Niall Breen (23, Ireland), Jono Lester (20, New Zealand), Tim Sandtler (22, Germany), Harald Schlegelmilch (22, Latvia) and Ferdinand Stuck (18, Germany) share up to €180,000 as a cash injection into their racing budgets for the international Porsche Mobil1 Supercup or the Carrera Cup Deutschland.

One of the five selected drivers, Niall Breen totally dominated the 2006 Formula BMW UK Championship, taking the title with nine out of 20 race wins before moving into British Formula 3 and finishing fifth overall the following year with Carlin Motorsport. In 2008 he contested most of the Formula 3 Euro Series with Manor Motorsport before running into budgetary problems. Now he follows in the footsteps of fellow Irishman, Damien Faulkner, who was twice runner-up in the Porsche Supercup series.

Breen, from Dundalk was enthusiastic about his new challenge in the Porsche Mobile 1 Supercup series, which supports nine of the Formula 1 fixtures, saying: “I'm delighted to be back racing and I'm looking forward to this new challenge in 2010 and beyond.

“I enjoyed my career in single-seaters but the current economic situation resulted in funding becoming more difficult to source. I'm currently working on raising the extra budget to compete and would like to thank all my sponsors who have supported me in my racing career to date. I look forward to working with them again in the near future.

“During the test, it felt like I'd never stopped racing! We each had a 5-lap installation run on new tyres followed by a 7-lap test on Thursday morning. In the afternoon, we had a further 10 laps on the same tyres. Then on Friday morning, I had a 3-lap run on Thursday's tyres before pitting for new tyres for my final six laps.

“Porsche Motorsport is very professional in all respects and the preparation of the car was excellent. I would like to thank Jens Walther, Head of Porsche's brand trophy series, for the invitation and selecting me to become part of the programme”, said Breen.

With this, Porsche writes yet another chapter in its long-standing and hugely successful junior development programme in motorsport. “We're very pleased with this talent search,” summarised Jens Walther. “All participants were extremely disciplined. We had neither an accident nor a technical defect with the three brand-new vehicles. We carefully weighed up each candidate against each other. The five drivers we selected can rightfully call themselves a “Porsche Motorsport Talent”. All in all, we were very impressed by the standard of participants and hope to see as many of them as possible contesting the Porsche one-make series.”

Twelve drivers from six countries spent two days, last Thursday and Friday, February 4/5th testing three 450 hp Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race cars at the Vallelunga Circuit in Italy. Each driver had the same number of new tyres at their disposal and assisted by Porsche engineers, they each worked on setting up the vehicles.

Porsche racing aces Jeroen Bleekemolen and Jan Seyffarth were on hand to give participants valuable tips and advice, assisted by computer-aided data analyses. In 2008 and 2009, Bleekemolen won the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup, with former Porsche Junior Jan Seyffarth securing third in last year's Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland. The budding young racers were also judged on criteria such as personality as well as team and communication skills.

Porsche Mobil1 Supercup 2010
12/14 March, Bahrain *; 7/9 May, Barcelona; 14/16 May, Monaco; 25/27 June, Valencia; 9/11 July, Silverstone; 23/25 July, Hockenheim; 30 July/1 August, Budapest; 27/29 August, Spa-Francorchamps; 10/12 September, Monza.
* 2 races.

Dunlop Motorsport Ireland - Young Racing Driver of the Month

Posted by NB on 31/08/08

Dunlop Motorsport Ireland - Young Racing Driver of the Month - July 2008
22 year old, Niall Breen has once again secured himself a place as a contender for the prestigious Dunlop Young Racing Driver of the Year Award. The young Dundalk lad, who is currently contesting the Formula 3 Euroseries, has been selected as the Dunlop Young Racing Driver of the Month for July.

Niall, who is supported by Bar 1 Racing, Tiffen Developments, Colm Meehan Homes, Go Fast Sports and City Waste, achieved a second place podium finish at Nurburgring on July 27th. Having completed his Law Degree in June 2007, Niall is currently putting his racing career first, with Formula One being his ultimate goal.

Niall is now the fourth of six contenders to be short-listed for the Dunlop Young Racing Driver of the Year Award, which has a total prize fund of €50,000. This award is presented annually and is sponsored by Irish Dunlop Ltd. with additional support from the Irish Sports Council and Motorsport Ireland.

More Points With Second For Breen In Germany

Posted by NB on 28/07/08

Niall Breen grabbed a total of seven points last weekend in Rounds 11 and 12 of the Formula 3 Euroseries Championship at the Nurburgring short circuit in Germany, by taking eighth in Saturday's race and then following that up with a fine second place from pole position in Sunday's 28-lapper.

Racing with British team Manor Motorsport in his Mercedes powered Bar One Racing Dallara F308, Breen had a few tyre pressure problems in qualifying for Saturday's race and from fourth dropped down to 16th on the grid.

However at the start of the race he shot straight into 10th place by the end of the first lap and then passed two other cars to settle in eighth behind British driver Jon Lancaster for the remainder of the 28 laps.

Eighth place then gave the Dundalk driver pole position for Round 12 on Sunday. He was alongside Lancaster on the front row and as the lights turned green, he had the advantage over Lancaster but as they headed into the first corner, Breen's Dallara locked up and Lancaster pushed through into the lead.

Although he tried hard to regain the lead, overtaking was virtually impossible and all Breen could do was hang on to the exhaust of Lancaster's ART Grand Prix car for the duration. At times, the pair was tantalisingly close but as the race drew to an end, Breen followed Lancaster home by a mere 0.723s to take his first podium in what has been a very tough season. Having been the meat in an ART Grand Prix sandwich throughout, Niall finished clear of Jules Bianchi and Williams F1 test driver Nico Hulkenberg.

He also took the second fastest lap of the race and was pleased to be the first Manor Motorsport driver home, saying: 'This weekend has certainly made amends for the last couple of races. I would have liked to win but there was nothing more I could do to get by Lancaster and at least I took a few more points this weekend.'

Breen now lies 13th in the series with nine points and is the second of the Manor Motorsport drivers on the leaderboard. Although the F3 Euroseries resumes at Brands Hatch in the UK on August on 29th - 31st August, Breen competes in the F3 Masters in Zolder, Belgium on August 9th/10th.

First Point for Niall Breen In F3 Euroseries

Posted by NB on 04/05/08

Dundalk's Niall Breen, scored his first point of the season in the tough Formula 3 Euroseries Championship, when he finished sixth on Sunday morning at Mugello in Italy with top British team Manor Motorsport in his Mercedes powered Bar One Racing Dallara F308.

Breen, who finished fifth in his rookie British Formula 3 season last year, has been working hard to learn to drive the new Dallara chassis on Kumho tyres and finally it all came together for the 21-year old last weekend for the third and fourth rounds of the series. He was the first Manor Motorsport driver home in Sunday's race.

Breen said: 'I think it's one of the toughest championships in the world and any one of 29 drivers can win races. It's totally different to British Formula 3 in which the cars, by comparison, seem to be on rails with the Avon tyres. It's taken me a little while to learn how to drive the car differently and we made some changes in testing at Snetterton last week and that made all the difference. I'm going in the right direction now and took the second fastest lap in the second race this weekend. I'm really pleased with how it's going and to be in the points now.'

Breen qualified 11th for Saturday's race at Mugello and quickly shot into 10th at the start of the 21-lapper. A lap later and the Dundalk driver had demoted James Jakes for ninth before inheriting eighth spot on lap 17.

Niall spent some time trying to get past Frenchman Yann Clairay, the pair racing wheel to wheel through several bends but as Breen was on old tyres this allowed Dani Clos to close right up and snatch eighth on the first bend of the final lap. Losing eighth place robbed Breen of pole position for the second race as the grid is reversed for the top eight places of the first race.

So Breen was on ninth grid position for the second race on Sunday but he was in determined mood and by the second lap had taken both Clos and Franck Mailleux for seventh place. He was then right on the exhaust of his Manor Motorsport team mate Koudai Tsukakoshi and Niall finally made his move stick on lap 10 after the Japanese driver ran wide allowing him through.

From then on he glued his Bar One Racing Dallara to the back of Williams F1 test driver Nico Hulkenberg but despite setting the second fastest lap of the race, he had to settle for sixth place and his first point of the season.

The next race of the F3 Euroseries takes place at the Pau Circuit in France on May 31/June 1 when Niall will be the subject of a half hour RPM Motorsport television documentary programme.

Niall Breen signs for Manor Motorsport in F3 Euroseries

Posted by NB on 01/01/08

Dundalk's Niall Breen, who finished fifth in his rookie British Formula 3 season, announced in Dublin today that he has signed with top Formula 3 Euroseries team, Manor Motorsport, for the 2008 season.

Breen has been setting new standards for Irish drivers this year, having taken a rookie victory in the British Formula 3 Championship with Carlin Motorsport at Snetterton in June, the first Irish driver to win a race since Michael Keohane in April 2002. He also took four runner-up positions at Donington Park, Bucharest, Thruxton and Croft during the course of the year, finishing in a fine fifth place with 145 points. He also competed in the Macau street circuit in China last month and finished 10th in the qualifier before being taken out in the main race.

Breen, 21, said: "I've had an extremely good rookie season in the British Formula 3 Championship and I'm certain I can be very competitive in the Formula 3 Euroseries with Manor Motorsport next year. With a race win and four second places during the year, I'd like to thank Carlin Motorsport and my engineer, Jimmy Goodwin, for giving me that opportunity."

He continued: "Now I'm really looking forward to racing in Europe - it'll be a new challenge to learn the new circuits which will stand me in good stead for the future. We'll have the new Mercedes-powered Dallara F308 chassis and I'll be testing it on December 14 at Pembrey. My new engineer, Pete Sliwinski, is very experienced and we got on well at the initial test I did in October with the team. I'm confident we'll be winning races in '08."

John Booth, boss of Yorkshire-based Manor Motorsport, commented: "I've been watching Niall for two or three years, since he was in the Formula BMW UK series and won the title in 2006. I'm delighted to have him in the team and pleased that he's had the courage to step up to the Euroseries as it would have been easier for him to succeed in the British F3 Championship. The Euroseries is much tougher and I'm sure he's going to win races in his first year."

Breen put himself firmly in motorsport's history books by dominating the 2006 Formula BMW UK Championship, clocking up nine wins to become the top UK series race winner of all time as he finished on the podium 16 times in 20 races.

Breen set to beat Tommy Byrne's Macau Record

Posted by NB on 08/11/07

Dundalk's Niall Breen heads to Macau for the 54th running of the Macau Grand Prix on November 15-18 and the silver jubilee of the Formula 3 race around the famous Chinese street circuit.

He becomes the first driver from the Republic of Ireland to bid for Macau glory for many years and is also hoping to improve on the performance of his fellow former Dundalk racer, Tommy Byrne, who competed in Macau in 1983 and '84, when he took an eighth place best finish. Now 24 years later, Breen accepts that the first year at Macau is to learn the street circuit but is clearly focussed on taking the highest place finish ever for an Irish driver in this prestigious race.

Breen makes the long haul trip with Carlin Motorsport, the team that helped him to fifth place in the Lloyds TSB British Formula 3 Championship this year after a victory at Snetterton and four second places. Carlin is taking four drivers to Macau including Breen's team mate this year, Sam Bird. However, there's a wealth of experience within the field and Breen competes against Bruno Senna, nephew of the late Ayrton, as well as reigning British F3 Champion, Estonian Marko Asmer and Britain's Oliver Jarvis amongst a field of 31.

Said Breen: 'Macau is regarded as a two-year programme, the first is to learn the circuit and the second is to win the race! I really want to do well in this first outing and fly the flag for Ireland. I enjoy street circuits and have raced in karts at Monaco and in Formula 3 at Bucharest this year, where I finished second. I'm hoping to get to grips with Macau quickly.'

The 21-year old has already placed himself firmly in motorsport's history books by dominating the 2006 Formula BMW UK Championship, clocking up nine wins to become the top UK series race winner of all time as he finished on the podium 16 times in 20 races.

For the second year running Breen is in line to win the Dunlop Motorsport Ireland Young Driver of the Year, which will be announced in Dublin on Tuesday, December 4th. He narrowly missed out on the award last year having won the 2006 Formula BMW UK title.

The Macau Grand Prix is held in such esteem that 19 out of the current 22 Formula 1 drivers have competed in the race during their careers, with David Coulthard (1991), Ralf Schumacher (1995) and Takuma Sato (2001) all winners of the event. Ulsterman and former Formula 1 driver, Martin Donnelly, won the Macau F3 race in 1987 and recently gave Breen sound advice for his forthcoming eastern foray: 'Enjoy yourself, learn the circuit and don't crash!'

Testing and practice 1 gets underway on Thursday, November 15 with further testing and practice 2 on Friday. The pre-final takes place on Saturday and the final on Sunday and there is an eight hour time difference ahead of the British Isles.

Niall Short-listed for Dunlop Young Racing Driver of the Year Award

Posted by NB on 15/10/07

Niall Breen, from Dundalk, Co. Louth, and Meath drivers Peter Dempsey (Ashbourne) and Niall Quinn (Dunboyne) have been short-listed for the prestigious Dunlop Young Racing Driver of the Year Award, which carries with it a share of the total prize fund of EUR 50,000, and the legendary "Sexton Trophy". The winner will be announced at Motorsport Ireland's "Dunlop Champions of Irish Motorsport Awards" lunch, which is due to be held in Dublin on 4th December.

The three qualifying drivers will now each have to demonstrate their skill and driving ability before a panel of judges, one of whom will be ex-Formula One Driver, Martin Donnelly, at a Skills Test at Mondello Park Racing Circuit. This test has been set up thanks to the support of Irish Dunlop, The Irish Sports Council and Mondello Park Ltd.

The three young candidates were selected, following an interview process on 9th October, from the six monthly winners of the "Dunlop Young Racing Driver of the Month" awards, which ran from April to September. The other three Drivers of the Month were Robert Cregan, Mark Willis and Robert Barrable.

The "Dunlop Young Racing Driver of the Year" scheme has been created by Motorsport Ireland and is being backed by the Irish Sports Council and Irish Dunlop. The aim of the award is to promote talented and committed young Irish drivers to help them progress to the highest level of International competition. The scheme complements Motorsport Ireland's "Billy Coleman Award", which is a similar venture for young aspiring rally drivers.

Breen ends Rookie F3 year with fine fifth!

Posted by NB on 30/09/07

Dundalk's Niall Breen endured a weekend of mixed fortunes at Rockingham to score more valuable points in the final two rounds of the season in the Lloyds TSB Insurance British Formula 3 Championship to finish the season in fifth place and second highest placed rookie.

He started both rounds, 21 and 22, from a somewhat lowly 11th place on the grid after both his 'hot laps' in the two sessions were spoiled by traffic. With his engineer, Jimmy Goodwin back in hospital with a recurring illness, Niall was reunited with the engineer he had in Zolder, Paul Wallace. Unfortunately, they had extra work to do as Wallace had not been at the test with Breen at Rockingham.

However, the Bar One Racing/City Waste-backed driver was prepared to fight all the way in the two remaining rounds and he made a brilliant start in the first race on Sunday morning, grabbing three places on the first lap as he past Carlin Motorsport team mate, Maro Engel, Stephen Jelley and Jonathan Kennard, who crashed out.

When his other team mate Sam Bird retired with a broken driveshaft, Breen was up to seventh and this became sixth when the 21-year old rookie finally took Australian John Martin on lap 10. From then on, Niall closed the gap to Carlin's Mario Moraes but despite the Irishman clocking up the third fastest time of the race, he couldn't pass his Brazilian team mate.

There was no further change to the order in the remaining 14 laps and Breen came home for a good sixth place behind winner Marko Asmer, the new champion taking his 11th win ahead of Atte Mustonen, Hohenthal, Rudolfo Gonzales and Moraes.

In stark contrast, Breen made a tardy start for the final race of the year, dropping back to 13th and giving himself even more to do. Meanwhile Niall's main challenger to keep his fifth place in the series, Kennard, clashed with Asmer, putting the Estonian out and leaving Kennard down the field and out of the points again.

Gonzales had the early lead for the first five laps but a drive-through penalty for an alleged jump start saw the Venezuelan back to sixth leaving Engel leading Bird. On the fifth lap, Breen took fellow Irishman Michael Devaney before setting about Jelley but try as he may, he had to settle for ninth place behind Engel, Bird, Hohenthal, Esteban Guerrieri, Mustonen, Alberto Valerio, Moraes and Jelley.

'I'm pleased to finish the series fifth behind Sam but I would really have liked to have taken the top rookie award. It's been a learning year – and only my third in cars - and apart from a mid-season blip, it went quite well. I wish my engineer Jimmy a speedy recovery and would like to thank him, my mechanics and sponsors for all their help and support', said Breen.

The championship finished with Asmer on 293 points, Engel (208 ), Jelley (183), Bird (180 ), Breen (145) and Kennard (130 ).

Fifth Podium for Breen at Croft

Posted by NB on 09/09/07

For the second meeting running, Dundalk's Niall Breen was on the podium after Round 20 of the Lloyds TSB Insurance British Formula 3 Championship at Croft Circuit on Sunday and once again the leading Carlin Motorsport driver in the race.

In the earlier Round 19, it looked as if Breen was also heading for the podium but a first corner collision with his team mate Maro Engel as Niall challenged for the second ended in tears as he locked up the wheels and both cars were sidelined.

Once again testing on Friday showed the Bar One Racing sponsored driver was clearly on the pace as he was second fastest. The 21-year old rookie took the closest possible third grid position for Round 19 qualifying on Saturday morning, a scant 0.005s behind Engel as championship leader Marko Asmer snatched pole position just ahead of the pair.

During the second qualifier, Breen again had to settle for third on the grid, this time having been eclipsed by Asmer and Jonathan Kennard.

The first race on Sunday saw Breen make a great start, racing wheel-to-wheel with Engel into the first corner behind Asmer. As Engel pushed his team mate out wide, Niall's wheels locked in a cloud of tyre smoke, the pair tangling and sending them both out of the race.

However for Round 20 later on the afternoon, Breen was determined to get a good result and as the lights flicked green, made it passed Kennard at the exit of the first corner to take second in pursuit of the newly-crowned champion, Asmer.

Once in second place, Breen was hot on Asmer's heels, the 2006 Formula BMW Champion piling the pressure on the Estonian until midway through the race. When Breen's tyres went off, Asmer was able to pull away slightly, increasing the gap between them to two seconds with Atte Mustonen even further back in third after third place Kennard went off.

As the 24-lap race ended, Asmer took the chequered flag to take his 10th win of the season with Breen taking a well-deserved second place, 3.289s behind and 5.758s clear of Mustonen. His fifth podium place elevated the Irishman back up to fifth place in the championship with the final two rounds to go at Rockingham on September 30th.

'I made a good start and didn't get squeezed at the start of the second race! My rear tyres began to go off later on and I was sliding around and I also had a bit of trouble going down through the gears in certain corners. It was my fifth podium and fourth second place, and all thanks to my engineer, Jimmy, who's back with me. I had a good test at Rockingham a couple of weeks ago, so it's all to play for there', said Breen.

With Asmer now champion with 272 points, Engel is still second with (186). Stephen Jelley (178 ) has moved up to third place ahead of Sam Bird (165), Breen (137) and Kennard (130) with the placings still to be decided at Rockingham.

Breen bounces back at Thruxton

Posted by NB on 26/08/07

Niall Breen was back on the podium in Round 18 of the Lloyds TSB Insurance British Formula 3 Championship at Thruxton Circuit on Sunday following a promising weekend saw the Dundalk driver really back in his stride and top Carlin Motorsport driver in the race.

Starting from sixth on the grid, Breen made a brilliant start, taking both Stephen Jelley and Marko Asmer off the line and Greg Mansell into the first corner. He then passed team mate, Maro Engel up the straight before the safety car emerged for two laps.

Now in second place behind Atte Mustonen, as the race progressed a slow puncture prevented Breen getting on terms and in the closing stages, Rodolfo Gonzales closed on him as the Bar One Racing Dallara started oversteering badly. Niall kept it all together to hold onto a fine second place behind Mustonen and ahead of Gonzales, Engel and Asmer.

The earlier race, Round 17 looked like another podium place or possibly even victory. However it was not to be. Starting from third on the grid but as he challenged Sebastian Hohenthal for the lead, there was a real ding dong between the pair. First Breen hit the Swede up the back and then they touched again as Niall made a move to take the lead, and this time his back wing was re-arranged.

He dropped back again onto Hohenthal's tail, who then braked early and Breen's front wing was badly broken in the impact with both cars spinning out. Niall recovered in 23rd and was left to play catch up while Hohenthal was forced to retire. Despite damage to the Bar One Racing Dallara, Breen fought his way back valiantly to finish 12th overall. The story started during testing on Friday when he was quickest in the first test session. When it came to official qualifying on Saturday for Round 17, he finished third fastest behind Hohenthal and Mustonen, and first of the Carlin Motorsport squad on the grid ahead of Sam Bird. In Saturday's second qualifying for Round 18, the 2006 Formula BMW Champion was sixth fastest behind Mustonen, Greg Mansell, Carlin team mate Engel and series leader Asmer.

'It was a pretty good weekend considering, and I really like Thruxton but it would have been even better to have finished the first race on the podium', said Breen. 'At least second place gave me another 15 points and the next round is at Croft, another track where I go well'.

With only four rounds left, Niall still holds sixth place with 122 points behind Asmer (250), Engel (178 ), Bird (150), Jelley (155) and Jonathan Kennard (130). Croft takes place on 8/9th September when Breen aims to move back up to fifth

<< Prev Next >>