Team Barrable claim Ford Fiesta Endurance race

ENDURANCE: Team Barrable, crewed by the Swords trio of Michael and his sons Robert and Peter, took a fine victory in the 6 Hour Ford Fiesta Endurance Race at Mondello Park. File pic

Team Barrable, crewed by the Swords trio of Michael and his sons Robert and Peter, took a fine victory in the 6 Hour Ford Fiesta Endurance Race at Mondello Park. 

They took the lead during the second hour and with astute pit stops and consistent driving they opened up a strong lead and were able to measure their final hour to finish the 278 laps of the County Kildare circuit 25.646 seconds ahead of the Murray Motorsport No. 31 team of Eoin Murray, Graham McDonnel and Shane Murphy. 

The quartet of Alex Denning, Harry McGovern, Darragh Denning and Max Turley under the banner of Mika Lakkinen Talent completed the podium line-up.

In qualifying, Niall Murray claimed pole for the Murray Motorsport No. 32 ahead of the second Murray Motorsport (No. 31) car with Team Barrable and Team WrapCo/Blackchurch filling the second row. Although they initially qualified P3, Mika Lakkinen Talent were penalised and began from P19 after it transpired that the fuel pressure regulator did not comply with the regulations.

Remarkably, Alex Denning (Mika Lakkinen Talent) cut through the pack and into the lead after just five laps. By the first hour they led Murray Motorsport Team 32 by 6.563 seconds with the other Murray car 0.777 seconds behind; Team Barrable were sixth - 35.808 seconds off the lead. By the second hour, the top two were unchanged with the Barrable car moving into third and cutting the deficit to just 4.372 seconds with most of the time gained during an efficient pit stop. 

Making great progress Team Barrable edged in front early in the third hour that was interrupted by a red flag when an engine of one of the cars exploded and deposited oil on the track. By the completion of the third hour the Barrable’s led by a minute and 28.530 seconds. The margin remained at over a lap by the fourth hour with Mika Lakkinen Talent their nearest rivals; Murray Motorsport No. 32 dropped to seventh. 

A severe downpour around 4.30pm made conditions very difficult. In the end, Peter Barrable guided his team’s Fiesta to victory, a repeat of their 2018 win. Eoin Murray ensured second place for the No. 31 team ahead of the Mika Lakkinen Talent outfit.

Meanwhile, Waterford duo Eddie Doherty and co-driver Emel McNamara took their Ford Escort to a start to finish victory in the Faugheen Rallysprint. In what essentially was a single stage rally with four runs over a reversed version of the 3.2 kilometre route of the Faugheen motorcycle races. They finished 3.5 seconds ahead of Wexford’s Brian Murphy, who opted not to have a co-driver. Kilkenny’s Enda O’Brien/Eugene McGrath (Ford Escort) were a further 4.3 seconds behind in third. 

The top three were unchanged throughout with Doherty 1.8 seconds ahead on the first run before Murphy cut the deficit to a mere three tenths of a second on the second stage. Doherty pushed the margin out to 2.3 seconds on the penultimate run before setting the best time on the final run to seal the win. Kenmare’s Vincent O’Shea (Darrian) was fourth ahead of Cahir’s Pat O’Connell, whose Mitsubishi seemed down on power.

6 Hour Ford Fiesta Endurance Race, Mondello Park: 1. Team Barrable (Michael, Robert & Peter Barrable); 2. Murray Motorsport No. 31 (Eoin Murray, Graham McDonnell & Shane Murphy)+25.646s; 3. Mika Lakkinen Talent (Alex Denning, Harry McGovern, Darragh Denning & Max Hart)+1 lap.

Faugheen Rallysprint, Faugheen Co. Tipperary: 1. E. Doherty/E. McNamara (Ford Escort) 6m. 37.1s; 2. B. Murphy (Mitsubishi EvoIX)+3.5s; 3. E. O'Brien/E. McGrath (Ford Escort)+ 7.8s; 4. V. O'Shea/Brian Hickey (Darrian T90)+8.2s; 5. P. O'Connell/P. Heffernan (Mitsubishi EvoX)+10.4s; 6. J. O'Brien/E. O'Brien (Ford Escort)+12.9s.