Formula Vee - Mondello Park International - July 5th

The Formula Vee paddock had a good news story last weekend for Round 7 of the championship, as just three months on from a heavy accident in April that left him with fractured vertebrae, Harry Fagan returned to the cockpit of his Leastone JH004 for ICCR’s third event of the year at Mondello Park. Harry was supported by Gillespie Retro, Race & Repair (GRRR) for his return, as team boss Paul Heavey was travelling to Czech Republic for an event at Most.

Harry used qualifying to rebuild confidence in the car, with the additional challenge of having to learn the demanding International Circuit. Despite the lengthy layoff, he steadily improved throughout the session, taking chunks of time off his early laps before posting a time good enough for 9^th overall, and 2^nd of the Rookie runners.

His race return was made all the more difficult, as a clutch failure towards the end of the session put his Selco Hygiene JH004 out of commission. With limited time between qualifying and the race, team GRRR rolled out their own JH004 for Harry to tackle the main event in.

The team made him as comfortable as possible in his new mount and with the switch in car, Harry would have to start from the pit lane. However, an early red flag reset the race and he was able to take the restart from the grid. Despite his new surroundings, Harry made a clean getaway and settled into the Rookie Class battle. As the race developed, he remained firmly in contention for a podium position among the newcomers, running third in class, while continuing to gain valuable race mileage after his absence.

Unfortunately the result only tells part of the story. Running strongly and keeping the JH004 in the fight, Harry's challenge was cut short by a suspected mechanical issue in the closing stages. His lap times began to drift before he was forced to retire on the final tour, resulting in a disappointing DNF while holding third place in the Rookie category.

While the retirement was frustrating, the weekend represented a significant milestone. Returning to competition after recovering from fractured vertebrae was an achievement in itself, and Harry showed impressive pace on a new track layout.

With the recovery period now behind him, the focus will shift to growing Harrys confidence in his rookie year. He has had extremely limited track time in the first half of the year so the team will be focused on ramping that up over the remainder of the season.

The Formula Vees now begin preparation for their season headliner, when the field travels to the home of the British Grand Prix, where they will tackle Silverstone’s International layout. For the first time this season, Harry will be on slightly more level footing with his competitors, as the Northamptonshire circuit will be new to (almost) everyone! The Vees will share the bill with their UK counterparts on August 15/16^th, with an allcomers race set to bring UK and Irish-spec Vees together head-to-head.