Thomas Byrne (born 6 May 1958) is a former
racing driver
Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition.
Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...
from
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. He participated in two
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
Grands Prix in with the backmarker Theodore team, failing to qualify for another three. He failed to finish in either of the Grands Prix he started and scored no Formula One championship points.
After performing well in the
Irish Formula Ford Championship
The Irish Formula Ford Championship, which is affiliated to Motorsport Ireland is run on various Irish circuits including Mondello Park, Kirkistown, Phoenix Park Motor Racing Circuit and Nutts Corner.
Championship Winners
* 1978 - Michael Ro ...
in 1981, Byrne won the 1982
British Formula 3 Championship
The British Formula Three Championship was an international motor racing series that took place primarily in the United Kingdom with a small number of events in mainland Europe. It was a junior-level feeder formula that used small single seat ...
even though he missed some races while he competed in Formula One. At that time, he also tested a
McLaren
McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...
MP4/1 Formula One car in October 1982 against
Marlboro
Marlboro (, ) is an American brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by Philip Morris USA (a branch of Altria) within the United States and by Philip Morris International (now separate from Altria) outside the US. The largest Marl ...
-backed
Spirit Racing's European F2 drivers like
Stefan Johansson
Stefan Nils Edwin Johansson (born 8 September 1956) is a Swedish racing driver who drove in Formula One for both Ferrari and McLaren, among other teams. Since leaving Formula One he has won the 1997 24 Hours of Le Mans and raced in a number o ...
and
Thierry Boutsen
Thierry Marc Boutsen (born 13 July 1957) is a Belgian former racing driver who raced for the Arrows, Benetton, Williams, Ligier and Jordan teams in Formula One. He competed in 164 World Championship Grands Prix (163 starts), winning three rac ...
. After a brief return to
Formula Three
Formula Three, also called Formula 3, abbreviated as F3, is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One driv ...
in 1983, where he raced for Eddie Jordan, Byrne moved to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and began racing in the
American Racing Series
Indy NXT, previously Indy Lights, is an American developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar, currently known as Firestone Indy NXT Series for sponsorship reasons. Indy Lights is the highest step on the Road to Indy, a program ...
in
1986
The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles.
**Spain and Portugal ente ...
, where he won ten races in 55 starts, both second place in the series record books. He also was the championship runner-up in
1988
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...
and
1989
File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
. He raced in the series until
1992
File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...
and then retired. Despite his extended career in the States, Byrne never made a
Champ Car
Champ Car World Series (CCWS) was the series sanctioned by Open-Wheel Racing Series Inc., or Champ Car, a sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 2004 to 2008. It was the successor to Championship Auto Racing Teams ( ...
start. He lives in Florida, and teaches Honda Teen/Adult Defensive Driving, Advanced Defensive Driving, Acura High Performance and Acura Advanced Performance Driving during the race season at the
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is a road course auto racing facility located in Troy Township, Morrow County, Ohio, United States, just outside the village of Lexington. Mid-Ohio has also colloquially become a term for the entire north-central regio ...
in Lexington, Ohio. He is also a driver coach for
Indy Lights
Indy NXT, previously Indy Lights, is an American developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar, currently known as Firestone Indy NXT Series for sponsorship reasons. Indy Lights is the highest step on the Road to Indy, a program ...
team
Brian Stewart Racing
Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish and Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world.
It is possible that the name is derived from an Old Celtic word mea ...
.
He co-authored a book with
Mark Hughes
Leslie Mark Hughes (born 1 November 1963) is a Welsh football coach and former player who is the manager of Bradford City.
During his playing career he usually operated as a forward or midfielder. He had two spells at Manchester United, and a ...
which was released in the UK on 8 August 2008, titled ''Crashed and Byrned: The Greatest Racing Driver You Never Saw''. The book won the
William Hill Irish Sports Book of the Year
The William Hill Irish Sports Book of the Year was an annual Irish literary award sponsored by bookmakers William Hill. Established in 2006, it was related to the International William Hill Sports Book of the Year (est. 1989). The award sought t ...
for 2009.
Review of ''Crashed and Byrned''archive
at Wayback Machine
The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by the Internet Archive, a nonprofit based in San Francisco, California. Created in 1996 and launched to the public in 2001, it allows the user to go "back in time" and see ...
Byrne was the subject of Seán Ó Cualáin
Seán Ó Cualáin is an IFTA-award-winning Irish documentary and feature film film director. He directed ''Dara Beag — File Pobail'' in 2004, ''Rí an Fhocail'' in 2007, '' Lón sa Spéir''/''Men at Lunch'' in 2012, ''Mise Raiftearaí an Fío ...
's documentary '' Crash and Burn'' in 2016.
Racing record
Career summary
Complete Formula One results
(key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
)
References
External links
GP Encyclopedia
"Tommy Byrne, TNFer & award-winning author"
on the Autosport's The Nostalgia Forum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Byrne, Tommy
1958 births
Living people
Irish racing drivers
Irish Formula One drivers
Theodore Formula One drivers
British Formula Three Championship drivers
Indy Lights drivers
SCCA Formula Super Vee drivers
Atlantic Championship drivers
People from Drogheda
International Formula 3000 drivers
Formula Ford drivers
Sportspeople from County Louth
People from Dundalk