Prestigious award for Mullingar's Jordan Dempsey

Jordan Dempsey from Mullingar has been selected as Motorsport Ireland's Young Racing Driver of the Month for September.

The 16 year-old closed the Irish racing season in style, taking second place in both his heat and the final of the Martin Donnelly Trophy Formula Ford races at Kirkistown, finishing close behind the newly crowned British National Formula Ford champion in both races.

The teenager did most of his racing in Britain during the year, and despite every one of the circuits being new to him, he scored a fourth and three sixth places in the championship rounds.

In the final race of the series at Croft, he was forced to start from the back of the grid, and made his way through the field to take sixth position, coming within a few hundredths of a second of setting the fastest lap.

He will complete his year’s racing with the season’s climax of the two major Formula Ford races, the Festival at Brands Hatch and the Walter Hayes Trophy at Silverstone, during the next few weeks.

Jordan began karting at the age of 9, switching to cars in 2014 when he contested the Ginetta Junior class. He was Ginetta champion last year, and realised an ambition when he started in Formula Ford at the beginning of this season.

He was runner up in the 2015 Young Racing Driver of the Year Award, and as a result, became part of Team Ireland. Jordan said: “Being part of Team Ireland has helped me significantly during the year, especially in my physical fitness and mental preparation before each race”.

Jordan’s sponsors are Novitas, Ergo, Comsys, Sureskills, Motorsport Car Preparation, P1 Digital, and Tim Buckley Race Management. He attends Mullingar Community College, where he is a 6th year student.

Having been selected as the sixth and final Driver of the Month for the 2016 season, Jordan is now a contender for the prestigious Motorsport Ireland Young Racing Driver of the Year Award and the historic Sexton Trophy.

This award is presented annually and is supported by Sport Ireland (formerly the Irish Sports Council) and Motorsport Ireland.