Phoenix Park Motor Races

SeamusG97

I was looking for a forum to post this in but I can't see any one that seems to match and I'm sort of used to this one.. Mods - move it as you see fit.
I was in the Phoenix park today at a Garden show (Bloom) and I got to thinking about the first time I was there in 1979 at the Motor Races. It was the year of the Pope and my mate from AnCO and I took the train to Heuston and walked to where it was all happening. After a noisy and exciting day, our thoughts turned to accommodation. Walked past the newly constructed papal cross on its mound to find shelter and food in town at nightfall. We had no idea that it was the weekend of an All Ireland Final until we started looking for B&Bs. No room at the inn. Anywhere. Several hours later we found ourselves back in the park (Sound blokes that we asked directions from drove us to a chipper and dropped us back out there) and we eventually built a shelter from the straw bales that lined the course and using a wooden door that we found nearby for a roof. All night there were boy racers driving the course - or was it the real guys practicing? Next morning we had breakfast in the paddocks and another excellent day racing. David Kennedy drove the black JPS special F1 car for a lap or two, but the surface was too rough. There were Bike and Sidecar races, Formula Ford, Formula Atlantic and Formula Vee cars made from Beetle Chassis with rearward facing engines and gearboxes that were spectacularly unsuitable for racing and went sliding backwards into the grass on every second corner. There were Veteran, Mod Sports and a few more that I have forgotten in the intervening thirty eight years. Big crashes and everyone got up and walked away., One of the great train robbers was racing some sort of mod sport the first day. It was the best ever. I was seventeen.
Anyhow, on the way home today, I remembered that I hadn't heard anything about the races in a long time. And thought about the magic that it was. A Google or Wiki doesn't give much more information rather than they tried to do it last year and it didn't work out.
Anyone able to expand or give more information. A shame if it dies forever.

Del2005

Still happens for bikes but not in the Phoenix Park.


http://www.irishbiker.ie/racing-and-trackdays/irish-road-racing-dates-2017/

Zoo4m8

They were good entertainment all right, they haven't been run for a number of years now. Every now and again talk in Motorsport circles comes round to reviving the races but IMO they will never happen again and now particularly with the insurance difficulties re Motorsport I would think it would be even more difficult to arrange plus the fact that an event like this needs a huge amount of organisation and volunteers seem to be getting increasingly thin on the ground...I certainly hope I'm wrong but the signs aren't great

SeamusG97

Zoo4m8 wrote: »

They were good entertainment all right, they haven't been run for a number of years now. Every now and again talk in Motorsport circles comes round to reviving the races but IMO they will never happen again and now particularly with the insurance difficulties re Motorsport I would think it would be even more difficult to arrange plus the fact that an event like this needs a huge amount of organisation and volunteers seem to be getting increasingly thin on the ground...I certainly hope I'm wrong but the signs aren't great

Yes A pity - it could have been the Irish TT.

elperello

It sounds like an epic day out and you can relive it here -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5OjUBPGtis

and here -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLch2Mvm2oE

The Great Train Robber was Roy John James aka. The Weasel

https://sports.vice.com/en_uk/article/the-formula-1-hopeful-who-played-getaway-driver-for-the-great-train-robbery

elperello

Ideal location for a Formula E race.

SeamusG97

elperello wrote: »

Ideal location for a Formula E race.

Now that's an idea.. :cool:

Del2005

Zoo4m8 wrote: »

They were good entertainment all right, they haven't been run for a number of years now. Every now and again talk in Motorsport circles comes round to reviving the races but IMO they will never happen again and now particularly with the insurance difficulties re Motorsport I would think it would be even more difficult to arrange plus the fact that an event like this needs a huge amount of organisation and volunteers seem to be getting increasingly thin on the ground...I certainly hope I'm wrong but the signs aren't great

The bigger issue would be getting the OPW to close the park to the general public for a niche sport with no money. It would also need to be completely enclosed with barriers and the money needed for that would mean no other road racing.

A major international event, like Formula E as said, could do it but then it wouldn't be the same. It would be a corporate event dropped in with all the restrictions. The great thing about road racing is that you can walk the paddock and see everything, if a major event comes in it'll be restricted access to everywhere unless you pay.