Tommy Byrne (racing driver)

Thomas " Tommy" Byrne ( born May 6, 1958 in Drogheda ) is an Irish former race car driver.

Tommy Byrne made ​​at a young age a meteoric rise in motor sport. Hardly Formula Ford outgrown - 1981 he drove in this series - he was 1982 British Formula 3 champion and managed in the same year the rise in Formula 1

For the Theodore team of Teddy Yip he went at five Grand Prix events in the qualification. At the Grand Prix of Austria, he made his debut in the TY02 Theodore -Cosworth. Byrne went from the 26th and last place on the grid and had to retire after a spin. His second Grand Prix he was driving in Las Vegas, where he had to go to a driving error that resulted in a ride, give up again at the end of the year.

So fast Byrne came into Formula 1, as fast as he was gone again. In 1983 he had a short spell in Formula 3, which was a setback for the ambitious Byrne. Lack sponsorship was not thinking of a re-entry into Formula 1. Byrne therefore went to the USA

From 1986 to 1992 he drove every season in the Indy Lights series. In 55 starts, he was able to record 10 victories. He stands so each second in the record lists of the racing series. 1988 ( behind Jon Beekhuis ) and 1989 ( behind Mike Groff ), he was second in the overall standings. As Byrne 1992, his career ended, he was amazingly not played a single Champ Car race.

Byrne now lives in Florida and works as a driving instructor and instructor at Honda and Acura. In 2008 he published his book Crashed and Byrned: The Greatest Racing Driver You Never Saw.