DNRT - Circuit Zandvoort - May 30th

Father and son duo of Brendan and Karl O’Brien made a welcome return to the Leastone camp last weekend, when the team traveled to Circuit Zandvoort to race on the Dutch National Racing Team package. Team boss Paul Heavey had previously raced with DNRT in 2024 and was happy to make the trip again when Brendan and Karl indicated their interest.

With no testing at the beachside track, the pair were faced with learning the technical GP circuit during the sole qualifying session. Having been a while since either had sat in a race car, they also had some rust to contend with but Brendan still stuck his Leastone 1000 on the front row for the Vrije Formula class.

Karl was black flagged early in the session for breach of noise limit and did not get to set a representative lap time. Unfortunately this problem would affect him for 2 of the weekends 3 races. Given the location of the circuit, noise limits for club racing are lower than those typically experienced in Ireland and the UK – 92 db(A) vs 108 db(A).

With little time between sessions, the team’s efforts to bring Karl’s car within the noise limit proved unsuccessful, and he was forced to park again in the opening laps of Race 1. Brendan was enjoying much better form, settling into second place as he built confidence and pace around the undulating circuit. He continued to chip away at his lap time lap by lap, setting his fastest time on the final tour before crossing the line in the runner-up spot.

Further quick fixes during the short break still failed to bring Karl’s car within the noise limit, forcing him to pit again - though at least this time he managed to run slightly deeper into the race. Brendan, meanwhile, built on his impressive Race 1 pace and went one better, taking Vrije Formula honours.

Finally for Race 3, the teams’ efforts were rewarded and Karl made it past the opening laps! Despite his limited running, he made up for lost time and rocketed up the order, taking the lead before mid-race. Brendan settled into second but could not quite match the pace of the young whippersnapper, allowing Karl to build a comfortable advantage over the 14-lap race.

After the frustrations of the earlier races, Karl was delighted to take the chequered flag and lead home a father-son 1-2 for the team.

The result made the long trek home feel a little bit shorter, with some silverware weighing down the truck. Once back home, the team have a relatively quick turnaround to prepare for the next round of the Monoposto championship at Oulton Park on June 13^th.