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 – June 2011
Niall Murray from Dublin has been selected as the Dunlop Young Racing Driver of the Month for June, for his performances during the month in the Ginetta Junior UK Championship.
The 16 year-old from Firhouse, the winner of last year’s inaugural Ginetta Junior Ireland series, finished in an excellent second place in the British Championship race at Oulton Park on June 5, also setting the race’s fastest lap. He followed this, two weeks later, with a fourth place finish at Croft in North Yorkshire, despite not having tested at either circuit previously. He is racing against opposition, many of whom already have knowledge of these tracks, and of the 1.8 litre Ginetta G40, from last year.
Niall plans to complete the season in this class, and hopes to contest it again in 2012, with a full year’s experience to his credit, when he hopes to mount a strong challenge for the UK title. The Ginetta Junior UK class runs as a supporting race to the high profile, televised British Touring Car Championship.
Niall Murray in action
Niall is sponsored by Staffordshire University, which has a partnership with the Beacon Racing team, providing technical knowledge and engineering skills, and by Murray Motorsport and splashIT.net.
He attends Colaiste Eanna Secondary School, where he is a fifth year student. Niall began kart racing in 2003 and won the O Plate meeting in the KF3 class in 2009.
Having been selected as the third Dunlop Driver of the Month for the 2011 season, Niall 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.