O'Donovan takes victory at Mondello Park Round Five
Following Julian Godfrey’s victory in round four of the MSA British Rallycross Championship in association with the Shannon Group, London-based Irishman Ollie O’Donovan claimed his first win of the season in round five on Sunday at Mondello Park in his Tony Bardy built Ford Fiesta. O’Donovan won ahead of pole position man Derek Tohill, the 2014 FIA World Rallycross Championship driver racing the Ford Focus that O’Donovan has used over the last year in the British Championship. Julian Godfrey had another strong run to third with Steve Hill having his best event of the year and finished fifth Kevin Procter and Andy Scott both took their joker lap on lap one, Scott spinning out after contact and Procter recovered to finish fourth. Geoffrey Dolan retired from the event in timed practice, while Mad Mark finished in the B final.
In the joint SuperNational/SuperModified category, Willie Coyne won with Don Shannon producing a storming drive to second and Pat Ryan third. Paige Bellerby was the top British Championship runner in round five; she finished fourth and collected top points. Mike Howlin also made the A final but retired, while Dan Rooke, Gareth Wood and Allan Tapscott battled hard all weekend. Tony Lynch was unable to reproduce his pole position pace from round four but still scored strong points in round five to keep the championship battle wide open. Stuart Emery broke a gearbox mount on his Peugeot 206 in round four and suffered with a misfire in round five and wasn’t able to display his usual pace.
Super1600 driver Craig Lomax experienced numerous driveshaft problems throughout the two-day event but was able to qualify for the final in round five to take championship points home across the Irish Sea. Tomasz Weilgosz won the joint BMW Mini / HotHatch class in round four after a close final with David Bell. In round five, Bell was last at the first corner but fought back to win. Marty Hawkes was a newcomer in the category and enjoyed his first time out in the BMW Mini.
Chrissy Palmer took his second RX150 victory of the season in round four after another close battle with double-champion Marc Scott, the positions were reversed in round five, Scott taking the upper hand and victory. George Tracey Jnr returned to the British Rallycross Championship and finished third in round five. Current MSA British Rally Champion Daniel McKenna was fast and spectacular on his rallycross debut on Sunday and finished on the podium. RTE presenter John Kenny raced in the class in round four and got progressively faster throughout the event.
In the Swift Sport category, Aiden Hills won in round four ahead of Jack Brown and championship leader Tristan Ovenden. Hills retired from an early heat race in round five with broken front suspension but made it into the A final and finished second, the positions reversed from round four as Brown took his first Swift victory. Ovenden finished third. Nathan Heathcote qualified on pole position for the A final in round five but was unable to start after his Swift developed a problem in the pre-grid.
In the MSA Junior Swift category, Drew Bellerby claimed victory in round five after championship rival Bradley Durdin had won in round four. Together with Junior Swift drivers Sam Jones and Jennie Hawkes, Irish competitors Brian Martyn and Jake Dooley, the Junior category provided close racing throughout the weekend’s events.
The Retro Rallycross Challenge took a flavour of the past across the Irish Sea and it was Barry Stewart who dominated in his Porsche 911. Retro regulars Ray Morgan and Lance Foster battled with David Aitkin all weekend, the Irishman driving an ex Tony Bardy / Norman Beggs Vauxhall Astra.