Melia and Mawhinney - Mondello's Men | Formula Vee Round 6 Review

By Evan Dalton

Conor Melia takes turn one en-route to a front row starting position | Photos by @RaceDayDori

It has been an up and down year for Irish Formula Vee. While there have been highs, there have been a lot of lows. More often than not, perplexed faces fill parc ferme. The drivers will mostly leave Mondello however with damped race cars, and not damped spirits, as Ireland’s largest single seater class enjoys one of its most successful weekends to date. 

Wicklow’s Jack Byrne enters Round 6 as the man to beat. Byrne put up some phenomenal performances in the opening rounds of the championship to race into a comfortable series lead. 

His nearest competitor is Conor Melia, who returns to Mondello more melancholy than most. It is no secret that SM Racing haven’t hit the ground running in 2026 with Melia. A plethora of issues has plagued the No.56 driver, but his ability to drive a race car certainly hasn’t disappeared, and the team have worked tirelessly to get their man back on top.

Formula Vee qualifying was delayed on Saturday morning, rather ironically, due to an oil spill. The drivers eventually hit the circuit in wet and windy conditions, and getting a qualifying lap in before the chaos was critical. Melia and Byrne traded times at the top, with Andy Keogh also enjoying a brief stint in the purple. 

Remarkably however, Formula Vee debutant and RTA Virtual Motorsport Formula Vee scholarship winner, Travis Mawhinney, would end the session quickest. Shockwaves were sent through the paddock, as the Armagh native soared to the top.

The tremors were short-lived however, as Mawhinney was excluded for being underweight. He was sent to the back of the 21 car field, and Byrne inherited pole position. 

If you had a euro for every time a Formula Vee session was delayed this weekend due to an oil spill, you’d have two euro, which isn’t a lot but it’s rather strange it happened twice. The attempted clearance of oil mixed with wet made the circuit extremely slippy, and the drivers would have to thread very carefully across the 15 minute race. 

The initial launch was even across the front row, but the winner off the line was fourth place qualifier Kieran Hannan. Melia took the lead into turn one, but struggled to get the car hooked up on the exit of the hairpin, and Hannan snuck his way past. He led on the run down to turn three.

Colin Lewis rotated around on the opening lap, but certainly wasn’t the only one. Niall O’Mara would also find himself facing the wrong direction. O'Mara started the race from third with one of his strongest qualifying efforts to date.

Melia re-took the lead from Hannan heading on to lap two. The conditions remained extremely treacherous, as found out the hard way by Sean McCallion, Oliver Devlin and Ger Byrne. They all went off at the first corner. 

A trip to the gravel for Oliver Devlin | Photo by @RaceDayDori

The fastest starter however, was the last starter. Qualifying wasn’t the last of the Mawhinney magic, as the youngster gained a remarkable 12 positions on the opening two laps, and found himself in 9th after just a handful of minutes. The pink and grey No.88 ducked and dove its way through the mid pack. 

At the summit, Melia made a meal of turn one, and Byrne was able to slip his way back through. A leading pack of five were practically stuck together and separated by a handful of tenths. Melia gathered it together and made an attempt to get past Byrne on the exit of two. He was joined by former race winner Karl O’Sullivan, who utilised the extra tarmac added to that section of circuit, and made it three wide for the lead. 

Jack Byrne and Conor come close to contact | Photos by Jack Wynne

Byrne held on, and O’Sullivan tucked back in behind through turn three. Heading down the crest towards the paddock, O’Sullivan tried an ambitious move around the outside of four, and pirouetted into the gravel. He was able to recover, but a safety car had already been called. 

Byrne controlled the restart, but was harried by Melia, who got the run on him down to turn three once again, and this time was able to pull it off. The SM Racing machine was back in the lead. 

The battle for third was similar, with Hannan and Mawhinney making contact on the exit of two. Both stayed pointing in the right direction, and Mawhinney found himself in the podium positions, after starting 21st. 

Hannan and Mawhinney get up close and personal | Photos by Jack Wynne

The race boasted a number of impressive rookies and first timers, with Kevin Joyce, Harry Dowling and Sam Doyle putting in impressive, mistake-free laps. Both were in recently built machines, the former by James Friel Motorsport who once again expanded their Formula Vee operations. Doyle didn’t exclusively race Vees this weekend, and suited up on Sunday to race in his regular Fiesta Zetec championship. All three embody the spirit of Vees and will hopefully be back on track soon. 

Kevin Joyce being shown the ropes by fellow rookie, Sean McClements | Photos by @RaceDayDori

The rookie win would eventually fall the way of Mawhinney however, in one of the most remarkable debutant displays in Irish motorsport. Mawhinney danced the car across the asphalt all day, perfectly inputting every correction to tackle the conditions. He was one with his temporary machine. The car was an orchestra and he was the conductor. Total control at all times, and could easily be confused as a veteran of the sport. To paraphrase Martin Brundle, the boy just went and found grip. 

Jonny Hollywood celebrates with the driver of his car, Travis Mawhinney | Photo by Jack Wynne

The battle continued at the front, but Byrne just couldn’t find a way back past Melia. The Lucan native crossed the finish line to take his first win of 2026, and second of his career.

“I still can’t quite believe it,” said Melia. It was the longest race of my life. It feels great to win a second one, proving it wasn’t a fluke.” 

Melia wasn’t the only man from the capital to take victory in Formula Vee, with Andy Keogh earning Tyredoctor.ie B Championship honours. It marks Keogh’s first class win since moving to a Leastone chassis. 

Tears certainly weren’t extinct amongst the SM Racing and Melia crew as the emotions of the previous four months boiled over. Melia, his family and SM Racing stood arm in arm once again. The next chapter has started. 

Celebrations within SM Racing and the Melia clan | Photo by @RaceDayDori

Full Top 10 

1. Melia

2. J.Byrne

3. Mawhinney

4. Hannan

5. Keogh

6. Flynn

7. Begley

8. G.Byrne

9. O’Mara

10. Doyle

Fastest Lap : 1.13.689 [Melia]

Tyredoctor.ie B Championship Podium

1. Keogh

2. Flynn

3. Begley

Rookie Championship Podium

1. Mawhinney

2. Joyce

3. Dowling

Conor Melia, Jack Byrne and Travis Mawhinney on the podium | Photo by Jack Wynne