Rooke extends British Rallycross Championship lead as Procter and Godfrey win at Pembrey

Rounds three and four of the MSA British Rallycross Championship in association with ODYSSEY Battery were run at Pembrey in South Wales, where history was made by running the circuit in a different direction on each of the two days [May 1-2].

Kevin Procter (Northallerton) and Julian Godfrey (Heathfield) won the two events, while championship leader heading into the event, Dan Rooke (Holsworthy), left Wales with his lead at the top of the points table extended. The 18-year old finished second in round three but retired from the final in round four due to a damaged exhaust manifold. However, with no single driver having a strong run on either of the two days, Rooke continues to head the order in his maiden Supercar season.

“I think we’ve had a good haul of points from the weekend. I was hoping to push for a win today but we had a problem with the car, I started the race to make sure of getting points but had to retire immediately,” said Rooke. “It’s a bit disappointing but apart from that it’s been a pretty good weekend. It’s really amazing to have only been driving the car in four events, and a new experience with the wet weather this weekend. It’s great to be in the fight for the championship and hopefully the second half of the season will be as good as the start has been.”

On the first day [May 1], round one winner Kevin Procter (Northallerton) made the best of the challenging wet conditions in the final, having qualified on the second row of the grid. He passed front row trio Godfrey, Rooke and Dave Bellerby (Northallerton) on the opening lap and controlled the race from the front to claim his second victory of the season. Rooke and Bellerby swapped places during the race, Rooke finishing second with Bellerby third.

“It was a difficult day but it was all about trying to keep it going and keep the racing clean. I was a little bit disappointed to qualify fourth, but it worked out for me. I really just had to drive my own race to get it to the end,” said Procter. “I enjoyed the day, racing on the track the other way round was really something different.”

Godfrey lost a lot of time on the opening lap but fought back to fourth place, with Pat Doran (Dolton) in fifth. Jack Thorne (Tiverton) completed the race, despite losing a rear wheel from his Ford Fiesta on the final lap. Andy Grant (Barnstable) was slowed by technical issues and Simon Horton (Clithereo) retired. Power Maxed Racing driver Dave Newsham (Inverness) retired from the event in the second qualifying race, but neither Ollie O’Donovan (Iver) or James Grint (Kimpton) made it that far, both retiring in practice with engine problems.

In round four, on Bank Holiday Monday [May 2], with a new engine fitted to his Ford Focus O’Donovan led the pack on lap one having made the best start from the front row of the grid, but pole position starter Godfrey took the lead at the start of lap two and never looked back, the five-time British RX champion claimed his first victory of the season and climbed to second in the points race as a result. O’Donovan finished second after a tussle with Doran. Horton bagging fourth in a determined performance with his Subaru while Steve Hill (Thame) suffered clutch problems but managed to get his Mitsubishi to the finish in fifth place.

“It helped me that Kevin [Procter] dropped out today. I made a mistake in the final on the first day, otherwise it could have been an even better weekend,” said Godfrey. “Really I need to keep an eye on Dan Rooke, he’s the main competitor. I’ll keep fighting the whole way and try to win the rest of the rounds.”

Grant retired from the final with mechanical troubles, while Newsham made his first British RX final start and was third in the opening corners, but was forced out when the engine stopped.

Procter dropped to fourth in the points table after engine problems in Q1 cut his event short. Bellerby also retired with mechanical troubles in Q3.

Corner and Bellerby share the spoils

Guy Corner (Northallerton) and Paige Bellerby (Northallerton) each claimed victory in the MSA Supernational Rallycross Championship at Pembrey, Corner making up for having been denied what could have been an event win in round two at Easter. Meanwhile Bellerby spun out of the semi-finals in round three at Pembrey but struck back to win in round four.

Tony Lynch (Wigan) scored a brace of podium finishes to move into the championship lead, now three points ahead of Bellerby with Corner a further three behind. Local racer Mike Howlin (Haverfordwest) finished second in round three and eighth in round four, while former champion Stuart Emery (Faversham) twice lost out when both finals were red flagged and the results were declared on count-back to the preceding complete lap.

Llewellin stars on rallycross debut

Tom Llewellin (Haverfordwest) made his MSA Junior Rallycross Championship debut at Pembrey, and won the final in both rounds four and five [the Junior series has a slightly different calendar]. Llewellin, youngest son of double British Rally Champion Dai Llewellin, has experience of competing in junior rallying, but the Pembrey double-header marked his first ever racing appearance. He adapted quickly and won the final by some margin on each day. Championship protagonists Sam Jones (Bexley) and Tom Constantine (Richmond) each claimed a second place finish, with Matt Rainbow (Stafford) fighting back from a difficult event at Lydden Hill to finish on the podium on Sunday. Tom Middleton (Maldon) twice finished fifth. Jones continues to lead the points table over Constantine and Middleton.

“It’s very much different to the rallying I’ve done, learning the race craft and having other cars around me was new,” said Llewellin. “I’ve never been karting or anything, but when you get to the first corner you can concentrate on the driving and try to get to the front. The Swift is a great car; it handles very well and was a lot of fun. It’s amazing to have won twice this weekend.”

Welsh star scores debut podium, but beaten by son

While his youngest son won in the MSA Junior Rallycross Championship at Pembrey David (Dai) Llewellin (Haverfordwest) made his debut in the RX150 Rallycross Championship and finished on the podium in round three, after a close race with son Ben (Haverfordwest), who finished second behind championship leader Chrissy Palmer (Chichester). The oldest Llewellin challenged Palmer for the lead of the final in round four on the opening lap, but spun out of contention, leaving the series leader to claim another victory while Ben Llewellin and Jake Harris (Canewdon) completed the podium.

Nathan Heathcote (Ashford) continued his winning form from Lydden Hill by scoring victory in round three of the Swift Sport Rallycross Championship, ahead of newcomer Chris Woolett, who finished second in a day of attrition for the Swift Sport racers. Brett Harris (Hawkwell) completed the podium, while championship contender Simon Ovenden (Canterbury) lost time in the final. The former motocross rider made amends for problems on day one by winning the final on the second day following a close fight with Jack Brown (Barnsley), who finished second. Aidan Hills (Worthing) finished third having rolled his car out of the semi-finals in round three.

Phil Chicken (Barnsley) and Paul Coney (Dartford) each scored a victory in the Super1600 Rallycross Championship finals at the two-day event. Brothers Keifer and Kris Hudson (Harrogate) shared the victory spoils in the two BMW Mini Rallycross Championship events, while David Bell (Ferryhill) twice finished on the podium. Graham Rumsey (Tunbridge Wells) scored his first rallycross victory in round three of the Hot Hatch Rallycross Championship, and finished second to points leader Tomasz Wielgosz (London) in round four.

In the Retro Rallycross Championship, Barry Stewart (Barcombe) returned to the category and won twice in his Porsche 911. In round three on Sunday, Rob Gibson (Crewe) finished second in his MG Metro 6R4, while Ray Morgan (Hastings) pushed Stewart hard in the final in round four.

Full event results for round three can be found here.

Full event results for round three can be found here.

Championship standings can be found here.

Highlights of the MSA British Rallycross Championship will be broadcast on BT Sport and Motors TV in 2016.

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