Martin Birrane facts for kids
Martin Brendan Birrane (19 August 1935 – 9 June 2018) was an Irish businessman and former racing driver. Born in Ballina, County Mayo and educated at St Muredach's College, Birrane made his money in property development, with his company Peer Group.
He was the owner of the Mondello Park racetrack in County Kildare, which is the only FIA 3 1/2 kilometre track in Ireland. It hosts domestic and international events.
He competed in the Le Mans 24 Hours ten times as a driver, winning the GT class in 1985. In 1990, he set the then Irish land speed record of 176 mph (283 km/h) on the then-unopened Westlink, now known as the M50, in Dublin.
Birrane owned Team Ireland, a NASCAR Winston Cup Series car racing team from 1991 to 1992. He was the owner of racing car manufacturer Lola Cars from 1997 until the company was closed down in 2012. The Sunday Times Rich List 2011 valued his assets at €85 million.
Birrane died in June 2018 at the age of 82.
Contents
Racing record
Complete British Saloon Car Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)
| Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | Pos. | Pts | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | Martin Birrane | Ford Falcon Sprint | D | BRH | THR | SIL | CRY | MAL | BRH | SIL 13 |
CRO | OUL | BRH Ret |
BRH NC |
NC | 0 | NC | ||
| 1969 | Martin Birrane | Ford Falcon Sprint | D | BRH DNS |
SIL 18 |
SNE 6 |
THR 5 |
SIL Ret |
CRY Ret† |
MAL Ret† |
CRO 18 |
SIL DNS |
OUL 6 |
BRH Ret |
BRH Ret |
21st | 10 | 4th | |
| 1970 | Martin Birrane | Ford Mustang | D | BRH | SNE | THR | SIL Ret |
CRY DNS |
SIL Ret |
SIL | CRO DNS |
BRH | OUL | BRH Ret |
BRH 2 |
31st | 8 | 6th | |
| 1971 | Martin Birrane | Ford Mustang Boss 302 | D | BRH | SNE 7 |
THR Ret |
SIL Ret |
CRY Ret† |
SIL Ret |
CRO | SIL 4 |
OUL 4 |
BRH DNS |
MAL | BRH 4 |
23rd | 10 | 6th | |
| 1972 | Cona Coffee Machine Company | Ford Mustang Boss 302 | D | BRH Ret |
OUL 8 |
THR Ret |
SIL 7 |
CRY 8† |
BRH Ret |
OUL Ret |
SIL 7 |
MAL | BRH Ret |
26th | 10 | 6th | |||
| 1973 | Martin Birrane | Ford Mustang Boss 302 | D | BRH | SIL | THR | THR | SIL | ING | BRH | SIL DNS |
BRH | NC | 0 | NC | ||||
| 1974 | Adlards of Brixton | Ford Capri 3000 GT | C | MAL 7† |
BRH 7 |
SIL 15 |
OUL | THR | SIL | THR | BRH | ING | BRH 7† |
OUL | SNE | BRH Ret |
22nd | 15 | 6th |
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† Events with 2 races staged for the different classes.
Complete World Sportscar Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Pos. | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Motor Racing Facilities | GTS | Datsun 240Z | Datsun 2.4 L6 | BUE | DAY | SEB | BRH | MNZ | SPA | TAR | NÜR | LMS DNQ |
ÖST | |||||||
| Alain de Cadenet | S 3.0 |
Duckhams LM | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | GLN Ret |
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| 1973 | Crowne Racing | GT 3.0 |
Porsche 911 Carrera RS | Porsche 3.0 F6 | DAY | VAL | DIJ | MNZ DNQ |
SPA | TAR | NÜR | LMS | ÖST | GLN | |||||||
| 1974 | Escuderia Montjuich | S 2.0 |
Lola T294 | Ford Cosworth BDG 2.0 L4 | MNZ | SPA | NÜR | IMO | LMS | ÖST | GLN | LEC | BRH Ret |
KYA | |||||||
| 1977 | Dorset Racing | S 2.0 |
Lola T294S | Ford Cosworth FVC 2.0 L4 | DIJ | MNZ | VAL | PER | EST NC |
LEC | IMO | SAL | |||||||||
| 1980 | Frox Clothing Company Ltd. | Gr.5 | Lotus Esprit S1 | Ford Cosworth BDG 2.0 L4 | DAY | BRH | MUG | MNZ | SIL DNS |
NÜR | |||||||||||
| Dorset Racing Associates | S 2.0 |
Lola T297 | LMS 22 |
GLN | MOS | VAL | DIJ | ||||||||||||||
| 1981 | Dorset Racing Associates | S +2.0 |
De Cadenet-Lola LM | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | DAY | SEB | MUG | MNZ | RSD | SIL | NÜR | LMS Ret |
PER | DAY | GLN | SPA | MOS | ROA | 157th | 16 | |
| S 2.0 |
Lola T297 | Ford Cosworth BDG 2.0 L4 | BRH 7 |
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| 1982 | Chevron Cars | Gr.6 | Chevron B36 | Ford Cosworth BDG 2.0 L4 | MNZ | SIL Ret |
NÜR | LMS Ret |
SPA 16 |
MUG | FUJ | BRH 20 |
NC | 0 | |||||||
| 1983 | Peer Racing | C | Ford C100 | Cosworth DFL 3.3 V8 | MNZ | SIL | NÜR | LMS Ret |
SPA | FUJ | KYA | NC | 0 | ||||||||
| 1985 | Helmut Gall | B | BMW M1 | BMW M88 3.5 L6 | MUG | MNZ | SIL | LMS 15 |
NC | 0 | |||||||||||
| Jens Winther | C2 | URD C83 | HOC 14 |
MOS | SPA | BRH | |||||||||||||||
| Barlett Chevron Racing | Chevron B62 | Cosworth DFL 3.3 V8 | FUJ Ret |
SHA | |||||||||||||||||
| 1986 | Martin Schanche Racing | C2 | Argo JM19 | Zakspeed 1.8 L4t | MNZ | SIL | LMS Ret |
NOR | BRH | JER | NÜR | SPA | FUJ | NC | 0 | ||||||
| 1988 | PC Automotive | C2 | Argo JM19C | Cosworth DFL 3.3 V8 | JER | JAR | MNZ Ret |
SIL | NC | 0 | |||||||||||
| Chamberlain Engineering | Spice SE86C | Hart 418T 1.8 L4t | LMS Ret |
BRN | BRH Ret |
NÜR | SPA | FUJ | SAN | ||||||||||||
- Footnotes
Complete European F5000 Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Pos. | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Crowne Racing | Brabham BT43 | Chevrolet 5.0 V8 | BRH | MAL | SIL | OUL | BRH | ZOL | THR | ZAN | MUG | MNZ Ret |
MAL DNQ |
MON | THR Ret |
BRH | OUL | SNE | MAL | BRH | NC | 0 |
Complete Shellsport International Series results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Pos. | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | David Price Racing | Chevron B29 | Ford BDA 1.6 L4 | MAL | SNE | OUL | BRH | THR | BRH DNQ |
MAL | SNE | NC | 0 | ||||||
| Martin Birrane | Ford BDA Nicholson 1.6 L4 | BRH 25 |
THR | OUL | BRH DNS |
BRH | |||||||||||||
| 1977 | Martin Birrane | Chevron B29 | Ford BDA 1.6 L4 | MAL | SNE | OUL | BRH | MAL | THR | BRH | OUL | MAL | DON | BRH Ret |
THR | SNE | BRH | NC | 0 |
24 Hours of Le Mans results
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 |  Motor Racing Facilities Ltd. |
Robert Grant Sergé Troch |
Datsun 240Z | GTS | - | DNQ | DNQ |
| 1977 | Dorset Racing Associates |
Ian Harrower Ernst Berg Richard Down |
Lola T294S-Ford Cosworth | S 2.0 |
212 | NC | NC |
| 1978 | Dorset Racing Associates |
Bob Evans Richard Down |
Lola T294S-Ford Cosworth | S 2.0 |
23 | DNF | DNF |
| 1980 | Dorset Racing Associates |
Peter Clarke Nick Mason |
Lola T297-Ford Cosworth | S 2.0 |
263 | 22nd | 3rd |
| 1981 | Dorset Racing Associates |
Nick Faure Vivian Candy |
De Cadenet-Lola LM-Ford Cosworth | S +2.0 |
171 | DNF | DNF |
| 1982 | Chevron Cars |
John Sheldon Neil Crang |
Chevron B36-Ford Cosworth | Gr.6 | 57 | DNF | DNF |
| 1983 | Peer Racing |
 François Migault David Kennedy |
Ford C100 | C | 16 | DNF | DNF |
| 1985 |  Helmut Gall |
Edgar Dören Jean-Paul Libert |
BMW M1 | B | 307 | 15th | 1st |
| 1986 |  Martin Schanche Racing |
Martin Schanche Torgye Kleppe |
Argo JM19-Zakspeed | C2 | 1 | DNF | DNF |
| 1988 | Chamberlain Engineering |
Richard Jones Nick Adams |
Spice SE86C-Hart | C2 | 223 | DNF | DNF |
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