Eight-year-old Conor Keohane just won the last round of the Tullyallen Kart Club go-Kart championship in Whiteriver, Co Louth, clinching this year's championship.
Carrigaline local Conor Keohane started karting two years ago. In his first season, he competed in the Tullyallen Kart Club (TKC) Championship in the Bambino Class (6-8 year olds). Conor came second in the 8-round championship, clocking up podiums at most events.
In 2024, Conor moved up to the Restricted Cadet category and joined Spratt Racing Team. The team, run by Sean Spratt, provides driver training and kart setup advice, alongside test days off season. Conor has also had driver training from Josh Horgan at Kartworld in Watergrasshill.
In the Restricted Cadet category, which is for 8-10 year olds, Conor competed in the 8-round TKC championship.
It was an eventful season, with everything from bad weather, to mechanical failures, to insurance issues providing challenge after challenge; but none of this stopped Conor.
Conor’s dad John, who is Conor’s mechanic, gave The Carrigdhoun a run-down of the exciting final round in Whiteriver:
“Conor had a good lead in the championship, meaning third place in the three races would have clinched him the championship, but Conor had other ideas.
“Heat one was dry and Conor took the victory, winning by 18 seconds. The skies opened for heat two, it lashed rain as we were waiting on the grid, so a quick tyre change before he set off. The track was extremely slippery, but Conor made his way from the back of the grid to win the race by three seconds.
“For the final, it continued to bucket down with rain. Conor started from pole position and led the race from start to finish, taking first place and winning the championship! He set the fastest lap times on every lap.”
Soaking up the victory, Conor will take a break from karting now for a few weeks, but there’s more to come for this young star.
In 2025, Conor will be moving up to the Open Cadet category. Training takes place over the winter months to prepare for both the Motorsport Ireland Championship and the TKC Championships.
Young Conor has a wall of support behind him. John described what a typical weekend would look like for the family: “A race weekend would see us heading to the track on Friday after school in our campervan, full to the roof with karts, spare parts, tools and tyres. Sometimes, we have to drive for up to 4 hours.
“When the racing ends on Sunday evening, we’re loading everything up and sometimes not getting back until midnight.
“Conor is always making school on the Monday mornings. That's the deal, he can go karting but has to go to school on Monday, no matter how tired he is.”
Go-Karting is not the only thing Conor excels at; he plays soccer for Carrigaline United, hurling and football with Ballygarvan, builds Lego and loves cycling. But racing is clearly a passion for this adventurous eight-year-old, whose favourite Formula 1 team is Ferrari and favourite driver is Charles Le Clerc.
Conor’s parents, Cathy and John, are incredibly proud of their young son, and competition seems to run in the blood for the entire Carrigaline family.
Conor’s two older sisters, Aoife and Niamh, have both won medals at the National Gymnastics competition in Dublin, representing their club, Carrigaline Gymnastics, and both play GAA with Ballygarvan.
“There's definitely a competitive edge when it comes to sport in the Keohane household,” says dad John.
The Tullyallen Kart Club (TKC) is a non-profit club made up of volunteers, catering for drivers from age six to sixty. Safety is paramount for the club, all karts and driver equipment are checked before racing. In addition, marshals are on track, with two ambulances and medical teams onsite.
TKC operates at venues around the country, typically seeing entries of over 120 drivers across eight classes.
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