Last Sunday (November 20) ten unconventional racers converged on Mondello Park in County Kildare all hoping to walk away with the prestigious title of The Fastest Granny in Ireland. The event was the culmination of RTÉ 2fm's 'Breakfast with Hector' and the show's Granny Grand Prix.
Grannies from all over the country were nominated to take part in the competition and the numbers whittled down to ten by the 'Breakfast with Hector' team with the final entrants heading to the Mondello Park Racing School for some much needed tuition. Some instructional laps alongside a professional instructor were followed by a few sighting laps in the race prepared Mazda3s.
After a quick break, which we can only assume consisted of digestive biscuits washed down with copious amounts of tea that was stewed to within an inch of its life, the real competition began. But far from the event being something of a Sunday drive, these grannies were really on it with times that not only surprised the racing instructors but also had them fearing for their jobs. When all was said and done the three fastest grannies had posted times that the professionals, who know the Kildare circuit intimately, would struggle to beat. In fact the fastest time of eventual winner and recipient of the Granny Grand Prix trophy, Margaret Rochfort from Tubbercurry, was only two seconds off the pace of the time achieved by the quickest instructor.
Speaking after the event RTÉ 2fm's Hector said, "We arrived at a sunny Mondello Park this morning and had a fantastic couple of hours with some of Ireland's fastest grannies. Mighty cars, mighty Irish women and mighty fast track laps, here's to GGP 2012!!"