On May 6/7, the Seat Supercup Ireland championship headed to Bishopscourt Racing Circuit, Downpatrick, Northern Ireland for rounds 3 & 4.

Qualifying:

1: – Rod McGovern      1:13.525

2: – Barry English        1:13.698           0.173

3: – Shane Murphy      1:13.768           0.243

4: – John Farrelly        1:13.808           0.283

5: – Erik Holstein          1:14.336           0.811

6: – Jonathan Fildes    1:14.560           1.035

7: – Sam Mansfield      1:14.788           1.263

Pole Winner: Proud dad with son, Seán.

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Race 1:

Rod McGovern took the first race of the day having put his Mick Merrigan Racing Seat on Pole position in qualifying on Saturday.  Starting third on the grid, newcomer to the Seat Supercup Ireland Championship for 2017, Shane Murphy had a great start, taking advantage of a sluggish start by Barry English.

Erik Holstein had an off at the end of the straight on the opening lap forcing him to retire with suspension damage.  Another rookie to the class, Sam Mansfield had a great battle with team-mate Jonathan Fildes in their Murray Motorsport prepared cars.  Fildes eventually passed Mansfield but would be given a 15 second penalty, together with Barry English for exceeding track limits.

Here’s how it finished:

1: – Rod McGovern

2: – Shane Murphy

3: Sam Mansfield.

Race 2:

Race 2 was a reverse grid with Barry English elevated to pole, Jonathan Fildes alongside, it was Sam Mansfield getting the jump on the front row drivers to lead the pack.  Mansfield, showing great form in his first season in the Seats.  Fildes set his sights on making his way past English.  This done, the mission was to hunt down Mansfield. Setting the lap record in race one for Bishopscourt, a hungry Fildes, showing super pace, eventually found his way passed the impressive rookie into turn one.

Shane Murphy finished in third behind Mansfield.  Murphy, who employed the assistance of Seat veteran Niall Quinn for setup and data analysis clearly benefited and allowed the Cork native concentrate with the on-track objectives.  Rod McGovern finished in fourth.  Erik Holstein was in 5^th, ahead of English and Farrelly.

Fildes, clearly delighted with his win, especially after back surgery on the Thursday before the race, said, “It was probably not the best Idea in the world to race so close after the surgery but nothing was going to stop me.  Once the adrenaline kicked in I was okay.  I can’t wait to race again when I’m fully fit”.

Race 2 Finish:

1: – Jonathan Fildes

2: – Sam Mansfield

3: – Shane Murphy

With McGovern still leading the championship the excitement will continue when the Seat Supercup Ireland series return to Mondello Park International circuit on June 10/11 for rounds 5 & 6.