By Donal O’Neill
THE final car race meeting of the 2026 season takes place at Kirkistown Race Circuit this Saturday, in what promises to be an action-packed event.
At the top of the bill, two Formula Ford 1600 races will act as the final rounds in the NI FF1600 Championship, which is currently led by Dundalk’s Ian Campbell (37 points).
Dave Parks, from Ballina, occupies second place, 28 points ahead of Saintfield’s Philip Harris, while Ballymena’s Ben Smith is a further 17 points behind.
Counting pole positions and fastest laps, there is a maximum score of 44 points available.
However, these two races are also rounds of the United FF1600 Championship, which is the British National FF1600 championship in all but name.
Anthony Amato currently leads that championship, with Dunloy’s Ronan Doherty in second and Smith in third, followed by Osnabruck’s Maris Schulte and Southport’s Will Malins, all of whom will be in action this weekend.
The second FF1600 race will see drivers compete for the coveted Martin Donnelly Trophy, bringing previous winners out to play, including Noel Robinson (Portadown), Jason Smyth (Celebridge), Jordan Dempsey (Mullingar) and Morgan Quinn (Kill).
In all, there are 25 cars entered, which is the biggest FF1600 field seen at Kirkistown in years. If that is not enough, there are also 18 Formula Vee cars entered for two races, the second of which is for the prestigious Emerson Fittipaldi Trophy.
Most of the top names in the Vee world are entered, including Dublin’s Kieran Hannan and Gavin Buckley, Tinahely’s Jack Byrne, Lucan’s Conor Melia and Buncrana’s Brian Kelly.
The Vee competition is even harder to predict than the Formula Fords. Buckley has a knack of rising to the big occasions, and he tends to perform well at Kirkistown, but he will face stiff competition this time out.
The Formula Sheanes will complete the single-seater lineup. In a small grid of six cars, Enda O’Connor, from Wicklow, and Greg Murphy, from Terenure, are worth the watching.
Jim Larkham, from Newtownabbey, and Mike Ward, from Youghal, will renew their rivalry in the Roadsports Championship, but the latter has an unassailable lead of 54 points, with 44 up for grabs.
The field is boosted by Bernard Foley, from Dublin, in his Crosslé 42S, along with eight Global GTs, with Larne’s Richard Finlay and Strangford’s Ethan Campbell also tipped as drivers to watch.
The Modi-5-Cup, for Mazda MX5s, has produced an excellent entry of 12 cars. Dundonald driver Craig Ewing already has the championship sewn up, but he loves his racing and just wants to add to his win total.
Rob Kennedy, from Cullaville, is the man most likely to stop him, along with Paul McAlinden, from Loughinisland, Chris Radcliffe, from Donacloney, and the returning, Frankie Allen, from Moira.
There is a small field of five Mini Coopers, combined with an even smaller offering of two Fiestas. Expect Ballyclare’s Taylor Frizzell to be the man at the front of the Minis and Richhill’s Travis Mawhinney to take the spoils in the Fiestas.
To add to the atmosphere, there will be a display of Ford Mustangs and Mazda MX5s on the day, as well as an Autosolo, at the far end of the circuit, where the public can get passenger rides.
Qualifying starts at 8.45am, followed by the first race around 10.30am.
