British Rallycross news round up from Lydden Hill
Business as usual for Ovenden at Lydden Hill
Tristan Ovenden headed into Round 2 of the Swift Rallycross Championship knowing that another victory at his home circuit of Lydden Hill would be anything but guaranteed, considering a bumper 16 car entry for the traditional Easter Monday event.
Ovenden immediately set about stamping his authority on the day and set the second fastest time in the first heat but recorded the heat win. The second heat saw him start from the back of the grid and despite this Ovenden managed to finish forth, a feat that need Ovenden to draw on his well-honed racing craft. Heat 3 saw him start from the front row that enabled him to post the fastest laptime of the heat. This was enough to place him on pole position for the coveted A-Final.
Ovenden then made the best start that saw him arrive first into the loose section at Lydden. He opted to take his Joker lap on the penultimate lap coming out in second place behind Jack Brown, however Brown had not taken his joker and was immediately penalised handing the victory to Ovenden.
With two round wins now under his belt Ovenden heads to Round 3 at Pembrey Circuit in South Wales with maximum championship points.
Tristan Ovenden, #1: “I did have a panic on for a moment when I came out of the joker lap in second on the last lap! But I was convinced the leading car hadn't taken the joker and this proved to be the case.
Even being a man down (welcome to the world Jake Horne) The boys did a great job with the car all day and being our home race we had a lot of supporters, so an extra thank you to them, which makes it really special to win!”
Taylor builds on a good start at Round 2
In only his second outing in the Autopoint prepared, Wallrock backed Suzuki Swift Retford based Jake Taylor was only too well aware of the task ahead of him. A bumper 16 car entry promised action packed racing from start to finish at the second round of the British Rallycross Championship.
Taylor experienced steering issues in his first heat and finished 11th overall. The second heat saw a good start and a strong finish which saw him finish 3rd in his heat and 8th overall. Heat Three saw Taylor start from the back of the grid, his hard work was rewarded as he still maintained his 8th overall place, which was enough to earn him pole position in the B-Final.
Through sheer dogged determination he won the B Final, that would earn him a place in the all important A final.
Starting from the back row of the Grid in the A-Final is hard at the best of times but Jake opted to take his Joker lap early. A spin on the long loose section would cost him several places though he managed to claw back a couple and secured an incredible 6th place overall.
Jake is still very much in the running and scoring more championship points will not do his campaign any harm at all.
Jake Taylor, #3:
“Incredible event at Lydden Hill BRX, very happy with my performance. It was a great feeling to win the B final although I was aware there was a tough job ahead in the A final. 6th place overall out of 16 entrants is great amongst the strong competition.”
“The guys at Autopoint SE did a brilliant job supporting me and getting the car 100% ready for each heat. I was totally overwhelmed by the support on the day from everyone.”
Heathcote continues form at Lydden
Nathan Heathcote headed into his home round at Lydden Hill looking to build on his podium finish at the opening Croft round. A bumper entry of 16 cars held the promise of some classic Easter Monday racing.
Heathcote finished the first heats well, in 6th place overall. A good grid position saw Heathcote ready to improve on this, however a spin on the Devils Elbow put him into the gravel trap and out of the heat. The 3rd heat saw Heathcote starting from the back of the eight car grid leaving a massive amount of work to be done. He opted to take an early Joker lap after a great start that placed him 5th overall for the heat. In turn, this earned him a front row place for the B-Final.
After a great start which saw Heathcote first to the loose section, Devils Elbow however would live up to its reputation and prove to be his nemesis as he recovered from a spin dropping to 4th place eventually finishing in 3rd place and 10th place overall.
Nathan Heathcote, #55:
I've learnt a lot from this round at Lydden Hill and will be going in to the next round fighting hard for a podium finish"
Spencer rides the roller coaster at Lydden Hill
Reigate based Swift Sport Rallycross hopeful Alex Spencer headed into Round 2 at Lydden Hill held looking to gain valuable experience. The bumper 16 car entry would guarantee racing of epic proportions and entertain fans during the day.
The team had to change a cracked gearbox even before free practice had started, and as a result this saw Spencer struggling with mechanical niggles all day. He managed to secure a second row start for the B-Final. He wisely opted to take an early joker lap but left himself too much ground to make up. Which saw him finish in 6th place and 13th overall.
Spencer also used the event to unveil a new sponsor Status Error a Scottish based clothing company who will provide support for the remaining part of the season.
Alex Spencer #96: “It was a good day with a lot of ups and downs, both mechanical and from me. But the car feels better than ever and I’m ready to progress even further.”
Lomax Battles gremlins at Lydden
Round 2 of the British Rallycross Championship saw Craig Lomax and his XtremeRX team head south to the home of Rallycross, Lydden Hill which was being held on its traditional Easter Monday, which attracted a huge crowd of Rallycross fans.
The team had made a number of modifications after Round 1, extra power and lowering the car to give it improved handling. After a shakedown for the new upgrades during free practice it was then time for Craig to put the hammer down for Heat 1. However the new upgrades placed the engine mounts under extreme pressure, which resulted in them, breaking on the loose section of the first lap.
Most other teams would have packed up and headed home early but Lomax and his XtremeRX team worked hard and fashioned new engine mounts. This of course took time that resulted in Lomax missing the remaining heats. He was however allowed to line up on the grid for the final at the very back. He took an early joker but despite this was still on the bumper of Mike Jones who had been on pace all day, however in a cruel twist of fate Lomax was declared unclassified post-race, due to the fact he had not completed any heats.
Craig Lomax, #24:
“Of course it’s disappointing, but that’s Rallycross. Things break, especially when the car is constantly being developed. But we will take these as lessons learnt and move forwards. The season is far from over,” commented Lomax after the event.