Passion for Speed - History Lessons

‘‘There’s much to be said about the unwavering love and care that goes into restoring a classic car. Logical thinking men spending morbid amounts of money, telling tall lies about the true cost of parts, sourcing rare items from foreign lands at eye watering exchange rates and sacrificing an unreasonable amount of time often doing the work with nothing but a few oil stained faded photo copies from books that don’t exist anymore or, if you’re lucky, a YouTube instructional...only then to go race it around a track with reckless abandon.”

Of some of the earliest memories, thanks to events like the ‘Passion for Speed’, I recall the likes of David Piper’s Ferrari P4 and a series of Porsche 917s, 962s and Lola T70, tearing around the circuit. Killarney has this way of attracting and keeping that support. This year saw the 19th year and served up a day of action for anyone that decided to join in. They say that that golden age of motorsport is long gone? Yes, the situation’s changed a fair amount, and we have Greta Thunberg preaching about climate change, but the number of international competitors who have braved the journey to keep the love for motor racing going is something to take note of. As far as I see it, as long as there’s a will to share such things, motor racing stays alive. Period. Different, but very much so alive.