Formula Vee - Kirkistown - Rd 11 and Emerson Fittipaldi Cup - 28th Sept

The Formula Vee season came to a close at Kirkistown last weekend, with a double-header that saw the final championship round take place first, before a non-championship race was held to decide who took home the coveted Emerson Fittipaldi Cup. With the Ability IT Rookie Championship already in the bag, Charlie Hart was in a relaxed form coming into the event and looking forward to focusing on the best possible overall result.

He performed well in qualifying, earning a place on the 4th row by setting his fastest lap ever at the Northern Irish track. The competition was fierce as usual, with the crucial slipstream playing a major role in determining grid positions.

When the lights went out for Race 1, Charlie dropped a spot off the line but recovered to 7th by the end of the second lap and from then on he was involved in a typical Kirkistown slipstream battle. Despite exchanging places over the duration of each lap, Hart held 7th each time they passed the stripe to start a new lap.

Throughout the entire 13-lap race, this scenario persisted, but Charlie ultimately fell short in the final sprint to the finish line, missing out by a mere 0.067 seconds. Nevertheless, he remained content after the enjoyable battle, which resulted in another top 10 finish overall. He concluded the championship season on a high note by clinching a class victory, bringing his total to 6 wins for the season.

Although championship points were not on the table for the final race of the day, there was no less focus from the field as not only was the Emerson Fittipaldi Cup up for grabs, but €150 for the fastest lap and a set of brand new tires for each of the class winners were also on offer.

Again, Charlie lost out during the first lap shenanigans, but he set about recovering lost ground and by the midpoint of the race, he had elevated himself inside the top 5. Showing great maturity when mixing it with the class veterans, the Baltinglass native looked set for his first overall top 5 until he was run out of road on the main straight, dropping him to 6th on the penultimate lap.

He had lost too much time gathering up the car to mount a last lap challenge for 5th, but he was happy despite the hairy moment as once again he was the top rookie home and secured himself a set of brand new Toyo tires.

Save for the traditional non-championship end-of-year event at Mondello Park on October 20th, that brings the Formula Vee season to a close. Kirkistown does bring a curtain down on Charlie's Formula Vee season, as he already looks to turn his attention to 2025.