Leastone and Finol announce 2016 Star of Tomorrow Championship

Leastone Racing Cars and Finol Oils are delighted to launch the 2016 Finol Star of Tommorrow, fresh off the back of Des Foley securing the 2015 crown with two rounds to spare. This weekend will see the penultimate round of the Finol Star of Tomorrow championship but such was Des’ performance this year, he has already secured his drive in the Leastone 1000 for the final double header of the UK Monoposto Championship at Oulton Park in early October.

2016 will be the 3rd year of the Finol/Leastone partnership and the 4th year overall for initiative, which offers newcomers to Formula Vee the opportunity of a race weekend in the Leastone 1000, the 160 BHP slicks and wings shod Leastone single seater. The first two years of the prize saw rookie champions Colm Blackburn and Sean Newsome enjoy an all expenses paid race weekend at the end of year event at Mondello Park. For 2015, Finol and Leastone worked hard to expand the prize to the season ending round of the UK Monoposto championship at the daunting Oulton Park International circuit, just outside Chester.

For 2016, the plan is to offer the Finol Star of Tomorrow a similar opportunity, although the venue can only be confirmed once the 2016 Monoposto calendar is released, The Monoposto championship visits all major UK circuits during the course of the year, so depending on how the calendar falls, the 2016 champion could find him or herself racing at tracks such as Donington Park, Brands Hatch or Silverstone.

‘We are delighted to continue our support of the Finol Star of Tomorrow championship for 2016. What we like about this initiative is that offers the clubman racer an opportunity to race on an iconic British track while experiencing slicks, wings and a sequential gearbox. We enjoy promoting grass roots Irish motorsport and this prize also exposes the winner to the English motorsport scene, should they want to make the step across the pond’ said Sean Holland of Finol Oils.

‘I’m delighted to continue this partnership with Finol and offer one of the few prize’s in Irish motorsport. Outside of the Motorsport Ireland Young Driver of the Year prize, I think this is the biggest prize in Irish Motorsport. At least when you sit down and do the math on what Leastone and Finol are offering, it certainly is! When I first approached Finol with this idea, my purpose was 3 fold. Firstly, I wanted to encourage people into Irish Formula Vee. Secondly, I wanted to offer Vee drivers the slicks and wings experience. And thirdly, I wanted to promote Leastone and Finol!’ said Leastone founder Paul Heavey. ‘For 2015, we wanted to offer the chance to race in England because let’s face it, the UK is the home of some of the finest race tracks in Europe. The beauty of this prize is that there is no age limit. So this year we have the younger end of the spectrum with Des, getting to race in Oulton but who is to say that we can’t offer a veteran clubman racer the same opportunity this time next year? Providing he/she is quick enough!’

Heavey was referring to the relatively open entry requirements of the Finol Star of Tomorrow. The championship is essentially a rookie championship but it is open to licence holders of all ages, providing they have completed less than 5 race events (the minimum requirement to lift the novice plate from new drivers). The one exception to this rule is Ginetta Junior drivers (14-17 year olds), who are eligible for the championship regardless of how many races they have completed.

2015 Finol Star of Tomorrow Des Foley will race in the final 2 rounds of the UK Monoposto Championship at Oulton Park on the 10th of October.

Sean Newsome in action during his 2014 prize outing at Mondello Park