Rounds 2 and 3 of the MicksGarage.com Formula Sheane championship took place at the recently rejuvenated Bishopscourt Race Track near Downpatrick in Co Down. With car racing only returning to the circuit in 2012 I was yet to sample the delights of this fast flowing track which was held in such high regard by all those who sampled it last year. After round 1 at Kirkistown I took the GoldenPages.ie car to Fahys Garage in Oranmore, Galway for a comprehensive alignment check up. Many things were put right and we headed towards Bishopscourt with a sense of optimism, however I was keenly aware that the combination of a wet weather forecast, my lack of track knowledge and only two ten minute test sessions were going to make it a difficult weekend. By the time qualifying came around on Saturday evening I had yet to complete a dry lap of the circuit. The timetable for the event was very tight so our class was mixed with the Formula Vees for testing which impeded both classes terribly. Conditions for qualifying were damp but drying and I made sure to be on circuit at the end when the track was at its best. My second last lap was good enough for P3 but the data on the car showed that on my last lap I was on for a lap some 6 tenths quicker but I lost time overtaking a car. In the end I would line up P3 for race 1 and pole position for race 2 as my second fastest lap was the quickest of all drivers. Carnage on the way to turn one! Race one was a thoroughly wet affair, my first ever wet single seater race! I made a reasonable start but on the run to turn one I was tagged by the rear wheel of another car which spun me at 90 degrees to the oncoming traffic. A few swirls of the wheel and luckily I could point the car back towards turn one but I was down to almost last position. I put my head down and worked my way back through the field to P3. At turn two on lap 8 as I slowed for a yellow flag zone I was unceremoniously punted out of the race and into retirement on the grass. Race two was a much drier affair and I lined the FCR Media Racing car on pole position. I got a reasonable start but Kevin Sheane made a better one from the row behind and took the lead on the run to turn one. The balance in my car was very good and I had the confidence to push hard on the cold tyres and retook the position around the outside of the 4th gear left hander. Unfortunately it wasn’t to be for long as on turn 3 I made a driving error and ran wide, demoting myself to 7th position and in the process thumping the steering wheel in frustration! Again I had to work myself back up the order and once again got as far as 3rd place. By now the rain had returned and the safety car was deployed to collect a stranded car. Now right on the gearbox of the leading two cars I was ready for a win or bin final lap or two but twice the safety car turned its lights off only to turn them back on and in the end we never got a dash to the flag, much to my frustration. All told it was not a positive weekend, we had the pace but not the luck. I’m looking forward to returning to Mondello Park for the 45 year anniversary meeting in June where hopefully we can get our championship aspirations back on track!

Read this article:
Bishopscourt Blog- with Barry Rabbitt

Galway Motor Club, organisers of the Galway Summer Rally, are delighted to announce that The Carlton Shearwater Hotel, Ballinasloe in association with Ballinasloe Town will be the new title sponsors of the 2013 Galway Summer Stages Rally. Michelle Ryan, Marketing Manager of The Carlton commented “We are delighted along with Ballinasloe Town to be the title sponsor of such a prestigious event. The Carlton Shearwater, one of the newest Galway Hotels, is an exquisite 4 star hotel and spa resort with easy access to Galway and Athlone. Ideally situated at Marina Point on the majestic River Suck, one of the most beautiful rivers in the country, this is the perfect retreat. Luxurious accommodation and suites, the very finest in dining, and a Leisure & Fitness centre with swimming pool will all combine to make your stay in Galway a magical one. Our C-Spa offers a range of soothing treatments and a team of expert beauticians that will ensure you look as good on the outside as we promise to make you feel on the inside. All that’s left for you to do is sit back, relax and enjoy your stay. The Carlton Shearwater Hotel & C Spa is celebrating their 6th birthday this year and are part of the Carlton Hotel group, which is an Irish owned hotel group with eight properties located across Ireland” Donal Scannell, President of Ballinasloe Chamber Of Commerce said “We are thrilled to have the rally based in Ballinasloe following the success of the finish of the Galway International Rally in the town in February. The rally brings a great buzz to the town as well as a much needed boost to the local economy. Ballinasloe is an ideal location for the rally given its central location and access to the M6 Motorway. Welcome to the Gateway To The West” Mark Parsons, Clerk of the Course for the Galway Summer Rally stated, “The Carlton Shearwater Hotel and Ballinasloe Town is an ideal sponsor for the Galway Summer Rally. The Carlton Group has an established connection with the exciting sport of motor rallying through sponsorship of other rally events. The town of Ballinasloe could not have been more helpful in our preparations to date. The Rally will take place over the weekend of August 31 the Dunlop National and Top Part West Coast Championships. The Headquarters will be The Carlton Shearwater Hotel with Service and Scrutiny in close proximity. The event is expected to attract a full entry of over 130 cars and teams to the town. Galway Motor Club endorses the Road Safety Authority’s “Keep the Race in Its Place” initiative and is a supporter of “The Gathering” tourism promotion.

See the original post:
Galway Motor Club announces new Summer Rally sponsor

LEINSTER M C/BARC RACE MEETING AT BISHOPSCOURT, CO DOWN (ROUNDS OF MOTORSPORT IRELAND NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS): FORMULA FORD 1600 RACE 1 (12 laps): 1 Ivor McCullough (Van Diemen RF00) 16m 13.91s, 80.91 mph, 2 Niall Murray (Van Diemen RF99) 16m 14.80s, 3 Sean Doyle (Van Diemen RF91) 16m 21.79s, 4 Rob Barrable (Van Diemen) 16m 24.03s, 5 Jonny McMullan (Mondiale M89S) 16m 25.30s, 6 Stephen Daly (Ray GR05) 16m 32.27s. Fastest lap: McCullough 1m 19.166s, 82.95 mph.   FORMULA FORD 1600 RACE 2 (12 laps): 1 Ivor McCullough (Van Diemen RF00) 15m 11.82s, 86.42 mph, 2 Niall Murray (Van Diemen RF99) 15m 15.46s, 3 Sean Doyle (Van Diemen RF91) 15m 15.60s, 4 Noel Dunne (Van Diemen RF00) 15m 15.70s, 5 Rob Barrable (Van Diemen) 15m 17.48s, 6 Kevin O’Hara (Van Diemen LA10) 15m 26.69s. Fastest lap: Dunne 1m 14.194s, 88.50 mph.   CROWNE PLAZA DUNDALK FORMULA VEE RACE 1 (11 laps): 1 Adam MacAulay (Sheane) 15m 11.16s, 79.27 mph, 2 Dan Polley (Sheane) 15m 14.73s, 3 Kevin Grogan (Leastone) 15m 15.37s. Fastest lap: MacAulay 1m 20.769s, 81.30 mph.   CROWNE PLAZA DUNDALK FORMULA VEE RACE 2 (11 laps): 1 Dan Polley (Sheane) 15m 47.45s, 76.24 mph, 2 Ray Moore (Leastone) 15m 49.89s, 3 Adam MacAulay (Sheane) 15m 50.37s. Fastest lap: Grogan 1m 24.139s, 78.04 mph.   FORMULA LIBRE RACE 1 (11 laps): 1 Martin Daly (Tatuus F Renault) 15m 22.05s, 78.34 mph, 2 Cian Carey (Tatuus F Renault) 15m 22.82s, 3 Bob Scanlon (Radical SR3) 15m 53.08s. Fastest lap: Scanlon 1m 21.062s, 81.01 mph.   FORMULA LIBRE RACE 2 (13 laps): 1 Martin Daly (Tatuus F Renault) 16m 07.47s, 88.23 mph, 2 Fergus Faherty (Tatuus F Renault) 16m 08.09s, 3 Cian Carey (Tatuus F Renault) 16m 09.24s. Fastest lap: Daly 1m 11.165s, 92.27 mph.   IRISH TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP RACE 1 (11 laps): 1 Erik Holstein (BMW M3) 15m 26.86s, 77.93 mph, 2 Dave O’Brien (BMW E46) 15m 29.96s, 3 Robert Savage (Honda Integra) 16m 21.03s, 4 Garreth Hayden (Honda Integra) 16m 23.51s, 5 Norman Fawcett (Honda Civic) 10 laps, 6 Mark Keane (Honda Integra) 10 laps. Fastest lap: O’Brien 1m 21.473s, 80.60 mph.   IRISH TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP RACE 2 (12 laps): 1 Dave O’Brien (BMW E46) 15m 53.29s, 82.66 mph, 2 Erik Holstein (BMW M3) 15m 53.82s, 3 Robert Savage (Honda Integra) 16m 46.35s, 4 Norman Fawcett (Honda Civic) 17m 12.05s, 5 Keith Rabbitt (Honda Integra) 17m 14.99s, 6 Ian Radford (Honda Integra) 17m 19.89s. Fastest lap: O’Brien 1m 16.928s, 85.36 mph.   FORMULA SHEANE RACE 1 (9 laps): 1 Kevin Sheane Jnr 12m 31.19s, 78.67 mph, 2 Brian Hearty 12m 36.41s, 3 John Linnane 13m 09.14s. Fastest lap: Sheane 1m 20.669s, 81.40 mph.   FORMULA SHEANE RACE 2 (10 laps): 1 Kevin Sheane Jnr 15m 44.41s, 69.53 mph, 2 Robbie Allen 15m 45.20s, 3 Barry Rabbitt 15m 45.52s. Fastest lap: Sheane 1m 14.283s, 88.40 mph.   PATCH TYRE EQUIPMENT FIESTA RACE 1 (11 laps): 1 John Denning 16m 17.00s, 67.21 mph, 2 Ryan Campbell 16m 17.89s, 3 Uel McMillan 16m 19.41s. Fastest lap: Denning 1m 35.115s, 69.04 mph . FIAT PUNTO CLASS: 1 Gary Miller.   PATCH TYRE EQUIPMENT FIESTA RACE 2 (10 laps): 1 Ryan Campbell 15m 53.86s, 68.84 mph, 2 Andrew Blair 15m 54.59s, 3 Paul Magill 16m 22.15s. Fastest lap: John Denning 1m 33.068s, 70.56 mph . FIAT PUNTO CLASS: 1 Mervyn Miller.   GLOBAL LIGHTS RACE 1 (11 laps): 1 Paul Fitzpatrick 15m 29.10s, 77.74 mph, 2 Mark Twomey 15m 33.92s, 3 Richard Finlay 16m 11.38s. Fastest lap: Alan Byrne 1m 22.190s, 79.89 mph.   GLOBAL LIGHTS RACE 2 (11 laps): 1 Peter Drennan 15m 27.27s, 77.90 mph, 2 Mark Twomey 15m 39.90s, 3 Richard Finlay 15m 49.17s. Fastest lap: Drennan 1m 22.862s, 79.25 mph.   GLOBAL LIGHTS RACE 3 (11 laps): 1 Paul Fitzpatrick 15m 37.56s, 77.04 mph, 2 Mark Braden 15m 47.13s, 3 Ivor Miller 15m 59.31s. Fastest lap: Fitzpatrick 1m 22.545s, 79.55 mph.   STRYKER RACE 1 (11 laps): 1 Alan Watkins 16m 52.59s, 71.33 mph, 2 Dave Griffin 10 laps, 3 Brian Kingston 10 laps. Fastest lap: Watkins 1m 27.459s, 75.08 mph .   STRYKER RACE 2 (12 laps): 1 Dave Griffin 17m 17.72s, 75.93 mph, 2 Alan Watkins 17m 18.10s, 3 Paul Yeomans 11 laps. Fastest lap: Watkins 1m 20.799s, 81.27 mph .   HISTORIC RACE 1 (10 laps): 1 David Kelly (Crossle 9S) 15m 40.21s, 69.84 mph, 2 Bernard Foley (MGBGT V8) 16m 27.79s, 3 Stephen Doyle (Chevron B8) 16m 51.87s. Fastest lap: Kelly 1m 30.993s, 72.16 mph.   HISTORIC RACE 2 (11 laps): 1 Jackie Cochrane (Sunbeam Tiger) 15m 44.45s, 76.48 mph, 2 David Kelly (Crossle 9S) 15m 46.81s, 3 Stephen Doyle (Chevron B8) 16m 07.12s. Fastest lap: Cochrane 1m 21.793s, 80.28 mph.   PRE-1955 HISTORICS (9 laps): 1 John Keatley (Healey Silverstone) 16m 12.38s, 60.78 mph, 2 Kevin McBride (Lancia B20) 17m 07.83s, 3 Ken McAvoy (Riley TT Sprite) 17m 34.91s. Fastest lap: Keatley 1m 45.182s, 62.43 mph .

Visit link:
Bishopscourt Results

The British Touring Car Championship has been running, in one form or another, since 1958 and is now the UK’s biggest motor racing championship. Those of us old enough to remember the series when it was in its heyday in the late 1980s and early 1990s will remember names like John Cleland, Will Hoy, Frank Biela, Rickard Rydell, Alain Menu, Tim Harvey and Joachim Winkelhok. Back then the grid was full of works teams from the likes of BMW, Ford, Vauxhall, Nissan and Renault, however by the late 2000s the only works team left on the grid was Vauxhall with the rest of the teams being independently run. The series has undergone somewhat of a revival in recent years and with the introduction of the Next Generation Touring Car (NGTC) specifications it has become cheaper for both manufacturers and privateers to run a competitive car, resulting in one of the largest grids ever at 29 cars for the 2013 season. Long gone too are the days when the grid was full of international drivers. With the exception of Aron Smith, the entire grid is made up of British drivers. MG and Honda are the only works teams left in the championship, while there are 15 teams competing for the independent teams’ championship. 6 drivers are also contesting the newly introduced Jack Sears Trophy for drivers of Super 2000 cars. The leading Super 2000 driver in each race receives a cup and at the end of the season the driver with the most cups will we awarded the Jack Sears Trophy by Jack Sears himself. Jack was the winner of the inaugural British Saloon Car Championship in 1958. The 2013 season got under way on Easter Sunday at Brands Hatch with Jason Plato winning races one and two and Matt Neal picking up the win in the final race. I have been following the BTCC for as long as I can remember and have always wanted to attend a race weekend. I finally got around to it last weekend when I went along to watch the second round at Donington as a guest of the AmDTuning.com team who run a Super 2000 spec Golf GTI. The first thing that struck me after arriving at the track on Saturday morning as I was ferried into the paddock on the AmD team’s golf cart was how open everything was. The support paddock was in the middle of what would normally be the car park and the public were milling around watching the teams put up their tents and unpack their cars while in the touring car paddock the drivers were wandering around happy to stop to chat to fans, pose for photos and sign autographs. There were no F1 style barriers and drivers hiding away in air conditioned motor homes. Fans were free to walk up to the back of the garages and peer inside. The drivers even use the same public toilets as everybody else – at one point both Mat Jackson and Sam Tordoff were in the queue behind me! After being shown around the AmD garage and chatting to the team I went for a walk down the pit lane. As one of the smaller teams AmD are at the top end of the pit lane, near the pit entrance and as I walked down the pit lane towards the MG and Honda teams, who occupied the first two garages, the thing that was most obvious was that the further I walked along the busier the garages became. AmD and the other Super 2000 teams had perhaps 6-8 people on the team while the likes of MG and Honda have maybe 20-30.  The larger teams also have large hospitality tents that hold around 100 people while the smaller teams have a table and chairs at the back of the garage with a box of tea bags, paper cups and a tin of biscuits! Saturday morning consisted of free practice for BTCC and the support series and then the afternoon was taken up by qualification and ended with the first race in the Clio Cup series. I was in the pit lane for most of the day on Saturday and got to walk in and out of the garages watching the teams tweak their cars between sessions. I also got to stand on the pit wall for the BTCC sessions. The noise of the cars as they drive by is amazing and like nothing I have heard before – I could feel the sound wave from the exhaust as the cars backfired when changing gear on the straight. The sound is something that simply does not come across on TV. As the drivers sat in their cars preparing for the first free practice session thinking, some took the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the circuit! Sunday morning got off to a hilarious start as we made our way from the main gate to the AmD garage – four of us and a box full of sponsor goodie bags on a two seater, underpowered golf cart with James, the driver, unable to use the brakes as we would not have got going again if we slowed down. People were jumping for cover, although I’m sure that while it seemed like we were doing 100 miles per hour from the inside, it had all the speed (and danger) of Fr. Dougal on his milk float from the outside! As we made our way out to the infield to watch the first couple of support races the BTCC teams were busy with final preparations for their first race of the day. First up on Sunday were the Formula Fords followed by race 1 of the Porsche Carrera Cup championship with Irish interests represented by brothers Karl and Michael Leonard driving for Team Parker Racing in the Pro-Am1 category. Karl and Michael had a close battle with Victor Jiminez with Karl taking the category win in the motorsport.ie liveried car and Michael finishing third following a spin that allowed Jiminez to get by. Karl made it a clean sweep by picking up the category win in race 2. In addition to the two race wins, Karl was also awarded the driver of the weekend trophy. The BTCC cars took to the track at 1125 and we got to go onto the grid as the cars formed up. While the pit crews swarmed around the cars carrying out last minute jobs the photographers swarmed around the grid girls – no prizes for guessing where I ended up! We watched the first race on TV from the AmD garage. It was a different experience watching a race on TV with no commentary. The hard work was done at this stage and all the team could do was watch. One team member had a notebook where he logged each of driver James Kaye’s lap times with a comment next to it – either a time difference to the car behind or a note about something the driver did or didn’t do – while team manager Shaun was on the radio to James updating him on events on track that he had gleaned from watching the TV. It’s not like F1 where there is car to pit telemetry and GPS driver tracking, if the team don’t see it on the ITV4 live feed they don’t know about it. Race 1 was won by Gordon Sheddon, ahead of Andrew Jordan and team-mate Matt Neal. The holding area for the winning cars was right next to the AmD garage so at the end of the race we made our way over and were right in front of Gordon Sheddon’s car as he pulled in and got out of the car. It was really interesting to see the reactions and hear the comments between the drivers as they chatted about the race. ITV’s Steve Rider and Louise Goodman were on hand to carry out the post-race interviews. I’ve not watched the races back yet, but I’m sure we managed to get into the background. Following the interviews the drivers were taken out into the paddock where the podium presentation was carried out on the back of a truck for all the fans to see. AmD’s James Kaye came home in first place in the Jack Sears Trophy – here’s a shot of his empty champagne bottle. I don’t think they’re supposed to drink between races! During the lunch break there was a thirty minute slot where the pit lane was opened for the public to walk about and get photos and autographs. About 20 minutes before the gates opened the queue was easily four or five hundred people deep. Luckily, we had access through the AmD garage so we were able to bypass the queue and line up at the Honda garage to wait for Flash and Matt Neal to emerge. When the public were allowed in the biggest draws seemed to be the MG and Honda teams followed by the Airwaves team and BMW with the crowds dwindling the further down the pit lane you went. I know the drivers are probably contractually obliged to sit outside their garage and sign autographs, but it is a great idea and gives the fans an opportunity to get up close to the drivers. I suspect the drivers don’t get hassled as much over the weekend if the fans know they’ll have an opportunity for an autograph at this session. For race 2 we ventured out of the pitlane and took up a spot near the Craner Curves. I was amazed at the number of families that were sitting around the banks – it really is a family day out. There were first timers who arrived in t-shirts and shorts along with people who appeared to be regulars who brought picnics and tents to shield themselves from the wind. This was Matt Neal’s 500th race start and it was fitting that he reached that milestone at Donington, scene of his first ever win in 1999 when he picked up a cheque for £250,000 as the first independent driver to win a race outright. He ran with the number 500 on his car for race 2 to commemorate the occasion, while Jason Plato ran number 400 as this was his 400th race. Unfortunately for the AmD team, a start line collision between James Kaye and David Nye saw both men pile into the pit wall and retire from the race resulting in the safety car being deployed. Following the restart, Andrew Jordan pulled out a big lead after lunging down the inside of Shedden at the start of lap 7. Behind Jordan was a close battle between Plato, Shedden, Neal and Morgan with Plato eventually passing Shedden for second place and Shedden finishing in third. Matt Neal finished his 500th race in 4th place. We made it back to the AmD garage just as they were finishing patching up the Golf – a new front end, wings, doors and lots of red tape and the car was ready for race 3. Not a bad effort for a team of 8! We took to the grid for the final race of the day and as James had not finished the second race he was last on the grid, just behind Warren Scott who had put his car into the gravel trap at the Old Hairpin in race two. Due to the size of the field, the back of the grid is almost at the exit of the final chicane so this allowed us a great opportunity to get a close up look at the cars as they exited the chicane and did a quick burnout to warm the tyres. Then it was time to take another walk along the grid to check out the cars and the grid girls! As we were getting booted off the grid I managed to get a quick photo of Gordon Shedden as he prepared for the start. Again, we watched race 3 from the AmD garage. It didn’t go too well for the AmD team. Unfortunately, despite the sterling job by the team to get the car ready, an electrical failure caused James to stop out on track. Dave Newsham had a major wobble on the way through Craners on the opening lap that almost took out several of the top drivers, but luckily everybody managed to avoid him. Former WTCC champion Colin Turkington shot into the lead from second on the grid in his eBay BMW and remained there to the end, finishing four seconds clear of Gordon Shedden with Matt Neal coming home in third. At the end of the race we made our way again to the holding area to watch the cars come in and had the opportunity to eavesdrop on the drivers as they congratulated each other and chatted about the race, including asking each other how they managed to avoid the spinning Dave Newsham at Craners. We said our goodbyes to the AmD team and walked along the pit lane inspecting the cars and emerged into the paddock just in time to catch the end of the podium presentation with Colin Turkington taking his young son onto the top step with him – something you won’t see on your average podium. Now that I’ve experienced a BTCC weekend, I definitely plan to go back. I would recommend it to anybody. Donington is a great track as there are plenty viewing spots and no matter where you stand you have a view of three or four corners. It is also very easy to get to as it is practically at the end of the runway at East Midlands Airport and if you book early enough you’ll get return flights with Ryanair for less than forty quid. I’ve included a selection of photos below. For me the first image captures the spirit of British Motorsport perfectly.

Read this article:
BTCC Donington- with Marc Quinlivan

  Chicago, Ill. (April 25, 2013) – Firestone Indy Lights driver Peter Dempsey never made it to turn one in this past weekend’s Long Beach 100 in California. After showing great speed in the sessions leading up to the race, Dempsey started in the fourth spot on the grid and was collected in a first lap wipeout initiated by the second place starter of Jack Hawksworth.  Hawksworth first made contact with the No. 12 car of Zach Veach then rebounded across the track and straight into the No. 5 Slick Locks / Belardi Auto Racing Car of Dempsey, ending his race before it even began.   “Heading into the race, I was very confident that we had gotten the car exactly where we wanted it with regards to setup,” commented Dempsey.  “I knew I was going to need a good first few laps and was planning to be more aggressive than I was in the first two rounds. I felt like I had a decent start, and I was drafting Jack [Hawksworth] and could see him starting to squeeze Zach [Veach] into the wall.  When I saw him getting so close, I tried to move to the outside, but unfortunately his car came across right in front of me, and I had nowhere to go.  It is very frustrating when things that are out of your control affect your result.  With ten cars on the grid, the last thing we need to do is take each other out.”   Dempsey began the weekend on the right foot, making consistent appearances at the top of the time sheets and clocking in the second overall best time in both practice sessions.  With the team’s focus on the race, Dempsey risked a different tactic than the rest of the field during qualifying and did not use his final set of new tires for the last run.  Though he had a projected qualifying time that should have landed him second, Dempsey was unable to complete his best laps due to traffic on the street course.  The result was a fourth place qualifying position which turned out to be an unfortunate place to be when the green flag fell.   “I want to thank the team because I think this was one of our strongest weekends so far and definitely a step in the right direction,” continued Dempsey.  “I really felt we had a car for pole if we had used our two sets of tires.  The balance of the car was good out of the box, and we had two very solid practice sessions where we felt there was more speed left in the car.  Now it’s time to put this setback behind us, turn our attention to the upcoming oval races and the Indy open test next week, and start from scratch again.”   Dempsey ultimately took home ninth place points for the Long Beach 100 and now sits fifth in the championship with 90 points.   Up next for Dempsey and the Belardi Auto Racing crew is the Firestone Freedom 100 open test in Indianapolis on May 2 in preparation for the Firestone Freedom 100 race on May 24. About Peter Dempsey : Peter Dempsey is a racecar driver from Ashbourne, Ireland best known for winning the most races (9) in the history of the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear and for being one of only two drivers to win the Walter Hayes Trophy three times.  Peter is currently the only Irish-born driver to be competing in the IZOD IndyCar Series ladder.  After a successful motorsports debut in Europe with his father’s racing team Cliff Dempsey Racing, Peter moved his career to the U.S.A. in 2008 where he has been climbing the Mazda Road to Indy ladder ever since.  Peter is currently racing in the Firestone Indy Lights Series, the third step in the Mazda Road to Indy development program, and is just one step below his ultimate goal, the IZOD IndyCar Series and the Indy 500.  For more information, please go to www.peterdempsey.com .

The rest is here:
Long Beach 100 Ends before It Begins for Irishman Peter Dempsey