Race report - Formula 5

Mondello 13-5-7

Kershaw takes Double Win

Stephen Kershaw stamped his authority on the Formula 5 series with another brace of wins at Mondello Park last weekend. The swords man achieved this despite missing qualifying and starting race 1 from the pitlane. Mark Reade continued his impressive debut season by reducing his lap times even further and shadowing Kershaw all the way home in race 2.
Both Kershaw and David Heavey were sidelined by silly electrical mishaps in qualifying while John Downey comfortably lapped quicker than Reade who struggled with a faulty coil, a legacy of the torrential race 2 three weeks previous.

Starting from pit lane wasn’t too much of a hindrance as both Heavey and Kershaw latched onto the rear of the pack exiting turn 1. Downey began to pull away from Reade who was overly cautious on cold tyres while Heavey despatched the slower Libres separating him from his younger team mate. Heavey was more assertive with the traffic and was able to pass Reade into Dunlop while he negotiated some traffic of his own. Kershaw was in tow all the way and had begun to apply the pressure to Heavey when the Elf car peeled off into the pits with a clutch problem.
Downey was enjoying a relatively trouble free run at the front. That was until his mirrors were full of Kershaw by mid distance. Kershaw was obviously enjoying his race and easily dispatched Downey, who looked to be struggling as the race wore on. While Kershaw cantered into the distance, Downey was looking more and more vulnerable as Reade closed in at a rate of knots.
While Kershaw cruised home for the win, Reade managed to slip by and take second in class and Downey had to settle for third. Obviously he had some work to do in the break between race 1 and 2.


Kershaw, Reade and Downey started race 2 as they finished race one and after much confusion at the start (which saw 2 warm up laps and a lengthy delay while the grid was sorted) Kershaw got the perfect start to lead Downey and Reade into the first corner. Downey looked to have his lack of pace solved and set about pressurizing Kershaw in the opening laps but a faulty clutch pedal put paid to his chances at the beginning of lap 3.

Kershaw had Reade in his mirrors for the duration of the race but looked to be controlling the gap rather than trying to pull away into the distance. Reade in turn, had his mirrors full of David Heavey, who had started at the back of the grid. Heavey pushed as hard as he dared and tried to pressure the teenager into a mistake that would never come. Try as he might, he could not find a way pass Reade when the race was called to a halt after 6 laps as a result of a heavy shunt at turn 3.

Driver Quotes:

Stephen Kershaw (No. 19): “4 out of 4 ain’t bad, I suppose! Even still I don’t think we can relax over the long break. I’m going to have to work hard on the car to ensure I retain this great record!”

Mark Reade (No. 56): “Its great to see the times come down and a pair of seconds isn’t too bad either but there is still more to come, I feel. For now, I’ll focus on my exams and once they are out of the way I can work hard towards the next round.”

David Heavey (No. 55): “Not a good weekend at all. The engine is back on song thank god, but I’m having real trouble keeping the car on track. I’m working hard on a totally new set-up for the next round which should see us back where we should be. Being so far off the pace is not fun!”

John Downey (No. 53): “We found a lot of speed between races which is great but it was a pity that the clutch problem kicked in. It was a silly mistake we made when bleeding the clutch that caused it stick. Very frustrating but I am still learning the car. Every time I get in it I’m picking up time.”

The Formula 5’s enjoy a lengthy break now, good news for Reade who sits his Leaving Certificate exams in the month of June. He will be back in action on the 1st of July along with the rest of the Formula 5 grid.