St. Patrick’s Day is upon us once more, which means only thing – time to celebrate! Whilst many people choose to indulge themselves in drinks galore (Guinness, of course), that’s not your only option. Perhaps you’re looking to get your next action fix. If you are, then what better way to get one than to hit the racetrack for some high speed thrills this Saint Patrick’s Day! Here’s just some of Irish stars who have made a name for themselves on the circuit over the years:
Eddie Jordan
Born in Dublin in 1948, Eddie Jordan is a former motorsport team boss and television personality. Over the years, he’s been heavily involved within the F1 scene and more recently, he became a Top Gear co-host in 2016. Back in 1971, Eddie won the Irish Kart Championship, and moved to Formula Ford just three years later. From this point, he went on to appear in Formula Three, eventually moving onto Formula Two, appearing in one race. He later founded Jordan Grand Prix in 1991, before moving onto becoming the chief analyst for Formula 1 coverage.
Shane Lynch
He might be more widely known as a member of Boyzone, but Shane Lynch is also a professional drift driver! Having had a keen interest in motor racing from a young age, he has raced for the Eclipse Motorsport team in the British GT Championship between 2002 and 2006. In more recent years, he’s become involved within drifting too, competing in the British Drift Championship. He was involved in an accident at the 2008 European Drift Championship, but thankfully he emerged unscathed. In 2016, he was able to storm to a second placed finish on his debut in the British Drift Championship, all from behind the wheel of a VH45 V8 powered Nissan 370Z!
Derek Daly
Derek Daly is a former racing driver hailing from Ballinteer, Dublin. He won the 1977 British Formula 3 Championship, after which he went on to compete in the Formula 1, earning himself 15 points throughout his racing career. By 1982, he began to drive in the CART series, competing in over 60 races. In 1984, Derek was unfortunately involved within a serious crash in which he sustained several injuries. Luckily, he was able to fully recover, allowing him to place his name in the history books as one of the most successful Irish racing drivers of all time.
Conclusion
Well, that concludes our list of successful Irish racers folks! If you’re looking to head to the circuit yourself this St. Patrick’s Day before indulging yourself in one (or several) pints of Guinness, then you’ll find that Karting Nation offers plenty of venues situated throughout the UK and Ireland, each one offering a supreme Karting experience! From all at Karting Nation, happy St. Patrick’s Day!