Tell me the last time we had easily 10 drivers going into every race with the chance of a victory? In my years in and out of the paddock, I don't believe we've not had a season like this in my time. We've had great years such as Ross Hayes vs Odhran Henry, Jack Lyons vs Robert O'Keeffe, Sean McCormack, TJ McDonnell and so on all battle it out in different seasons. We had 2-3 teams fight it out in the past where this year every team has at least one driver bringing the fight. DMS has Colin Cronin to lead the way for the Cork based team but they do have more quickly learning and more talent coming next season. Andrei Dabija is the main driver leading the way for NCM while Brennan Tech Racing got Jack Buckley taking the fight for them in MI events with his brother Tadgh joining the fight in TKC. OHR racing has by far the most with Conor Grant, James Wood and Scott Reilly all have the best chances of victory but the MI championship hunt just hadn't gone as smoothly as the Tullyallen championship which Conor won. T-Sport has Robbie Buckley who lead the charge in the Tullyallen championship but just fell short after a great season. Their is so many other drivers and teams out there but I'd be all day writing if I was to name everyone.
In the past if you finished outside the top 5 you'd say that was a bad weekend, and maybe you still would but with it being as tight as it is out there I honestly think being consistent is the key. And being consistent in pre-final and finals isn't enough anymore. You need a consistent weekend from the start with good test day and good heat results being as important as the finals. Now staying out of trouble in junior racing is easier said than done but you can tell who's confident in overtaking and where they place themselves compared to others and that's crucial. It wasn't long ago that you could go from last to first but good luck doing that these days.
Can next year get any better? I actually think so which is mad to imagine. We've some really good Cadet drivers coming up such as Daniel Kelleher, Tadgh Buckley, Kenzie McNally etc etc. I actually wonder if we'll have a limit on class size because I believe we've a lot coming up and not a lot moving on. If we have that problem then what's the solution? Would bringing in Junior ROTAX Max be an option? Honestly could be as it's raced in the Tullyallen Championship and up North. If the cost is monitored it could be more suited to young drivers moving up as years ago we used to have Mini ROTAX Max which a majority would do before doing KF3/JX30.
But to go back to the question.. Was this year the best Junior grid? Yes and I don't think anyone can argue with me.
Can Jack Buckley hang onto his title next year? Some say defending a title is harder than achieving the first and honestly I can't wait to see how he does and who challenges him.
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