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Martin Birrane prior to the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1986Birrane's blue racing car
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.
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]
^Irish Times, 9 November 1990 [full citation needed]
^Stout, Harold (3 May 1992). "Aiming High". The Tuscaloosa News. Tuscaloosa, AL. p. C1. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
^"Martin Birrane dies aged 82". RTE.ie. 11 June 2018. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
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...
that specialized in carbon fibre production. Lola was acquired by MartinBirrane in 1997 after the unsuccessful MasterCard Lola attempt at Formula One...
Formula One, Indy car, and sports car racing. Broadley sold Lola to MartinBirrane in 1997. Eric Broadley was indentured to a building company as a young...
Park, Ireland's only international motorsport venue. Established by MartinBirrane in 1968 on 45 hectares (110 acres), and redeveloped in 1999/2000, the...
Finally Went Solo at 75". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 26 September 2020. Kielty, Martin (17 April 2018). "Nick Mason Forms Supergroup to Play Early Pink Floyd Music"...
three spots. Helmut Gall returned with his car, this time driven by MartinBirrane, Edgar Dören and Jean-Paul Libert. The veteran Claude Haldi did not...
co-driver. Dorset Racing were back with their Lola-Ford, driven by MartinBirrane, Peter Clark and Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason. There were also two...
Mondello was purchased by businessman MartinBirrane with the Royal Irish Automobile Club in 1986, and Birrane bought the facility outright one year later...
June – Alan O'Neill, 47, actor (Fair City, Sons of Anarchy). 9 June – MartinBirrane, 82, businessman, racing driver and team owner (Lola Cars). 13 June...
NASCAR Winston Cup Series between 1991 and 1992. Owned by Irishman MartinBirrane, the team posted a best finish of thirteenth with driver Bobby Hillin...
company went into receivership several weeks later. Irish entrepreneur MartinBirrane purchased the company and oversaw a revival in the company's fortunes;...
Rothmans F5000 Championship Round at Monza on 30 June 1974, driven by MartinBirrane. Former Australian Drivers' Champion Kevin Bartlett used the Chevrolet...
engine with a 3.3-litre version. Peer Racing entered David Kennedy and MartinBirrane in the new Thundersports series, but the pair crashed out of the season...
evidenced by Ford and Renault, and longer for Porsche, Matra and Aston Martin. The notable exception was Ferrari who won at their first attempt – the...
Birchenough's Dorset Racing Associates. Nick was invited to join Irishmen MartinBirrane and Vivian Candy with the driving duties. Also disgruntled after the...
improvement to the problematic Cosworth DFL engine. Irish gentleman-racer MartinBirrane wanted to move into Group C and bought one of the C100 cars that raced...
Martin Schanche (born 1 January 1945), nicknamed "Mister Rallycross", is a Norwegian former racing driver and politician. Schanche was born in Trondheim...
DNQ TS 3.0 47 Motor Racing Facilities (private entrant) Robert Grant MartinBirrane Serge Trosch Datsun 240Z Datsun 2394cc F6 D Did not qualify DNQ GTS...
97, Indian politician. Joan Bernard Armstrong, 77, American judge. MartinBirrane, 82, Irish businessman, racing driver and team owner (Lola Cars). Françoise...
consortium of enthusiasts and drivers, including MartinBirrane, were trying to restore the brand. Birrane entered a B36, equipped with a Cosworth BDX engine...
Silverstone. Team principals Gordon Spice and Ray Bellm sequestered Jean-Michel Martin as their third driver for the race. With Spice now building their own cars...
7–8 Lars-Viggo Jensen 1 David Mercer 2–5, 7–8 Margie Smith-Haas 4 MartinBirrane 5 Automobiles Louis Descartes ALD 01 BMW M88 3.5 L I6 A 93 Louis Descartes...
Tony Trimmer Lola T460 Ford BDA Swindon 1.6 L4 9 David Price Racing 26 MartinBirrane Chevron B29 Ford BDA 1.6 L4 6 Marshall Wingfield 26 Jim Crawford Chevron...
over an eleven race series which ran from 6 March to 20 November 1988. Martin Brundle was awarded the World Sports Prototype Championship for Drivers...
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