Young Killybegs driver Jayden Mc Brearty made the shorter trip to Round 3 & 4 of the ICCR Junior Mini Championship at Kirkistown 500 Race Circuit in Northern Ireland
After a grid penalty at the first rounds in Mondello which distorted Jayden final results even with great lap times it was time to reset over Easter and push for the championship.
A very successful test day on Friday of 62 laps in the sunshine. The set up changes made during these test laps made a positive impact increasing top speeds which resulted in faster laps.
Jayden also invited along his sponsors and any of their associates to the test session to see the car and set up close. This years sponsors include The Stables Motorsport Centre, Pod-Track, Mooney Boats, Toolforce.ie, Speedcar IRL & UK, KER Group, TrailerStuff.ie, TC Promotions, CBM SIgns.ie, BAHCO, Finoil, John Autos and JFS Crash Repairs.
Saturday morning started with a very wet qualifying session which was disappointing after all the dry testing. Nonetheless Jayden managed to qualify P2 with a distracting intermittent wiper problem and Just 0.4 of a second off Richardson in first which is very little.
Race 1 Round 3:
A 15 minute bumper to bumper battle with Leo Richardson out in front of the field set the tone for the weekend’s racing as both drivers battled wheel to wheel all weekend. Although Jayden set the fastest lap time in Race 1 he could not hold off Richardson claiming P2 and only 0.1 of a second separated the two as they crossed the line side by side in what could only be described as a photo finish. Jayden was delighted to be back to where his times showed him at the front of the grid and delighted to get on the Podium again for the first time this season.
Race 2 Round 4
Encouraged by his fastest lap time Jayden started round 4 from P2 and got straight into the lead heading into the first corner. The circuit racing may appear less dramatic than stage rallying to rally fans but at least in stage rallying you’re only rallying yourself against the clock! In circuit racing just like F1 the cars especially in the early stages of the races are bunched wheel to wheel and as well as watching your own driving you have to be aware of the competitor cars around you as well as every other racer battling for the same racing lines. Check out Jaydens social media to see the in-car footage for action packed racing.
Jayden was to learn this to his disadvantage on lap 2 with some rear contact from another competitor sent Jayden Mini into the grass and he lost 4 places in the process. As a result of the contact his rear wheel alignment was and, and he struggled with the damaged car to progress and instead had to focus on defending P4 from the chasing pack until the end of lap 12.
Overall, it was a positive weekend. The changes in the set up over the test day delivered a fastest lap time and more importantly delivered valuable learning and points in the championship.
The Junior ICCR now takes a break as many of the young drivers have exams to focus on and the next round of the championship takes place on July 6th in Mondello. Whatever about any exams Jayden, his sponsors and his team can’t wait to get back racing.
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