O’Donovan set to debut new Fiesta in Belgium
Former MSA British Rallycross Champion Ollie O’Donovan will begin his 2015 challenge on the FIA European Rallycross Championship this weekend at Mettet in Belgium, racing a brand-new Tony Bardy Motorsport prepared Ford Fiesta Supercar.
Driving under the Team RX Racing banner, O’Donovan will contest the full five-event European Championship, which runs within European rounds of the FIA World Rallycross Championship. He was also contest his ‘home’ round of World RX at Lydden Hill, in just over a weeks time.
“It’s a new car, new championship and new event for me this weekend. Everything is totally new but I’m really looking forward to racing in the European Championship, the level is really high so it will be a steep learning curve. We are up with it. Tony [Bardy] and his boys have done a great job with the car so we’re hoping to learn a lot this weekend, and come away with a strong result. We haven’t had a chance to do a full test, but that isn’t unusual, I’ve never done a full test in my life so it doesn’t bother me at all. The best way to learn is to get racing,” said O’Donovan.
The former rally driver has made sporadic appearances in International rallycross events in recent years, driving a variety of cars. His best finish came at the final round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship at San Luis, Argentina last year, where he made the semi-finals, driving for the Albatec Racing team.
The Irishman was in action last weekend at the third round of the MSA British Rallycross Championship in association with the Shannon Group, racing his Ford Focus at Pembrey, South Wales. Having shown good pace in the heats, Yokohama-backed O’Donovan missed out on a podium finish after picking up a puncture. He finished sixth. “We had a good day at Pembrey, but we had puncture on the first lap of the final and that through us out of contention. We were hoping for a top three, but our luck just hasn’t been in lately. I won my first heat and we made a lot of steps again with the tyres, which have been great, but it just wasn’t our day. I’m looking forward to the next round at Mondello now.”
Fellow Team RX Racing driver Steve Hill (Mitsubishi Evo X) was hampered at Pembrey by turbo issues. Reigning British Champion Julian Godfrey (Ford Fiesta) scored the win, followed by Andy Scott (Peugeot 208) and Andy Grant (Ford Focus). The next round of the British Championship will be at Mondello Park in Ireland next month (June 27th – 28th).
