Dunlop Sexton Trophy-The Young Racing Driver of the Year(View Previous Winners)
The 2011 Winner of the Dunlop Sexton Trophy for the Young Racing Driver of the Year is Dubliner, Aron Smith.
Aron, who won Young Racing Driver of the Month for April, had all of his success in the UK in 2011, as he competed in the Air Asia Clio Cup. The 22-year-old competed in all rounds, with three wins and nine podium finishes to his name as he finished runner-up in the Championship. He also competed in a round of the British Touring Car Championship at Knockhill, where he scored a point on his debut.
The other two of the TOP THREE FINALISTS for the award were:
Niall Murray
Andy O’Brien
Niall Murray, Young Racing Driver of the Month for June, made big strides in the UK Ginetta Junior Championship in 2011. The 16-year-old, who won the Irish Championship last year, competed in the UK version this year securing two wins along with eight podium finishes, including a victory at Brands Hatch.
Andy O’Brien, who won the Young Racing Driver of the Month for July. O’Brien only started competing in motorsport in 2010 when he finished second in the Irish Ginetta Junior Championship in his debut season. This year he went one better, winning the Ginetta Junior Championship with 10 podium finishes, eight fastest laps and five pole positions.
The six contenders for the award, The Young Racing Drivers of the Month, were:
April – Aron Smith, from Dublin
May – Kevin O’Hara, from Kildare
June – Niall Murray, from Dublin
July – Andy O’Brien, from Dublin
August – Gary Thompson, from Dublin
September – Sean Doyle, from Wicklow
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Young Racing Driver of the Month – May 2011
Kevin O'Hara from Donadea, Co Kildare, has been selected as the Dunlop Young Racing Driver of the Month for May, for his achievements during the month. At Kirkistown, the 21 year old won the first Formula Vee race and finished a close second in the Final in his Leastone, setting a new class lap record for the Co Down circuit in the process.
With backing from sponsors Castrol Ireland and Donovan’s Nisa/Today in Maynooth, Kevin will shortly travel to the Far East, where he will take part in the first race of the Formula Pilota (Formula Abarth) series in China, at Guangdong, on July 2/3, driving for the team run by his brother John.
Kevin has already tasted success at some of the circuits to be used in this new Championship, as he scored three victories in three weeks in the Radical Cup of China in 2009, which
included the Shanghai and Zhuhai circuits.
The young Kildareman began racing in 2006, spending two years in Formula Ford 1600. He is studying law and business studies at Griffith College in Dublin. Kevin’s ambition is to graduate to a regular drive in a Sports Car series.
Having been selected as the second Dunlop Driver of the Month for the 2011 season, Kevin is now a contender for the prestigious €50,000 Dunlop Motorsport Ireland Young Racing Driver of the Year Award. This award is presented annually and is sponsored by Dunlop, the Irish Sports Council and Motorsport Ireland.