who had lost the Rookie lead to Duke, but already taken it back at Southside. They were still door to door into Castrol though and yet again at Campion, with Alex McCann searching for a way through as well.
Moloney had the elbows out as he tried to hold Duke back and the rookie leader had to take to the Mondello grass on the way to Turn three, all captured by Kelseycam, who, along with Chloe Kellett, was close behind the battling pair. Right behind Kelsey was the much improved Martin Finnegan from Alex McCann, Paddy Fitzgerald and Lolarose Turley, who was under pressure from Jason O’Brien. 
As Fishbourne and Keith Dawson battled, Doyle saw his opportunity and in a flash, the Tara Racing machine was by both and back up to third place, right on Kavanagh’s tail. As Doyle looked for a gap, Fishbourne got alongside on a number of occasions before launching it down the inside at Southside. He made contact with Kavanagh but Andy wound off the lock and sat around the outside, allowing him to just about close the door on the BIrrane Straight and hang onto second place! Doyle, having already been boxed once in the race, launched it down the outside of everyone at Castrol. He almost made it work too, but Kavanagh wasn’t too generous with the tarmac on the exit! He had done enough to take Fishbourne but when the Murray Motorsport car sat around the outside of Campion, Doyle gave him racing room and as they drag raced to Turn Three, Dawson bump drafted Fishbourne into third and followed him through, leaving Doyle, after all his work, back where he had been a lap earlier once again! Alan Dawson had also shaken off his pursuers and was on Doyle’s rear bumper with Brennan and Lenihan having both battled past Lawless, who had McGivney right with him too. As Keith Dawson defended from Doyle, Fishbourne and Kavanagh had pulled away and Fishbourne was piling on the pressure for second.
Out front, McGovern was flying, and he took the chequered flag well clear of the rest for another maximum points haul, just needing a points finish in race two to assure himself of the title for the second year in a row. Kavanagh, having driven superbly, survived a drag race with Fishbourne to take second after a great race. Keith Dawson was fourth, from a disappointed Sam Doyle, with Alan Dawson just holding off Christian Brennan, who had a very strong final few laps to catch the group. 
Then it was Lenihan, Lawless and McGivney, from Jack Duke, who took Rookie Honours, with Jack Beggy and Dylan Jones (above) completing the podium.
As ever , the top six were reversed for the second race of the day, and there was much adding of points and subtracting dropped rounds in the paddock over the lunch break before the class was called to assembly for their second outing! This put Alan Dawson on pole from a very determined Sam Doyle. Behind them were Ian Fishbourne and Keith Dawson, with Kavanagh and race one winner McGovern on row three.
Predictably, Dawson made no mistakes when the lights went out and it was his immaculate Dawson Direct car that led the pack under the Alfa Romeo bridge and down into Castrol for the first time. Keith Dawson had also made a good launch as Alex McCann car was slow away. Doyle was already beginning to look for a gap round the leader and when Fish and Keith Dawson briefly tangled at Birrane’s Bends, McGovern was through, pushing Fishbourne back to fifth. 
As the race settled down, Dawson and Doyle pulled clear and it was obvious that one of them would win the fanmous Leinster Leader Trophy, awarded to the class for race two. Dawson’s defence was staunch and effective and despite his best efforts, Doyle had no been able to make the move stick. Dawson had won the Trophy in 2025 and just when we were starting to think he would do it again, he went a bit wide exiting Bridgestone and the car faltered slightly on the way up to Lola. Doyle, who had never given up, was right with him and in a flash was through. At Lola, the car slowed again and Doyle exited onto the back straight with a few lengths clear at the front. Fishbourne had taken fourth from McGovern with an impressive move down the outside into 7A, but his move to relieve Dawson of third was a little more clumsy. Square on contact in the braking zone for Southside was just enough to push Keith slightly wide and the ever opportunistic McGovern also took the opportunity to follow Fishbourne through.
At the flag then, it was a delighted Sam Doyle who took a popular win and held the famous trophy aloft on the Mondello Podium. Alan Dawson was second, from Fishbourne. McGovern was next up, taking enough points to clinch the title with a race meeting to run, from Keith Dawson and Andy Kavanagh. Then it was Christian Brennan, the flying Keith Lenihan and Phil Lawless.
Jack Duke took the Rookie Honours once again, putting the Rookie title out of reach of the rest, with Phil Moloney charging through from the back for second, ahead of Dylan Jones. Beggy, Paddy Fitzgerald and Jason O’Brien were next Rookies, from Will Humphries, Lolarose Turley and Reuben O’Neill. Then it was Thomas O’Callaghan, Freya Burns, Elizabeth Downey and Alessandro Gentile.
This leaves us with just one race meeting to go, this coming Sunday at Mondello Park. Sean McGovern, above, has driven superbly all season and can’t be caught for the overall title but sadly, for the second year in a row, appears not to have entered. Sam Doyle is second but needs to keen an eye on the experienced Andy Kavanagh, who is just nine points behind on dropped scores. Ian Fishbourne is next up, from Keith Dawson and Christian Brennan.
Jack Duke, above, has assured himself of the Rookie title after a superb debut season, with Mondello scholarship winners Phil Maloney and Paddy Fitzgerald in second and third respectively. Jack Beggy is also in the mix so the order for second, third and fourth is far from decided and, as ever Trophies presented at the Night of Champions in Naas in September go down to sixth, so Jason O’Brien, Dylan Jones, Reuben O’Neill and Will Humphries will all be trying hard.
Images from Marc Quinlivan
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