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.

Martin Birrane prior to the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1986
Birrane's blue racing car

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.[1]

Birrane owned Team Ireland, a NASCAR Winston Cup Series car racing team from 1991 to 1992.[2] 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.[3]

Racing record

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Complete British Saloon Car Championship results

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(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
Source:[4]

† Events with 2 races staged for the different classes.

Complete World Sportscar Championship results

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(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 [N 1]
Alain de Cadenet S
3.0
Duckhams LM Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 GLN
Ret
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 [N 1]
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 [N 1]
1977 Dorset Racing S
2.0
Lola T294S Ford Cosworth FVC 2.0 L4 DIJ MNZ VAL PER EST
NC
LEC IMO SAL [N 2]
1980 Frox Clothing Company Ltd. Gr.5 Lotus Esprit S1 Ford Cosworth BDG 2.0 L4 DAY BRH MUG MNZ SIL
DNS
NÜR [N 1]
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
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
  1. ^ a b c d No drivers' Championship.
  2. ^ In 1976 and 1977 the World Championship was divided into two series that ran simultaneously but separately: The World Sportscar Championship and the World Championship for Makes.

Complete European F5000 Championship results

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(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

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(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

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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
Source:[5]

References

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  1. ^ Irish Times, 9 November 1990 [full citation needed]
  2. ^ Stout, Harold (3 May 1992). "Aiming High". The Tuscaloosa News. Tuscaloosa, AL. p. C1. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
  3. ^ "Martin Birrane dies aged 82". RTE.ie. 11 June 2018. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  4. ^ de Jong, Frank. "British Saloon Car Championship". History of Touring Car Racing 1952-1993. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  5. ^ "All Results of Martin Birrane". racingsportscars.com. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
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