Irish Formula Libre 2008

[Graz]

Does anyone have any news or details about this? It is a series that has been gathering momentum for the last couple of years and is highly spectacular but I noticed a number of the cars from the series for sale on the web recently, including Dan Daly's Reynard. Dan would be one of the main men behind the series so I'm curious to know is this series grinding to a halt or moving onwards and upwards. Any info would be appreciated!! Cheers.

[stealth1]

News updates on the website have been a little sparse lately, to say the least! Yes, lots of activity in the race car market at the moment, as drivers look to progress, all, I'm happy to say, within the class. Dan, having bought 2 cars from Oz last winter (Lola & Shrike), which he rented through the year, is also testing the water with the aim of selling 2. Good interest in all 3 cars from all sorts of places, but plan is to keep the cars here if possible.

Our 2008 championship kicks off in Mondello on 6th April, and we're eagerly waiting to see what comes out of the off season. We've got six events in Mondello, 2 in Kirkistown, and Anglesey in July. All indications are for another good season, and as ever, our doors are always open to drivers of any type of single seater or open topped sports car to join the fun whenever, for a one off run or even more!

Roll on April!

Ed McInerney
Class Co-Ordinator

[Graz]

Originally Posted by stealth1

News updates on the website have been a little sparse lately, to say the least! Yes, lots of activity in the race car market at the moment, as drivers look to progress, all, I'm happy to say, within the class. Dan, having bought 2 cars from Oz last winter (Lola & Shrike), which he rented through the year, is also testing the water with the aim of selling 2. Good interest in all 3 cars from all sorts of places, but plan is to keep the cars here if possible.

Our 2008 championship kicks off in Mondello on 6th April, and we're eagerly waiting to see what comes out of the off season. We've got six events in Mondello, 2 in Kirkistown, and Anglesey in July. All indications are for another good season, and as ever, our doors are always open to drivers of any type of single seater or open topped sports car to join the fun whenever, for a one off run or even more!


Roll on April!

Ed McInerney
Class Co-Ordinator


Ed McInerney
Class Co-Ordinator

Cheers Ed. Good to know that Dan is staying involved. Just got a bit of a shock when I saw his three cars for sale!!

It's a cracking class and congrats to you all. The Libre's alone have got me going back to Mondello for every meeting again after a couple of years of just popping down the odd time.

[SCOBER11]

I heard that there was a proper F1 car bought and might be turning up in Mondello, any truth in it??????

[Motormouth]

Heard that too........ Think there might be a few of them if rumours are to be believed!!
Noel McIntyre is selling his F1 engined Reynard too, probably the quickest car in the country, and some of the current drivers have expressed an interest in it............
Great class!!

[Graz]

Wow, and there was I worried about what was happening in '08!

You guys in the know, let us humble fans know anything you hear, be it rumour or whatever. Any morsel is welcome!!

[Bob Pearson]

How come you guys don't take in Jurby on the Isle of Man, after all its on your way to Anglesey
Will the Anglesey event be a double header?

[Panther]

Rumour has it that Dan Daly has bought a Jordan so that should be interesting. Eugene Heary is allegedly buying a world series by Nissan/Renault. That Nolan chappie has bought a Reynard 873 and Sylvie Mullins is looking for something bigger (maybe Mc Intyre's Reynard)

Panther

[Thundersports]

Would be great to see the big cars out for the odd Euroboss race.

[SCOBER11]

Heard Libre races are going to be televised on "on the limits", is it the full championship or just selected rounds?


Which era Jordan is it? and whats the donkey in it a judd? or a ford?or something else.

[Motormouth]

Its a '92 Jordan, no engine as yet!!
I think the Euroboss guys are here at the Leinster Trophy this year, that should be good!!

[stealth1]

Bob, simply never thought of Jurby. Must check their dates, and see if there’s any interest in going. Yes, Anglesey is a double header, one race on each day, and you’d be very welcome to join us in our 2 litre class, as indeed would any of your fellow F R drivers.

LOL … all this chat about F 1 cars … Leo, you’re spot on about Noel’s car, fabulous car, and driver, he’s a great addition to the class. If he sells the Reynard, maybe he might buy something else! We’ll live in hope. EUROBOSS not confirmed just yet, more likely scenario at the moment is that, pending suitable dates, some of our guys may go and race with them, somewhere continental maybe, but nothing confirmed as yet.

Hi Rory, heard you bought a new car yourself … any truth in that?! Libre races have gone out already on “On The Limit”, Leinster Trophy only weekend b4 last, have it on tape if u want it. There was talk of compiling the televised races of each class involved in “The Irish Premier Series” separately on to CD, but haven’t heard much about that lately. Will post a news item on the site if they do become available

There was a Libre race supporting the W H T in November. I’d be very interested in making contact with any of the drivers in that race if anybody knows any of them with a view to Anglesey in July, or even a trip across the water if anyone was up for it. Good ferry deals for competitors. Please make contact through our website www.formulalibreireland.com

[SCOBER11]

Have got something a bit fresher so if i can get at least 5 seconds a lap quicker i'll be happy

Should be takin delivery of it soon, it's like christmas all over again!


Which is the 92?was that a sasol car?

I think they were the nicest with the scoope under the nose rather than the higher nose that they all use nowadays.

[Graz]

Originally Posted by SCOBER11

Have got something a bit fresher so if i can get at least 5 seconds a lap quicker i'll be happy

Should be takin delivery of it soon, it's like christmas all over again!


Which is the 92?was that a sasol car?

I think they were the nicest with the scoope under the nose rather than the higher nose that they all use nowadays.

The 92 one was the one with the Yamaha engine. Beautiful car, crap engine.
Hypothetically if someone was to acquire a Jordan, the 93 Sarah Kavanagh used to have would spring to mind as an obvious choice as I think it's been sitting around doing nothing for a few years. The 93 (also Sasol like the 92 & 94 Jordans) was Barrichello's first F1 car.

[stealth1]

I'm sure you would be Rory, not too sure about the others though, they might banish you to Libre! PM me if you get a mo, through site if you dont have my address.

[Panther]

Does anyone know what the new qualifying and race formats are? (mentioned in annual and website)Ed?

[stealth1]

Yeah, qualifying session is going to have to be split somehow, whether that means 2 qualifying sessions or not, dont know just yet. After qualifying, all times will be posted, and the slowest however many would race inthefirst race with the first 2,3 or 4going forward to the back of the grid for race 2 which would have the bigger cars at the front straight from qualifying. Means that not everybody will get 2 races, but thats something we'll have to live with. not finalised at the moment, but something like that anyway

[Graz]

Ed, does this mean that the big cars will only race once each meeting? The Libre's have been one of the success stories in recent years, with one of the reasons being the chance to see them twice in the day.

However, I understand too that with the volume of cars now, that something has to be done.

Purely from a selfish perspective, should there not be a limit on the type of car that can enter i.e. if a certain car is not quick enough, it should race in a different class rather like the 107% rule in F1? The difference in speed between the quickest and smallest cars is massive and around Mondello this can have safety issues (witness Dan's big one last year when he tripped over one of the slower cars). Around the National track, the big cars are lapping the slowest cars after 4 laps.

[stealth1]

Originally Posted by Graz

The difference in speed between the quickest and smallest cars is massive and around Mondello this can have safety issues (witness Dan's big one last year when he tripped over one of the slower cars). Around the National track, the big cars are lapping the slowest cars after 4 laps.

This is the issue in a nutshell. Its a pity that its going to compromise the double header format, but there have been too many near ones, and something has to be done to try to avoid another biggie. I do feel sorry for spectators who have come to see the cars in action, but hopefully you will understand the situation. Hopefull also that our feature races dont suffer from some of the atrocious weather we endured last year, and we can all enjoy some full length good racing!

[Panther]

Possible solution: In karting in the UK they have qualifying races before each of the major series.In essence this means that in order to compete in the Super One series, a driver has to prove his speed and ability with those not making the grade not being able to take any further part. One major flaw in my arguement is that the UK is a lot bigger than Ireland and these guys have plenty of club meetings to choose from if they dont make it. Where do our guys race if they don't? It would sort everything out after one meeting and would result in all further meetings being double headers for all successful competitors.
Ed,one problem with your suggestion is entry fees. How would people know what to pay if they dont know beforehand if they will get one race or two?

[Peter Dunne]

I don't agree with splitting qualifying sessions or races mainly because the grids for libre just are'nt big enough. The fundamental problem, as I see it, is driving standards or lack thereof. At the Leinster Trophy I clipped a kerb coming back from the international bit, spun and got beached on a kerb which resulted in no lap time. This meant that I started dead last and frankly I was amazed at the stupid things happening in front of me. One guy was weaving in front of me, I could actually see his head moving from side to side looking in his mirrors. Another tried to push me into the pit wall (which I discovered afterwards was noted by the COC) yet no action was taken. I'm not having a moan here but in all fairness I, like most drivers have a wife, kids and a job to go to on Monday morning and dont want to visit Naas General because someone else has a self destruct fetish.
Mondello has CCTV, marshalls and club stewards. If someone ignores blue flags or drives dangerously, black flag him and send him home. It may come as a surprise to some but it is possible to race hard but fair and if slower guys (who have as much right as anyone to be there) keep an eye out for blue flags and watch their mirrors (though not for weaving purposes!) then we can all enjoy ourselves at whatever pace and go home in one piece.

[stealth1]

Hi Peter,

Cant fault your argument at all. Have experienced exactly the same myself, and understand how annoying it is. You'd feel like retaliating, but then you're the baddie!

How many times have we heard at drivers briefing that driving standards will be closely observed, and incidents reported by observers will be acted on. Personally I think a lot of the problem is that observers just dont have the same perspective as drivers do, and try as they do, they just dont see things that happen on the track for what they are. That is assuming they're looking your way in the first place, as they often have a large area to observe.

You're absolutely right when you say it just needs drivers to act responsibly, but then it seems that there are those that grow horns when they climb in a racing car

[Graz]

Just a suggestion - years back when big single seaters used to visit Mondello, there'd sometimes be a top six run off to decide the top six grid spots. The drivers did an out lap, a quick lap and an in lap and it didn't take long to complete. Could this idea be considered as say the first bit of action after the lunch break? Just for the noise of each car alone would be worth it - last year I remember Dan Daly during lunch came out and did a couple of laps (just bedding something in, must have had a problem in the morning) and the sound of just his car was awesome. Imagine the sound of John Naylor's Lola out on it's own? This would compensate to some degree if the big cars are only to race once in the day. Again though, in so far as possible, please try and keep the current two race format including the top cars!

[SCOBER11]

Yes I can just hear that Lola now, vroom vroom clunk!

[Graz]

Originally Posted by SCOBER11

Yes I can just hear that Lola now, vroom vroom clunk!

That's not fair Scober!! It'll be a beast when it's sorted out.

In fairness to John Naylor, on the Saturday in the Phoenix Park after qualifying, his car was having problems with smoke pouring out the back. In the paddock I was there taking pictures of my son beside the car and John came over and popped the young lad in the car so I could take some piccies. I pointed out that my sons shoes were filthy with all the rain but John said 'doesn't matter, it's not that I'll be doing much racing anyway!'

John's a top bloke and hopefully he'll have the car sorted for this year.