Tommy Byrne

Who is Tommy Byrne?

Thomas Byrne is a former racing driver from Ireland. He participated in five Formula One Grands Prix in 1982 with the backmarker Theodore team, scoring no championship points.

After performing well in Formula Ford in 1981, Byrne won the 1982 British Formula Three Championship even though he was forced to miss some races while he competed in Formula One. At that time he also tested a McLaren Formula One car in October 1982 against Marlboro-backed Spirit Racing's European F2 drivers like Stefan Johansson and Thierry Boutsen. After a brief return to Formula Three in 1983, Byrne moved to the United States and began racing in the American Racing Series in 1986 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 and 1989. He raced in the series until 1992 and then retired. Despite his extended career in the States, Byrne never made a Champ Car start. He currently lives in Florida, but 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 in Lexington, Ohio.