At the 50th Anniversary race meeting at Mondello Park, British visitor Michael Lyons scored a double victory, with his five litre V8-engined Lola beating Ireland’s Tommy Byrne in both rounds of the Derek Bell Trophy Championship.

Crowd favourite Tommy Byrne led for the opening lap of race one driving a Formula 1 Hesketh once raced by 1976 World Champion James Hunt. Byrne has been out of racing for decades, but has recently made a comeback and although hampered by a shortage of fresh tyres, managed to finish within six seconds of Lyons in the opening race, and ten seconds in the later outing.

Meath driver Dan Daly was third in both races, despite his Ralt having an engine less than half the size of that fitted to Lyons’ car, with the V8 McLaren of Alain Girardet fourth each time.

The biggest Mondello crowd for a long time cheered Ireland’s Ladies Hockey team member Nicci Daly on her way to seventh place in the Future Classics race, only her second motor race ever.