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Devanney scoops £25,000 award
2001-12-03 - By Philip Byrne
Highly rated 17 year old racing talent Michael Devaney, from Rathfarnham, Dublin, won the biggest prize of his career on Friday (30th November) when he was crowned "Young Racing Driver of the Year" at the Alfa Romeo/Motorsport Ireland Awards for Excellence in Irish Motorsport which took place in the Westbury Hotel, Dublin.
 The first recipient of the Irish Sports Council and Irish Dunlop supported award, Michael was presented with the prestigious Dunlop Sexton Trophy, a cheque for £20,000 and a weeks training at the Derek Daly Motorsport Academy in Las Vegas.
One of Ireland's brightest Grand Prix prospects, the award came just a day after the much talked about teenager celebrated his seventeenth birthday. Graduating from karts to cars this year with backing from Seahorse.ie and Digital Communications Management, Michael raced in the Irish Formula Ford Zetec Championship where he recorded an impressive tally of two victories and five podium finishes.
'Winning this award means so much to me', said the delighted teenager. 'This is a very prestigious prize and it is sure to open many doors and help me reach my ultimate goal'. He continued, 'I want to thank everyone who has helped me get this far in particular my dad. I also want to thank Motorsport Ireland, the Irish Sport Council and Dunlop for putting together such a substantial prize. I hope I can be a good ambassador for the Award.'
The 2000 Irish Junior Kart Champion, for which he was presented with the Neil Shanahan Award at the inaugural "Awards for Excellence in Irish Motorsport" lunch, Michael is already working on his plans for the 2002 season when he aims to graduate to the British Formula Renault Championship. Next week (10th December) he will travel to Spain to test with multiple British championship winning team Manor Motorsport.
The son of former F2 driver Bernard Devaney, Michael became the youngest ever Irish driver to test an F3 car when he completed a highly successful test at Silverstone in October with Meritus Racing.
Profile
Name : Michael Devaney
Age / DOB : 17 / 29th November 1984
Lives : Rathfarnham, Dublin
Nationality : Irish
Occupation : Leaving Cert Student
Hobbies : Mountain Biking and Fitness Training
Sponsors : Seahorse.ie, Movie Magic, Digital Communications Management, Rugbytech
Started Racing : 1997 - Karts
Titles/Championships Won
2001 - Receipent of the "Young Racing Driver of the Year" Award
2000 - Irish Junior (JICA) Kart Champion
1999 - All Ireland Junior (JICA) Karting Champion
Racing History
1997 - Competed in four kart races
1998 - Irish Junior Restricted Karting Championship with GR Motorsport - Race Winner
1999 - Irish Junior Karting Championship with GR Motorsport - All Ireland Champion
2000 - Irish Junior Karting Championship with GR Motorsport - National Champion
2001 - Ford of Ireland Zetec Championship with DD Racing - 2 Race Wins
Team Background - 2001
Team Name : DD Racing
Team Principal : Damien Doherty
Car : Van Diemen RF01
Engine : 1800cc Ford Zetec tuned by Solus
2002 Plans
Michael plans to contest the highly competitive 13 round British Formula Renault Championship.
Interesting Notes
Michael is the son of former F2 racer Bernard Devaney, who was team-mate to Eddie Jordan in
the 1979 British F3 Championship.
Michael became the youngest Irish driver to test an F3 car when he successfully completed 30
laps of the Silverstone circuit in October with Meritus Racing.
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