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Round 2 at Mondello Park would see a much dryer circuit than the opening round of the series. Although there was no sign of the sunmaking an appearance, the track was drying out well which offered a much more grippy track for the new Ginetta drivers.
With the Round 2 grid made from the second fasted times in qualifying, it was once again Dublin man Niall Murray who was on Pole. Along side him was Portadown's Joel Richardson with Jake Byrne third and Andy O'Brien rounding off the two front rows of the grid in fourth.
A much better start for Murray off the line saw him have a drag race with Joel Richardson down to turn 1. With the Pole sitter having the inside line, Murray was easily able to slot into the lead as they approached turn 2. A problem off the line for Jake Byrne saw him fall right to the back of the grid allowing Andy O'Brien to slip up to third into the first corner followed closely by Andrew Clarke, Sean Doyle and James Fleming.
Out in front it was Murray who was starting to open a big advantage over the rest of the pack. At the half way point, Murray was some 5 seconds ahead of second placed man Richardson who was now starting to fall into the clutches of a very hard charging Andy O'Brien. The novice from Dublin who was competing in his first ever event was showing immense skill and confidence, far beyond his levels of experience and really putting the heat on Richardson. Coming out of the last corner on the run down the straight, O'Brien managed to get along side Richardson for a straight drag race to the first corner. O'Brien leaving his braking as late as possible made a superb move up the inside around turn 1 to slip into second and started to pull out a very small gap over the former Kart Racer, Joel Richardson.
Further back the field, Jake Byrne was starting to climb his way backup the pack after his poor start to the race. Sitting in sixth place after the half way point, Byrne needed to put in some quick laps to reel in the very impressive Wicklow man Sean Doyle who was just behind Dublin's Andrew Clarke, who was driving a very solid race to consolidate his fourth place.
Back at the front, it was still Murray in the lead now with a 9 second lead over the second and third place dice of Richardson and O'Brien. Taking a leaf out of O'Brien's book, Richardson got a good drive out of last corner to get along side O'Brien on the run down the main straight into turn 1. Like O'Brien, Richardson left his breaking as late as possible to slip up the inside of O'Brien to regain his second place.
As the drivers crossed the finish line, it was Dublin's Niall Murray who took a 'Lights to flag' finish to win his second race of the day. A superbly controlled drive by the former Kart racer which put him in a comfortable lead of the series after 2 rounds. After an excellent battle, it was eventually Joel Richardson who would finish second with Andy O'Brien displaying another fine drive to finish third. A fine fourth for Andrew Clarke rewarded his efforts for driving a controlled race with Sean Doyle rounding off the top 5 after a close battle towards the end with Jake Byrne.
Rounds 3 & 4 of Ginetta Junior Ireland supported by Michelin and sponsored by TheGrid.ie will be in Mondello Park on Sunday 22nd August.
Final Results:
1. Niall Murray - 15.36.667
2. Joel Richardson - 15.50.150
3. Andy O'Brien - 15.52.101
4. Andrew Clarke - 16.17.650
5. Sean Doyle - 16.17.976
6. Jake Byrne - 16.18.099
7. Andrew Patterson - 16.29.644
8. James Fleming - 16.35.796
9. Megan Kessie - 15.44.429
Fastest Lap: Niall Murray - 1:09.684
