Race Report - Irish Vee

Mondello Park 23-9-7

Ken Elliott sealed his and the Leastone JH004 first national championship in a tense finale at Mondello Park last weekend. The first race of the double header saw Elliotts 13 point championship lead reduced to nothing as he struggled after a poor qualifying but a mature drive to his 3rd win of the season in race two saw him take the title in the best possible way.
Lack of running on Friday due to an oil leak hampered Elliotts qualifying attempt and he struggled to find a good lap in the two part session. Before the red flags were shown, Elliott was sitting a comfortable third but once the session restarted he was bumped down to fifth. The only good news to come from the session was that his second fastest lap was good enough for the front row of race 2.

Playing it safe on a chaotic opening lap, Elliott dropped back to sixth but quickly set about making up the lost ground and within a few laps he was up to fourth. Pushing hard to catch the leading trio, who had made a break in the early stages, Elliott made a slight mistake which saw him demoted back to sixth. A lengthy safety car late in the race gave him a chance to reassess the situation but at the same time he knew that time was running out.
Once the track went green again, Elliott made the most of the final two laps and regained the two places he had recently lost. Unfortunately there was not enough time to attack for a podium place and worse still, his two championship challengers finished one-two, resulting in his championship lead being slashed to just 4 points, meaning that winner would take all in the final round.

Elliott was relaxed and confident ahead of the final encounter as he knew he had the upper hand off the start line. His confidence was not misplaced as he duly snatched the lead into turn one and settled into a comfortable rhythm which saw him calmly control each lap of the 3.43 km International circuit.
Heading a 5 or 6 car train for the duration of the race Elliott never looked likely to succumb to the pressure and he took the chequered flag for the third time of the season to take an emphatic win and the championship title with it.
“This is what it’s all about! Sealing the title with a win is the best possible way. We’ve made constant progress with this car all year and we really hit form at the most important time of the year. A big thanks to Stena line, Dunlop, Elf finol and everyone who’s helped during the year. Time for some celebrating me thinks!” said an ecstatic Elliott after the race
“For the car to win in its first full season is fantastic. Credit to Ken as he drove superbly today and has worked unbelievably hard for this all year. Now the hard part starts as we’ve to work hard over the winter to ensure the JH004 maintains its advantage! But not before some celebrating!” said a delighted Paul Heavey as he saw his latest creation take its first title.
Only the non-championship race at Mondello on October 7th remains in the team’s Irish programme before they can take a well deserved break over the winter after what has been to date, yet another successful year for the Leastone racing team.