Foxford’s Sean Hynes kicked off his 2014 Formula Sheane (pronounced ‘Shane’ ) season last weekend at a double header in Mondello, The opening two rounds of the MicksGarage.com backed championships, which has twenty one drivers at present registered for the series, provided some thrilling racing.
Multiple champion Brian Hearty got the better of current title holder Kevin Sheane in both of the opening rounds. The UCD engineering student Hynes, returning to Formula Sheane after a year out, made a good start to the 2014 championships. He finished eighth in a frantic first race that saw four cars retire and then, narrowly missed out on a podium place, finishing fourth in race two.
These results, achieved with a tyre supply problem prior to the weekend, that meant he had to race on six year old tyres, leave Sean ‘rearing to go’ for Rounds three and four that take place in Bishops Court, Co Down on May 11. Formula Sheane which began in 2001. It is the only class that is completely Irish designed and manufactured and it has some of the closest and best racing in the country. The Formula Sheane cars are all mechanically identical. Once they have left the Sheane factory, the engines and gearboxes may not be opened. This means winning is down to the driver, not the engineer.
