It was a glorious day for Eric O’Sullivan in more ways than one as he clinched the 2007 Prodrift Irish Series title in blazing sunshine at Mondello Park. He was pushed hard all the way by the superstars of Irish drifting and had to contend with a bizarre problem in the final, but in the end his opponents had no answer for the now-legendary ‘Flat Eric’ consistency.
Despite the dry conditions, qualifying was an eventful affair with both Derek Whelan and Billy O’Callaghan finding the barrier after pushing too hard at turn one. Also having a torrid time of it was Glen Maher, who was in an unfamiliar borrowed car after his own Corolla let him down. It was a bad day too for the Lenihan brothers, with neither Alan, Conor nor Gavin making it in to the top 16. Missing the chance to qualify completely was Martin Ffrench, his car sidelined by an air fuel meter problem.
O’Sullivan had an easy time of it in his top 16 encounter with Christy Carpenter. The latter’s RB26 engine gave up the ghost after their first run, spewing oil on the track and delaying proceedings while the marshals cleaned up the mess. Next up was Dennis Healy, who had been pulling amazing angles in his Corolla during qualifying. Chasing John O’Brien, he got too close as they entered the Honda corner and had to straighten, handing the advantage to his opponent. At the end of the second run, Healy again misjudged the Honda corner and spun out, sending O’Brien into the top 8.
Pat McDonagh’s popular Sierra Cosworth returned to the top 16 for the first time since Round 1 in April. He matched Shane Healy 5-5 in their first battle but put himself out of contention with a spin second time around. His brother Tommy unfortunately fared no better in his Cosworth-powered Volvo, losing out to Dean Kearney after two close battles. Darren McNamara had a scare in his battle against Adrian Walsh when he straightened dramatically going through the first turn. He was saved by a similar mistake from Walsh in the second turn and came way victorious in their second run with a score of 6-4
Visiting Belfast drifter Alan McCord was a new face in the top 16, piloting a fantastic-looking blue S15 Silvia which he drove to victory against a typically fearless Declan Munnelly in his Mark II Escort. Mike Deane posted an unexpected victory over Damien Mulvey, pulling off a great passing move on the ‘Bandit’ at the end of their first run and in the final top 16 battle, Johnny Power drove to a narrow victory over James Deane.
O’Sullivan looked unstoppable as he breezed past John O’Brien in the first of the top eight battles. Dean Kearney threw away certain victory in his first run against Mike Deane when he spun at Honda and was unable to make up the deficit in the second run. Alan McCord and Darren McNamara crossed swords next, with a scrappy second run from McCord ensuring McNamara’s passage to the semi-finals. But their encounter was only a warmup for what proved to be the battle of the day, that of the high-horsepower machines of Johnny Power and Shane Healy. The Mondello crowd know good drifting when they see it and they definitely liked what they saw here, with huge cheers going up from the stands as the two drivers passed within millimetres of each other’s bumpers as they transitioned between the two corners. Johnny Power was declared the eventual winner after the inevitable rematch.
Darren McNamara met Mike Deane in the first semi-final and it was a relatively straightforward affair after the excitement that had gone before. Two 6-4 scores in Darren’s favour saw the 2006 Irish champion and current Formula Drift competitor advance to the final. The other semi-final took on special significance: If Eric O’Sullivan triumphed against Johnny Power here, he would be champion, otherwise, he would have to wait until the final round to seal the deal. What happened next, nobody could have predicted. The Wexford driver had ran wide while leading O’Sullivan in their second battle and lost the rear bumper of his car. The windscreen of O’Sullivan’s Corolla was then shattered by a loose rock thrown up by the 180SX. The mistake cost Power the win, but O’Sullivan would now have to contemplate running the final with a shattered windscreen. He disappeared into the paddock and Darren McNamara did a few donuts to entertain the crowd while they waited to see if Eric would return. Before long, the distinctive VTEC rasp of the Honda F20 engine could be heard over the hill and Eric slid into view, minus windscreen but still raring to go.
And so the 2006 and 2007 champions went head to head in their AE86 Corollas in the final of Prodrift Round 5. McNamara had done incredibly well to come this far in his 160hp 4A-GE-powered car, putting on a perfect demonstration of how the driver can make all the difference in drifting. But even he could not stretch to match an on-form Eric O’Sullivan, who pulled greater angle in their first run and came close to passing McNamara in their second. O’Sullivan thus sealed victory at the track where he made his drifting debut a little over two years ago. McNamara was philosophical afterwards, admitting he hadn’t expected to do that well after failing to qualify at Rosegreen. “I always knew I had a chance here in Mondello because the first corner is downhill and you can carry the speed all the way through your drift,� he said. Later, a champagne-soaked O’Sullivan reflected on his championship victory: “This year has been unbelievable,� he said “It’s been a great payoff for the amount of work put into the car last year by myself and my friends.� He won’t be letting up until the season is well and truly over, however and will head to Punchestown as eager as ever to take the win.
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RESULTS:
TOP 16
Eric O’Sullivan (AE86 Corolla) beat Christy Carpenter (S14A Silvia) *
John O’Brien (S14 Silvia) beat Dennis Healy (AE86 Corolla)
Shane Healy (S15 Silvia) beat Pat McDonagh (Ford Sierra Cosworth)
Darren McNamara (AE86 Corolla) beat Adrian Walsh (180SX)
Alan McCord (S15 Silvia) beat Declan Munnelly (Ford Escort Mark II)
Dean Kearney (S13 Silvia) beat Tommy McDonagh (Volvo 740)
Mike Deane (S13 Silvia) beat Damien Mulvey (S13 Silvia)
Johnny Power (180SX) beat James Deane (S14A Silvia)
TOP 8
O’Sullivan beat O’Brien
M. Deane beat Kearney
McNamara beat McCord
Power beat S. Healy
FINAL 4
McNamara beat M. Deane
O’Sullivan beat Power
FINAL
O’Sullivan beat McNamara
* Winner went through by default after mechanical problems for the other driver