Irish Racing Cars: Difference between revisions

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{{Defunct Racing Team
|Short_name    = [[File:Flag of Ireland svg.png]] IRA
|Logo          =
|Long_name    = Irish Racing Autombiles
|Base          = Rathnew, Co. Wicklow, Ireland
|Founders      = Cathal Byrne<br>Arthur Doyle
|Noted_drivers = [[File:Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png]] Desmond Titterington<br>[[File:Flag of Ireland svg.png]] Reg Armstrong<br>[[File:Flag of Ireland svg.png]] Joe Kelly
|First_race    = [[1955 Monaco Grand Prix]]
|Races        = 7
|Cons_champ    = 0
|Drivers_champ = 0
|Wins          = 0
|Podiums      = 2
|Points        = 10
|Poles        = 3
|Fastest_laps  = 2
|Last_race    =
|}}
''Everything up to 1956 is an established part of the team's history. Anything referring to the events of 1957-61 is not set in stone and may be retconned depending on the team's success and financial situation in tommykl's alt-F1. What is known is that, whatever the circumstances, IRA will not last beyond the 1961 season.''
'''Irish Racing Automobiles (IRA)''' was an Irish racing team founded by Wicklow businessmen Cathal Byrne and Arthur Doyle and competed in the Formula One World Championship and the World Sprint Racing Championship before financial troubles saw the team taken over and renamed in 1966.
==History==
===Beginning===
IRA was founded under the Irish Racing Association name in 1954 by two motor racing enthusiasts from Wicklow; Cathal Byrne, a member of the Leinster Motor Club who was a part-time racing driver in the 1930s and owned a garage in Wicklow town, and Arthur Doyle, owner of Tinakilly house in Rathnew, where the new team would be based. He owned several businesses around County Wicklow, where much of the initial funding for the team came from.
===1955===
The new team lodged an entry for the 1955 Formula One season, drawing much suspicion from other teams due to the team sharing its acronym with the Irish Republican Army terrorist group. However, this suspicion would soon dissipate. IRA originally attempted to acquire the assets of the recently defunct Erne Racing Development squad, before deciding to purchase a Lancia D50, the Italian marque having decided to return to Formula One for the first time since the inaugural 1950 season. The car would be driven by 27-year-old Ulsterman Desmond Titterington. IRA also rented a second car to be driven part-time by Grand Prix motorcyclist Reg Armstrong, who lived only a few kilometres away from the team's Rathnew base. Joe Kelly, a Dubliner who had some previous experience in the new pinnacle of motor racing would also be driving the second car at Silverstone. Lancia unexpectedly withdrew from the championship before the season began, leaving IRA and rival team Ecurie Maghreb as the only teams running a Lancia chassis.
The team made its debut in the non-championship Rouen Grand Prix in April 1955. Titterington was the only driver entered in the shamrock green D50, the national racing colour of Ireland. He qualified 12th and finished 7th, 3 laps down. This initial performance showed the inexperience of the new team, who were nonetheless happy simply to get into the race at all, but it would not be indicative of the season that was to follow.
IRA appeared for the first round of the 1955 World Championship in Monaco with Titterington once again their sole entrant. As a driver that was new to the World Championship, he would have to pre-qualify. He finished 2nd out of 8 drivers that got through to qualifying proper. Maghreb driver André Guelfi was not so lucky, finishing 17th. This meant that Titterington would be the only Lancia driver in the proper qualifying session. The County Down man qualified an impressive 6th. He ran as high as 3rd in the race before retiring on lap 48 with a fuel pump failure. It was nevertheless a promising start to the season for both driver and team.
The next round was the French Grand Prix at Reims, where the second Lancia chassis was entered for the first time, driven by Armstrong. Once again, pre-qualifying was a necessity with Titterington putting in a stunning lap to top the timing sheets, nearly 2.5 seconds faster than the next car. Armstrong also performed respectably in 4th, over 3 seconds slower than his teammate. Titterington's pace continued to show in the main qualifying session, as he set his first pole position in only his second race. Armstrong did not qualify, setting the 34th fastest time, with only 32 available grid slots. Titterington got off the line well, but soon slipped to 4th. He would eventually spin out of the race on lap 20.
The following round at Spa-Francorchamps saw the IRA squad reduced to one car again, as Armstrong was competing in the Isle of Man TT. Titterington qualified 5th, no longer needing to pre-qualify after his two successful previous attempts. He was on course for a potential win, only for expert defensive driving by Alfa Romeo's Jack Brabham and Giuseppe Farina to prevent him from taking the spoils. The Ulsterman did finish 3rd in the end to take his and IRA's first podium.
The Dutch Grand Prix was cancelled following the Le Mans disaster, as were several other rounds, so the British Grand Prix at Silverstone was next. The second Lancia was entered again, this time with Kelly at the wheel. He did not show good pace however, as he failed to escape pre-qualifying. By contrast, Titterington took his second pole position, beating BCMA's Tony Brooks by the smallest of margins. He initially led, with many of his rivals tripping over themselves in the fight for 2nd, but the BCMA cars of Brooks and Peter Collins caught up in the closing stages. Victory looked a very real possibility for the Irish team before a last lap move saw Titterington pushed onto the grass, handing the win to Collins. The Ulsterman still recovered to finish 2nd after this setback.
Another round in Great Britain followed, as the circus travelled north to Edinburgh for the first Scottish Grand Prix on the Holyroodhouse Circuit. Armstrong was back behind the wheel, and would be for the rest of the season, as the cancellation of several races meant there would be no more scheduling conflicts with the Grand Prix motorcycle racing calendar. This time, the Liverpool-born motorcyclist would make his first start. He comfortably made it through pre-qualifying and would start the race from 11th. Titterington once again shared the front row with Tony Brooks, setting the second fastest time. He would unfortunately become one of many drivers to spin or crash that day, ending up in the straw bales on the way to a safe 4th position with 8 laps remaining. He was classified 9th. Armstrong finished 8th, 12 laps down.
The penultimate round of the season was held behind the Iron Curtain on the Pirita-Kose-Kloostrimetsa Circuit, former host of the pre-war Estonian Grand Prix, and now hosted the first Grand Prix of the Soviet Union, one of the most infamous races in the sport's history. The organisers announced a random qualifying running order. The IRA drivers found themselves near the bottom of this order, which became a problem when a tree fell on the circuit before they could set a time. The session was cancelled and the qualifying results declared final. Five grid slots were yet to be determined, which were chosen randomly by the officials. Neither Titterington nor Armstrong were among those five and IRA registered as a double-DNQ. Titterington, who was three points off the championship lead going into this event, was six points down on Brooks after the Englishman finished second in the race. The Ulsterman's hopes of title glory were beginning to fade.
In the final round at Monza, Titterington put in a stunning lap to take pole position. The race did not go so smoothly, and he found himself battling for third place while the Alfa Romeos of Brabham and Gaze pulled ahead. He had to win to seal the title, but ended up pulling into the pits with a blown engine. Both driver and team were nevertheless happy with what they saw as a successful debut season.
===1956===
The 1955-56 off-season was a busy one for the IRA team. They managed to acquire some of the unraced assets from Lancia's aborted works effort, as well as purchasing the D50 raced by Ecurie Maghreb the previous year. This allowed the team to expand to a two-car effort, and joining the promising Desmond Titterington was Cork-born 1954 Le Mans winner Duncan Hamilton. The rising popularity of the team saw Ireland join the Grand Prix calendar at the 13 kilometre Wicklow Circuit, the route of which went right past IRA's country house base. For this event the team would run a third car for Joe Flynn of Dublin after Armstrong turned down the opportunity due to focusing on his business interests. For the British rounds the third car would also be raced by Titterington's former schoolmate Archie Scott Brown. It was also announced that from 1957 IRA would be building their own car in partnership with British engine builder Coventry Climax after the latter's falling out with Lotus. The partnership began immediately with IRA loaning their spare car to Climax as a test rig for their new inline-four engine, driven by Stuart Lewis-Evans, who was also the IRA reserve driver.
The team arrived at the season opener in Monaco with high hopes after a sterling 1955 début. Hamilton, making his first F1 start in almost two years, had to pre-qualify, making it through comfortably. The main session had its surprises though, as Lewis-Evans was well off the pace and failed to make the cut. Titterington was back on the third row, while Hamilton was far back in 17th.
===1957-61===
To be determined.
===1962 move to sportscars===
After the disastrous 1961 season IRA withdrew from F1, citing the downsizing of engine regulations as a primary factor, but the failure of the new Mk3 was also a strong influence in the decision. The team entered the new World Sprint Racing Championship in 1962 and with the help of Kelly's Jaguar connections they acquired an E-Type to be driven by Titterington.
===Change of ownership===
By the mid-1960s IRA was in severe financial trouble and it was clear the team could no longer afford to compete in top-level motor racing. IRA was sold to Mick Mooney in 1966, who renamed the team to Irish Racing Cars, finally putting an end to what he saw as a "childish and offensive" acronym that the team ran under for over a decade.
== Complete Formula One Results  ==
== Complete Formula One Results  ==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%"
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%"
Line 71: Line 17:
! 9
! 9
! 10
! 10
! 11
! Pts
! Pts
! EC
! EC
|-
|-
! rowspan=4| [[1955 Alternate Formula One Season | 1955]]
! rowspan=4| [[1955 Alternate Formula One Season | 1955]]
! rowspan=4| Irish Racing Association
! rowspan=4| Irish Racing Cars
|
|
|
|
Line 86: Line 33:
|SOV
|SOV
|ITA
|ITA
|
|
|
|
|
Line 94: Line 42:
! rowspan=3| Lancia D50
! rowspan=3| Lancia D50
! rowspan=3| Lancia DS50
! rowspan=3| Lancia DS50
|align="left"| [[File: Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png]] Desmond Titterington
| align="left"| {{GBR}} Desmond Titterington
|bgcolor="#efcfff"|Ret
| bgcolor="#efcfff"|Ret
|bgcolor="#efcfff"|'''Ret'''
| bgcolor="#efcfff"|'''Ret'''
|bgcolor="#ffdf9f"|3
| bgcolor="#ffdf9f"|3
|bgcolor="#dfdfdf"|'''''2'''''
| bgcolor="#dfdfdf"|'''''2'''''
|bgcolor="#cfcfff"|''9†''
| bgcolor="#cfcfff"|''9†''
| bgcolor="ffcfcf"| DNQ
| bgcolor="ffcfcf"| DNQ
|bgcolor="#efcfff"|'''Ret'''
| bgcolor="#efcfff"|'''Ret'''
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|-
|align="left"| [[File: Flag of Ireland svg.png]] Reg Armstrong
| align="left"| {{IRL}} Reg Armstrong
|
|
| bgcolor="ffcfcf"| DNQ
| bgcolor="ffcfcf"| DNQ
Line 113: Line 62:
| bgcolor="#cfcfff"|8
| bgcolor="#cfcfff"|8
| bgcolor="ffcfcf"| DNQ
| bgcolor="ffcfcf"| DNQ
|bgcolor="#efcfff"|Ret
| bgcolor="#efcfff"|Ret
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|-
|align="left"| [[File: Flag of Ireland svg.png]] Joe Kelly
| align="left"| {{IRL}} Joe Kelly
|
|
|
|
|
|
| bgcolor="ffcfcf"| DNPQ
| bgcolor="ffcfcf"| DNPQ
|
|
|
|
|
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|
|
|-
|-
! rowspan=3| [[1956 Alternate Formula One Season | 1956]]
! rowspan=8| [[1956 Alternate Formula One Season | 1956]]
! rowspan=3| Irish Racing Association
! rowspan=8| Irish Racing Cars
|
|
|
|
Line 141: Line 92:
|GDR
|GDR
|IRL
|IRL
|SCO
|GBR
|GBR
|SCO
|ITA
|ITA
|THA
|THA
! rowspan=3| 9*
|
! rowspan=3| 1st*
! rowspan=8| 25
! rowspan=8| 4th
|-
|-
! rowspan=2| Lancia D50
! rowspan=7| Lancia D50
! rowspan=2| Lancia DS50
! rowspan=6| Lancia DS50
|align="left"| [[File: Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png]] Desmond Titterington
| align="left"| {{GBR}} Desmond Titterington
| bgcolor=ffffbf| 1
| bgcolor=ffffbf| 1
| bgcolor="#efcfff"|Ret
| bgcolor="#efcfff"|Ret
| bgcolor="#efcfff"|Ret
| bgcolor=ffffbf| '''''1'''''
| bgcolor="#efcfff"|Ret
| bgcolor="#ffdf9f"|3
| bgcolor="#efcfff"|Ret
| bgcolor="#efcfff"|Ret
|
|
|-
| align="left"| {{GBR}} Duncan Hamilton
| bgcolor=dfffdf| 5
| bgcolor="#efcfff"|Ret
|
|
| DNP
| bgcolor="#efcfff"|Ret
| bgcolor=dfffdf| 4
| bgcolor=dfffdf| 4
| bgcolor="#efcfff"|Ret
|
|
|-
| align="left"| {{GER}} Hans Herrmann
|
|
|
| bgcolor="#efcfff"|Ret
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| align="left"| {{IRL}} Joe Flynn
|
|
|
|
|
| bgcolor="#efcfff"|Ret
| bgcolor="#efcfff"|Ret
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| align="left"| {{IRL}} Bill Lacy
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| bgcolor="ffcfcf"| DNQ
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|-
|align="left"| [[File: Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png]] Duncan Hamilton
|rowspan=2 align="left"| {{GBR}} Stuart Lewis-Evans
| bgcolor=dfffdf| 5
|
|
| bgcolor="#cfcfff"|12
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
! Coventry Climax FPF IV
|
| bgcolor="#efcfff"|Ret
|
|
|
|
|
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|
|
|-
!rowspan=2| [[1957 Alternate Formula One Season | 1957]]
!rowspan=2| Irish Racing Cars
|
|
|
! MAR
! MON
! FRA
! BEL
! NED
! IRL
! GBR
! GER
! ITA
! ESP
! USA
!rowspan=2| 1*
!rowspan=2| 10th*
|-
! IRC Mk1
! OSCA 1557
| align="left"| {{IRL}} Joe Flynn
|
|
|
|
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| bgcolor=dfffdf| 6
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Latest revision as of 18:12, 4 September 2020

Complete Formula One Results

Year Team Chassis Engine Driver 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Pts EC
1955 Irish Racing Cars MON FRA BEL GBR SCO SOV ITA 10 7th
Lancia D50 Lancia DS50 Template:GBR Desmond Titterington Ret Ret 3 2 9† DNQ Ret
Flag of Ireland svg.png Reg Armstrong DNQ 8 DNQ Ret
Flag of Ireland svg.png Joe Kelly DNPQ
1956 Irish Racing Cars MON FRA BEL GER GDR IRL SCO GBR ITA THA 25 4th
Lancia D50 Lancia DS50 Template:GBR Desmond Titterington 1 Ret Ret Ret 1 Ret 3 Ret Ret
Template:GBR Duncan Hamilton 5 Ret DNP Ret 4 4 Ret
Flag of Germany svg.png Hans Herrmann Ret
Flag of Ireland svg.png Joe Flynn Ret Ret
Flag of Ireland svg.png Bill Lacy DNQ
Template:GBR Stuart Lewis-Evans 12
Coventry Climax FPF IV Ret
1957 Irish Racing Cars MAR MON FRA BEL NED IRL GBR GER ITA ESP USA 1* 10th*
IRC Mk1 OSCA 1557 Flag of Ireland svg.png Joe Flynn 6
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