Prodrift Irish Series Round 1 Report

It was N/A all the way at Mondello Park for the first round of the 2007 Prodrift Irish Series as Dublin’s Eric O’Sullivan took his VTEC-powered Corolla to a hard fought victory. After an eventful qualifying session which had to be halted several times to clear debris from the track, there were some big names missing from the top 16 list. Regular podium finisher from last year Martin Ffrench was absent after two spins and Team Hankook driver Shane Healy failed to make the expected impression in his new S15 Silvia. But even with these omissions, the capacity crowd at Mondello were not to be disappointed and were rewarded with one of the best days of drifting ever seen in Ireland.

2006 frontrunners Alan Lenihan and Damien Mulvey had the closest of all the top 16 battles. The judging team of Kieran Hynes, Julian Smith and Olaf Commijs had their work cut out for them separating the two S13 Silvia drivers, eventually giving the nod to Lenihan after Mulvey straightened slightly during their final run. Elsewhere in the top 16, leading qualifier Glen Maher in his distinctive red Corolla was on fine form, making the most smoke of anyone on the day. The crowd were hoping for big things from Tommy McDonagh in his spectacular Cosworth-powered Volvo 740. He drifted the Swedish machine at amazing angles before unfortunately losing out to a solid and consistent Gavin Lenihan due to a spin at Honda. Declan Munnelly, Eric O’Sullivan, Johnny Power, Dennis Healy and Dean Kearney were the other drivers to progress to the top 8.

Glen Maher and Declan Munnelly got the top 8 battles off to an exciting start. After an even 5-5 score in the first run, Maher dropped a wheel in the dirt and fell back second time around, allowing Munnelly and his 30-year-old Escort through to the semi-finals. The next battle was a family affair between Alan and Gavin Lenihan. Perhaps fired up by the rivalry, both brothers came steaming in to the first turn too fast and ended up in the grass. The second time around, Alan pulled out enough of a gap over his brother to secure his place in the semi-finals.

Next up was yet another close encounter, this time between Eric O’Sullivan and Johnny Power. Both drivers were pushing to the absolute limit and skirted the edge of the gravel on numerous occasions. The crowd were really fired up by this one, especially when the competitors engaged in some impromptu tandem donuts in front of the stands. After a second pair of runs, it was O’Sullivan in the Corolla that emerged victorious. Meanwhile, Dennis Healy pushed just a little too hard in his match-up with Dean Kearney, throwing away an early advantage and spinning out.

Not many people would have predicted Declan Munnelly’s victory over Alan Lenihan in the first semi-final. Lenihan had to drive out of his skin in the Hankook Tyres-sponsored S13 Silvia to force a rematch, much to the delight of the crowd. They were even happier when Munnelly then managed to provoke an error from Lenihan and secure a surprise appearance in the final. On his way to the final, Declan had thus managed to beat examples of the three most popular Japanese drift cars: Stephen Bolger’s 180SX, Glen Maher’s AE86 Corolla and Alan Lenihan’s S13 Silvia. He showed fantastic bravery and commitment all day, flinging the little green car through the turns at high speed and showing no sign that he was intimidated by the turbocharged Japanese monsters all around him. “I didn’t expect to do that well at all,� said a delighted Declan after the event. “I made a few changes to the car and she’s very competitive now. I’ll definitely be challenging at the front from now on,� he added. It looks like upsets from Declan should be a regular feature of the Prodrift Series this year.

The result of the second semi-final was fairly conclusive, with Eric O’Sullivan glued to Dean Kearney’s bumper all the way around their second run.

So it came down to an all-N/A final between Eric O’Sullivan in his VTEC-powered Corolla and Declan Munnelly, the undisputed crowd favourite of the day. While a fairytale victory for the Mark II Escort may have been what the crowd wanted, there was no denying the speed and commitment of O’Sullivan in the Corolla. He pulled out a decent gap on Munnelly in their first run and kept it clean and tidy second time around as Munnelly made a slight error and ran wide.

Having endured a difficult 2006 season, the Dublin-based driver could not have been happier with his result. “I’m delighted with this win after the week I’ve had getting the car ready,� O’Sullivan said afterwards. “Once I had beaten Johnny Power, I knew I could do it. This is such a great reward after all those hours spent in the garage with the welder.� Added to his international victory in Holland a few weeks ago, Mondello was Eric’s second big drifting win of 2007 and he must surely now be considered the early favourite for the title.

Results:

1st Eric O’Sullivan / Toyota Corolla AE86 (Honda F20 engine)

2nd Declan Munnelly / Ford Escort Mark II

3rd Alan Lenihan / Nissan Silvia S13.5

More photos here.