O’Donovan targets continued Euro RX form in Spain
London-based Irishman Ollie O’Donovan travels to Barcelona, Spain this weekend for the penultimate round of the FIA European Rallycross Championship held on the famous Formula One track, Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
The Ford Fiesta Supercar driver heads to Spain following two of his strongest performances of the year. At the previous round of Euro RX at Hell in Norway, O’Donovan made it to the final and in the process became the first Irishman to do so in Supercar history. He now lies eighth overall in the championship standings.
The following week at his ‘home’ event at Lydden Hill, O’Donovan won the seventh round of the MSA British Rallycross Championship in association with the Shannon Group, in torrentially wet conditions, despite being hampered by a broken intercooler pipe and puncture on the last lap of the race.
O’Donovan last competed in Spain in the late 1990s in his former rally career, driving a Ford Escort F2 Maxi to class victory. He is looking forward to getting back in the Yokohama-backed Team RX Racing Fiesta this weekend. “The car is working well and we are on top of the setup now. The good thing about this weekend is that the track is new to everybody, which will make it a level playing field. I’ve been on the back foot at every track we have been to so far this year because most of the guys in the European Championship have at least some experience of them. That will make things slightly more equal for us in that respect. I’m feeling confident and really looking forward to it,” said the 2007 MSA British Rallycross Champion, who is aiming to get into the semi-finals.
“We’re going to try for the semi-finals and then of course try to get into the final. But, we’re setting out first goal on a place in the semis. That isn’t easy in itself because the boys are all so quick, but I think it’s achievable. Then from there, we’ll work in getting into the final like we did in Norway. We’ve done it once so it is possible to do it again, but it’s never easy,” he said.
European Championship after round 3/5:
1 Tommy Rustad - Volkswagen Polo - 83
2 Jerome Grosset-Janin - Peugeot 208 - 77
3 Joni-Pekka Rajala - Saab 93 - 53
4 Jean-Baptiste Dubourg - Citroen C4 - 49
5 Frode Hole – Hyundai i20 – 45
6 Ole-Christian Veiby - Volkswagen Polo - 40
7 Fabien Pailler – Peugeot 208 - 30
8 Ollie O’Donovan – Ford Fiesta - 27
