The MSA British Rallycross Championship in association with the Shannon Group began its season with the opening round at Croft Circuit in North Yorkshire.

In one of the best entries seen for many years at a British event, spectators were treated to a superb days racing, in mild weather, no doubt partly due to the renewed enthusiasm and rise to prominence of Rallycross, as a result of the recent partnership between BARC and the British Rallycross committee.

Albatec Racing team boss Andy Scott, driving a Peugeot 208 took a convincing win to head home Ollie O’Donovan (Ford Focus) and Kevin Procter (Ford Fiesta) in the MSA Supercar class, in association with Odyssey Batteries.

Scott was on pole for the final of the MSA Supercars in association with Odyssey Batteries courtesy of two fastest heat times, with Kevin Procter (Ford Fiesta) and Ollie O’Donovan (Ford Focus) joining him on the front row. O’Donovan was due to debut his new Ford Fiesta, but it was not ready on time, and he switched back to the car he used last year.

The second row saw Pat Doran (Citroën DS3) and Steve Mundy (Ford Focus) line up along with Andy Grant (Ford Focus), Mad Mark (Citroën Xsara) and defending champion Julian Godfrey completing the grid.

It had been a surprisingly fraught day for Godfrey, the normally reliable Fiesta breaking a mainshaft in the gearbox in one heat, and then suffering electrical issues in another. The resultant problems meant he had to win the Supercar B final to make it onto the grid for the final.

Andy Scott led from the start, with O’Donovan getting the better of Procter to move into second place, while others settled into position with Doran, temporarily getting the better of Procter for third. Midday through the first lap, though and Procter was back into third and set about O’Donovan, the pair becoming embroiled in a race long battle that would allow Scott to gradually move ahead and control the race from the front. Godfrey meanwhile had set about moving up the field, the car running well, but it was a lot to ask, and eventually he got the better of Grant and Mundy to then chase Doran through to the end. Scott held on to win, with a close battle for second, O’Donovan holding off Procter, with Doran fourth and Godfrey fifth.

At the finish a delighted Scott said “What a great way to start the season. The car was great all day, all the team worked really hard to rebuild a car capable of victory and everything went according to plan.” Runner up O’Donovan was just as content and said, “I’m very happy with second position. We didn’t have a great start to the day, with turbo and engine problems, and we were been down on power all day. We’ve been working hard with the tyres here, we tried four sets and eliminated two of those, and we will have more improvements to come,”

The MSA Supernationals had assembled a superb entry for Croft and 2014 British Champion, Stuart Emery was back once again in his Peugeot 206. Sadly for him, the first heat beckoned retirement when terminal engine issues ended his day towards the end of the first heat. It was a bitter blow so early in the day, never mind the opening round of the championship. That first heat was won by Gary Simpson in the BMW M3, and perhaps it was a sign of things to come later in the day.

Daniel Rooke took the win in the second heat, making everyone sit up and take notice in his Citroën AX, and then did it again in the third heat to take pole for the final. Simpson joined him on the middle of the front row, while Tony Lynch (BMW Mini) was on the outside of the front row. Guy Corner (Lotus Exige) from the second row made the better start, and headed Simpson on the opening lap briefly, from Alan Tapscott (Vauxhall Corsa RWD) with Rooke dropping to fourth. With Corner spinning, Simpson moved ahead to take the lead, and Rooke moved into third. In the end Simpson held on to take a well deserved win, from Tapscott in second with Rooke third and Lynch fourth. Guy Corner finished fifth.

In the Swiftsports, there was change this year, with Chris Mullen and Graham Rodemark not competing. Both were at Croft though, with Rodemark looking after several cars on the day, while Mullen was there to support old friends. Three heat wins put defending Champion Tristan Ovenden on pole with Darren Scott alongside. Scott has committed to a full season this year, which was good to see for the championship. Rob Maynard completed the front row, the Kent man aiming to gain more experience and push for more podiums too. Ovenden got the better start, and led Scott, but it was Nathan Heathcote that surprised everyone, and put his Swift into third by race end, with an impressive display in the final, especially as it took victory in the B Final to take his place on the grid for the final had to win the B final to get there. Rob Maynard finished fourth with Jack Brown in fifth. Jake Taylor was sixth, having a steady and productive start to his first year in the Swiftsport class.

In the MSA Junior Swifts, Drew Bellerby took the win from Bradley Durdin, battling all the way to the flag in the final with Jennie Hawkes third. The heats during the day had also seen some good battles between Bellerby and Durdin which bodes well for the rest of the year.

The RX150’s, once again provided some great heats during the day. Marc Scott was back to defend his crown, but would suffer from gearbox issues in the heats. The newer versions of the RX150, with the slightly more powerful engine gave some an advantage, but it was Dave Bellerby that took a very convincing win in the final. He headed home Kevin Feeney in second while Chrissy Palmer took third overall, with Stephen Jones fourth and Larry Sargant fifth. Marc Scott retired on the opening lap with a recurrence of his gearbox issues.

The BMW Mini saw the battle of the brothers Kris and Kiefer Hudson. The duo battled throughout the six lap final, providing great entertainment and at the end only half a second separated them. John Clayton finished third.

Craig Lomax took the spoils in the Super1600 class, his new Citroën C2 working very well on its first outing. The Xtreme team had worked very hard over the winter, and leading up to Croft and confirmed they were happy with the days results.

The Hot Hatch victory went the way of Tomasz Weilgosz (Peugeot 106) but he was pushed all the way by Paul Maybourne in his Citroën Saxo. Maybourne made his way up the grid to maintain and push Wielgosz all the way. Stephen Gaunt was third.

The Retro Rallycross was won by James Harrold (VW Beetle) while the Super Retro went the way of Dave Black (Vauxhall Astra).

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