Eoin and his father with the new car
Dooley in a class of his Eoin in Mondello Park
TALLAGHT native Eoin Dooley has won the Mondello Park Junior Mini Challenge Scholarship for the upcoming 2026 ICCR motorsport season, backed by Patch Tyre Equipment.
Only 16 years old, Dooley was awarded the Mondello Park Junior MINI Scholarship following a recent assessment in Mondello Park with over 20 other possible candidates.
Young drivers were marked both on their driving ability, their public speaking and media capability with the categories being awarded a 60/40 split of the marks.
The scholarship will see Dooley supplied a car for the year, he is currently competing in the Irish Junior Rallycross Championship. Rallycross is typically done on mixture of rougher terrain and asphalt, whereas Circuit will be done on an all asphalt track.
His parents Elaine and Vincent Dooley were delighted with the scholarship and feel this will bring his racing career to another level.
“It’s a big win to be honest with you, Eoin will get the car for a full season.
‘The car will be race prepared but we will have to maintain it and have it set up to Eoin’s liking, Entries are covered for the season, there are 10 races altogether with eight in Mondello.
‘Testing is also included along with a set of new racing tyres, as part of the Scholarship, Eoin will have to attend a Motor Sport Licence Course to compete in ICCR as his current Irish Rallycross licence is not valid for Circuit Racing”
Eoin will be competing in the Junior Division of the Irish Circuit Racing Championships with the first race set to take place this April.
He is currently competing in the Irish Rallycross Championship.
“He’s competing in a Fiesta against Minis so he is down on power.
‘In an underpowered car he is doing very well and is sitting around 6th in the Championship.
‘His race craft is very impressive and he’s working on his fitness a lot. It’s a big thing but with the right tuition and people around him we’re hoping he can do quite well in it.”
Now after receiving the scholarship Dooley will have an excellent platform to build upon for 2026, expect to see his name coming to the forefront of Irish Racing over the next number of years.
