THERE have been a lot of rumblings during the close season about the future of racing at Mondello Park, and especially with the Clubmans, and for a long time there were conflicting stories about this important role in Irish racing.

But I caught up with the boss of Mondello and he was only too happy to clarify the situation.

The man responsible for running the only purposebuilt track in Ireland is John Morris.

John has been involved with racing since 1981, when he went to Mondello to help with marshalling at car events, and this got him involved with the Marshals Club of Ireland.

After a brief spell at racing in Production saloons, he returned to the Marshals Club. As he became more involved with the Marshals Club, he was 'poached' by the IMRC to get involved with Phoenix Park. His love for the 'Park' was always strong, but he saw that there were changes needed. After a lot of work the 'Park' really took off, and Rothmans were the main sponsor for a number of years.

John's family car service/sales business was also there to keep him going, and while he would do some work in the mornings, he would have to come back in the evenings after events, and work until 2 or 3 in the morning.

His work with the races didn't go unnoticed, and around this time Martin Biranne was after buying Mondello Park, and was in the process of totally renovating the track and updating it to a modern standard.

Martin made contact with John on the advice of Michael O'Carroll from RTE, and he was offered the position of circuit manager, under the wing of MD Peter de Ritter.

In 2001 John was offered the job as managing director, and since that time Martin Biranne has spent a total of € 5.5m on upgrading the track, which now includes garages, hospitality suites, a full medical unit and a full international track.

'We have to run Mondello like any other business, and sometimes this means subsidising certain events, but with the current climate we – like any other business – have to consolidate our business and make the changes.

'There are times here when I would have to ring Martin and tell him that certain classes are costing us money, and he would ask what would happen if we dropped the classes like Rallycross. It would die, came my reply, and he would tell me to keep it going.

'The old way events were run at Mondello saw the clubs hiring the circuit, but now the cost of hiring Mondello for a day Monday to Friday is € 6,500 plus VAT. But the clubs get the circuit for a special rate, and when we count up the cost of cleaning up and removing the waste, there is no money in it for the circuit.

'The average spectator attendance for the Clubmans is 117, and this not viable.'

I have found that some of the gripes from riders are about the costs of track days at Mondello, and I asked John about the differences between the cost of a track day in Mondello, compared to the likes of Kirkistown and Bishopscourt.

'Kirkistown is owned by a club, but we have a far better standard of organisation here at Mondello, and especially the medical centre which is manned at all times during track days, and we also have a professional ambulance on site, which costs € 700 for the day.

'We employ 17 full-time staff to cope with all aspects of the organisation. I could not run track days at the price they charge at these circuits.

'I believe that the whole short circuit scene has to change for the better, and I have sat down with the Short Circuit Committee and we have discussed the future of racing, and where BSB is the great product in the UK, the Irish Superbike Championship is the only outlet here.

'Mondello wanted an input into the ISB, but this was not forthcoming. After a meeting we decided not to run any Clubmans and have our own championship, which would be a pro and an amateur cup.

'This caused a lot of hassle, and we were getting a lot of threats from various areas. We decided to go back to the Short Circuit Committee and made the proposal that we would run two Clubmans and four Mondello cup events, and incorporate two ISB rounds into these events.

'This seemed to release a lot of the tension, and we have agreed to run with this format.' With the events now set for the year, I asked John about the likelihood of hosting BSB rounds or other premier events.

'BSB will never be back, as the sheer cost of running the events are prohibitive. We used to get a lot of support from Failte Ireland for the event, but that has now dried up. All the teams enjoyed coming here, but the costs are the problems.

'With the long-term future of racing at Mondello in the balance, all thoughts were put into trying to upgrade the current format of the ISB, and we believe it has the scope for a 6/8 round championship, run between the Ulster and Southern tracks, with TV coverage, but we would like to run the events as per BSB, with a team of competent officials at each round, to run a professional championship, and one that will attract the spectators back to Mondello.'

I have to be honest, I was one who for years criticised Mondello Park and the way they approached event organisation, but after my Saturday morning at the heart of the operation, I came out with a different angle on the running of the track.

The events that will be run this year will start with a one day Clubman event on April 11th, and this will be followed by a two-day Mondello Park Championship meeting on May 22nd/23rd.

Sunday July 4th will see another Mondello Park Championship event, followed by a two-day event on August 7th/8th; this will be another round of the Mondello Park Championship and will also incorporate the ISB.

The Clubmen will return for one day on September 19th, and the final event of the year will be the Mondello Masters and the Mondello Park Championship final round, along with a round of the ISB.

There is no doubt that Mondello Park is a vital link in the chain of progression of all our riders, and whether the riders decide to remain on the tracks or progress to the roads or even further afield, they will still need the vital link that is Mondello Park.

Keep 'er lit,

- Jack CORRY