Neil Shanahan

Neil Shanahan (born June 28th, 1979 in Dublin, Ireland; died May 31, 1999 in Cheshire, England) was an Irish racing driver. He was killed at age 19 in a crash on the fifth round of the British World Championship at Oulton Park. The incident happened in a three-car collision on approach to Clay Hill^[1]. The Formula Ford championship, which Shanahan was contesting, is one of the most important training grounds for young drivers pursuing a career in motorsport, and the vast majority of current Formula One drivers, including all the Britons currently at the top level, competed in previous versions of the category.^[2]

Shanahan began go-karting at the age of 13. By the time he was 16, he came runner-up in the Formula A1 Karting Championship of 1996. In 1997 Shanahan was the winner of the Formula Ford DHL Star of Tomorrow (winning 10 out 11 races that season), winner of the Phoenix Park Motor Races, and awarded the Dunlop Sexton Trophy for Driver of the Year. In 1998 Shanhan won the Ford of Ireland Championship, was awarded the Barney Manley Trophy^[3] for the Best Irish International Driver, alongside the Dunlop Sexton Trophy for the second year running.

In 1999, Shanahan signed for the Van Diemen Works Team in the United Kingdom to compete in the British and European Formula Ford Championship. The Van Diemen Formula Ford team was the starting point for many successful drivers - amongst the most notable being Ayrton Senna and Eddie Irvine.^[4] That year Shanahan was also named Motorsports News "Race Ace" for his overtaking maneuvers at Brands Hatch, in the fourth round of the season.

The Neil Shanahan Memorial Trophy was commissioned by Ford UK in 1999; the porcelain trophy is awarded annually to the winner of the World Finals of the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch^[5]. The Neil Shanahan Perpetual Trophy "The Chequered Flag" was commissioned by the Shanahan family, designed and made in silver and slate, the Perpetual Trophy is awarded annually to the Irish Junior Karting Champion.

References

1. ^ http://www.rte.ie/news/1999/0531/crash.html
2. ^ http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/motor-racing-teenage-driver-dies-after-crash-at-oulton-park-1097490.html
3. ^ http://www.motorsportireland.com/Libraries/Bulletins/May_99.sflb.ashx
4. ^ http://www.rfrcars.com/rfr/people
5. ^ http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Trophy+honours+life+of+tragic+race+hero.-a060334992

Persondata
Name	Shanahan, Neil
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1979
Place of birth
Date of death	May 31, 1999
Place of death

This biographical article related to auto racing is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: Irish racecar drivers 1979 births 1999 deaths People from Dublin (city) Irish people stubs Auto racing biography stubs Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР Neil Shaffer Neil Shardlow Look at other dictionaries: Neil Smith (American football) — Neil Smith Position(s) Defensive end Jersey #(s) 90, 91 Born April 10, 1966 (1966 04 10) (age 45) New Orleans, Louisiana Career information …   Wikipedia Neil Brady — Born April 12, 1968 (1968 04 12) (age 43) Montreal, QC, CAN Height …   Wikipedia Neil Brady — Données clés Nationalité  Canada Né le 12 avril 1968, Montréal (Canada) Taille 1 …   Wikipédia en Français Mike Shanahan — (front) and Bill Belichick talking at a New England Patriots training camp on August 4, 2009. Date of birth August 24, 1952 (1952 08 24) (age 59) Place of birth …   Wikipedia Dan Neil (American football) — Not to be confused with former Chicago Bears offensive lineman Dan Neal. Dan Neil Position(s) Guard Jersey #(s) 62 Born October 21, 1973 (1973 10 21) (age 38) Houston, Texas …   Wikipedia Aaron Shanahan — Football player infobox playername = Aaron Shanahan fullname = Aaron Shanahan height = Height|m=1.85 nickname = dateofbirth = birth date and age|1984|4|20 cityofbirth = Drogheda countryofbirth = Ireland currentclub = Dundalk clubnumber = position …   Wikipedia Driver deaths in British motorsport series — This article is about driver deaths in British domestic series. For drivers who have died at British circuits while competing in International series, see Driver deaths in motorsport. Motorsport of any type, or at any level, is dangerous by its… …   Wikipedia Denver Broncos — Current season Established 1960 Play in Sports Authority Field at Mile High Denver, Colorado Headquartered in the Paul D. Bowlen Memorial Centre Dove Valley, Colorado …   Wikipedia Mike Heimerdinger — Date of birth October 13, 1952(1952 10 13) Place of birth Dekalb, Illinois Date of death September 30, 2011(2011 09 30) (aged 58) Place of death Mexico Team(s) as a coach/administrator 1975–1977 1978–1979 1980 …   Wikipedia NHL 2006/07 — National Hockey League ◄ vorherige Saison 2006/07 nächste ► Meister …   Deutsch Wikipedia 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”