Racing Round-Up: Eastwood’s luck runs out, Denning’s new drive, Dunne’s debut
A trio of former Sexton Trophy Young Racing Driver of the Year winners had big weekends over the St. Patrick’s Day holidays, each in very different ways.
2018 award winner, Charlie Eastwood, an established endurance racing veteran at this point, took to the 73rd running of the 12 Hours of Sebring where he and his DXDT-run Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3R ran it once around the clock on the Florida circuit. This event is held as part of the IMSA Sportscar Championship, where Eastwood combines his duties alongside World Endurance Championship and European Le Mans Series campaigns. The entire team at DXDT put in a strong performance and were running as high as 3rd in class until a suspension failure in the final few minutes robbed them of any chance at a trophy and dropped them to 8th in the final classification. There was to be no luck of the Irish this time around.
Taking to social media after the race, Eastwood commented:
”P8 is not what we deserved. We were in the hunt for a likely podium with only 3 minutes left on the clock after 12hr’s of running and a bolt snapped on our rear suspension - Cannot catch a break at the minute. Big shout out to the DXDT crew. They have worked flat out since Daytona to put us in the spot to fight for podium’s with even more to come for the remainder of the season.”
While Eastwood’s weekend was one to forget, another Sexton Trophy winner, Alex Denning had one he will remember.
Following a successful test in Misano, Italy recently, Denning is getting set to make his debut in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia Series in Sydney, Australia with Theodore Racing next month.
The 25-year-old Dubliner will join Charles Leung of Macau in a 620bhp Lamborghini Huracán EVO2 in the six-event series racing across three continents from April to November.
In making the announcement Teddy Yip Junior said: “Alex is an outstanding driver who has displayed all of the attributes required to align with Theodore Racing’s goals this season.He is the consummate professional with a great combination of commitment, strength, endurance and, most importantly of all, outright pace over one lap.”
“We’re delighted to welcome him into the team and we look forward to a successful collaboration with Alex and Charles in our second season in the Super Trofeo Asia series.”
Speaking of his signature with Theodore Racing, Alex Denning said:
“This is a great opportunity for me at this moment in my career and I really can’t wait to get behind the wheel of the Theodore Racing Lamborghini Huracán EVO2 in Sydney. My test in Misano went very well and l’d like to thank Teddy Yip Junior for this massive progression in my career. I have a lot to live up to with Theodore’s previous drivers of Charles Leclerc, Mika Hakkinen and Ayrton Senna but I cannot wait for the challenge.”
The Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia Series begins with the first event of the year in Sydney Motorsport Park, Australia from April 4-6 and continues with rounds in China, Japan, Korea, and Malaysia before concluding at the world finals in Misano, Italy in November.
And then, on the other side of the globe was Offaly’s own Alex Dunne, making his debut in Formula 2 at the Melbourne Grand Prix. This was the first round of the 2021 Sexton Trophy winner’s F2 campaign where he made history as the first Irish driver to compete in the series.
An unfortunate pre-race penalty for a technical infringement on his team pushed Dunne back 10 spots on the grid and meant that this would be a weekend of learning rather than glory. After a difficult crash in practice, Dunne held his nerve to secure 5th in qualifying and then pounced on the opportunity in Saturday’s sprint race to soar up the grid from his starting position of P16 to take P9 overall.
The weather would not hold up for Sunday’s main race however, and after multiple attempts by the race director to get proceedings underway, the track simply could not be declared fit for racing due to standing water.
Dunne heads to Bahrain next month for Round 2 on 11-13 April with hopes of less rain and more success.
