The top three positions in the inaugural FIM MiniGP Ireland Series were sealed last weekend as the new championship for ten to fourteen year old’s visited Kiltorcan Raceway in Ballyhale for the first time.
Series leader Brian Hamilton took another hat-trick of wins ahead of Josh O’Brien and Finnan Wherity, with all three ensuring their place on the grid at November’s World Finals in Valencia. As the series heads for Cork, for its final event of 2021, the only thing left to be decided now is the finishing order of the top three.
Hamilton has developed into the class of the MiniGP field over the second half of the season and his trio of wins in Kilkenny made it six in a row for the fourteen year old from Portadown. The series leader was joined on the podium on all three occasions by O’Brien and Wherity who made him work for all three victories as the championship riders had to deal with wet conditions for the first time.
Race one saw the series top three line up first, third and fourth on the grid with Fionn O’Connell getting in amongst them in third. When the lights changed it was Hamilton who took the lead with Dubliner Wherity and Kildare’s O’Brien chasing. Having built a healthy lead, a mistake on lap eight dropped Hamilton back behind Wherity, but he was quickly back ahead to re-established his lead by the flag. Wherity came home in the runner-up spot, six seconds ahead of O’Brien with Corkman O’Connell fourth.
Race two saw Hamilton again get away in the lead but another error dropped him back to third, behind O’Brien and Wherity. The order had changed again by half distance, as the championship leader passed Wherity and as the laps counted down he closed in on O’Brien. Going into the last three laps the conditions deteriorated and it was the Ulsterman who fared best as he re-took the lead and pulled away from O’Brien and Wherity.
The final race of the day saw the top three much more evenly matched as they battled hard until the closing stages. The gap at the front grew towards the end, as Hamilton set a string of fastest laps to open up a slight gap over O’Brien, with Wherity once again completing the podium.
Brian Hamilton now heads to Kartworld in Cork for the final event of the season needing just three points to secure the first FIM MiniGP Ireland title. Finnan Wherity sits second with just three points between him and Josh O’Brien, but all three will be happy whatever order they finish in as they are guaranteed a place on the World Final grid.
The final event of the first season of the FIM MiniGP Ireland Series takes place in Watergrasshill Cork on Sunday October 17th.
