Leonard commits to full 5 Nations BRX Supercar campaign
Leading Irish Rallycross Championship contender Michael Leonard will contest the 2024 Motorsport UK British Rallycross Championship 5 Nations Trophy with a Ford Fiesta Supercar.
Leonard completed his maiden full Supercar campaign in Ireland last year, racing a Ford Fiesta Supercar built by Swedish firm OlsbergsMSE, now run by Murray Motorsport.
Fellow Murray Motorsport driver John McCluskey announced earlier this year his intention to return to 5 Nations BRX this season, the Murray Motorsport outfit now set to run two similar cars through the campaign with Leonard lining up alongside compatriot McCluskey.
With previous experience of circuit racing, Leonard has been among the front-runners in the Irish Rallycross Championship since his Supercar move and has claimed final wins. He made his 5 Nations BRX debut in the support category to the FIA World Rallycross Championship at Lydden Hill last summer.
The car Leonard will campaign this season is one of the most famous Fiestas in the rallycross world as the very machine in which Kevin Eriksson performed his around-the-outside move at the German round of the World Championship in 2016 en route to a maiden victory. The overtake, on Petter Solberg and Mattias Ekstrom, later went viral online.
The opening rounds of 5 Nations BRX take place at Lydden Hill on Easter Bank Holiday Weekend (Mar 30 - April 1), Mondello Park and Pembrey also hosting rounds of the series this year.
Michael Leonard:
“I’m really enjoying racing in rallycross Supercar. It was my first year in a Supercar last season so it was lots to get my head around and we got so close to winning the Irish Championship, so that was great. My first experience of Lydden last year was great too, it’s a great track with a great layout, but only getting two dry laps before it rained was not ideal. That made it hard to get the hang of the track and we had an engine problem all weekend which didn’t help either, so I’m looking forward to going back at Easter where hopefully we can have a clean weekend be there in the mix. My plan is to race in the full 5 Nations BRX and Irish Championships, and some European events too.”