Difference between revisions of "Irish Racing Cars"

Revision as of 15:28, 19 July 2015

IRA

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Full Name	Irish Racing Autombiles
Base	Rathnew, Ireland
Founder(s)	Cathal Byrne Arthur Doyle
Noted Drivers	Desmond Titterington Reg Armstrong Joe Kelly
First Race	1955 Monaco Grand Prix
Races	7
Constructors' Championships	0
Drivers' Championships	0
Race Wins	0
Podiums	2
Points	10
Pole Positions	3
Fastest Laps	2
Last Race

Irish Racing Automobiles (IRA) was an Irish racing team founded by Wicklow businessmen Cathal Byrne and Arthur Doyle that competed in the Formula One World Championship and the World Sprint Racing Championship.

History

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.

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, and Joe Kelly, a Dubliner who had some previous experience in the new pinnacle of motor racing. Lancia unexpectedly withdrew from the championship before the season began, leaving IRA and rival team Écurie 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 green D50 with an horizontal orange band around the body, the national racing colours 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 proper 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 season. This time, the Liverpool-born motorcycle racer 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, which hosted 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.

Complete Formula One Results

Year	Team	Chassis	Engine	Driver	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Pts	EC
1955	Irish Racing Association				MON	FRA	BEL	GBR	SCO	SOV	ITA	10	7th
		Lancia D50	Lancia DS50	Desmond Titterington	Ret	Ret	3	2	9†	DNQ	Ret
				Reg Armstrong		DNQ			8	DNQ	Ret
				Joe Kelly				DNPQ