Ollie O’Donovan and Team RX Racing are looking to make positive steps forward in the second round of the FIA European Rallycross Championship at the Estering circuit in Germany this weekend.
The London-based Irishman debuted his new Tony Bardy Motorsport prepared Mk7 Ford Fiesta Supercar at Mettet in Belgium for the first round of EuroRX where he just missed out on a place in the Semi-Finals against a very competitive field. He then went on to set competitive times and show excellent pace at the following FIA World Rallycross encounter at Lydden Hill where he battled against the likes of Petter Solberg, Timur Timerzyanov and Davy Jeanney.
O’Donovan and the squad now head to the Estering for the second round of EuroRX, looking to improve on their Mettet showing by trying to secure a place in the Semi-Finals among a field of very fast and close competition.
Ollie is confident ahead of this weekend’s action. “I’m really looking forward to Germany, it’s a new venue for me to learn but I’m feeling a lot more confident with the car every time I get in it. We worked on the setup at Lydden Hill. Although we didn’t finish high up in the rankings at Lydden, I think we put in a couple of decent laps in every heat race and made good starts so hopefully we can piece it all together in Germany.
“I think we can be inside the top 10 if we can stay out of trouble. Tony Bardy and the boys have worked hard on the car since Lydden. We are learning how this type of suspension works and there is certainly a lot more potential there yet. We ran the car for the first time in Belgium with no testing at all and I didn’t feel comfortable in it straight away. Lydden was a lot better and I’m sure Germany will be better again.”
After this weekend’s event, O’Donovan and the team head to Mondello Park for the double header that is rounds four and five of the MSA British Rallycross Championship, which will see the debut of his Fiesta Supercar in the British series. O’Donovan is confident that a good showing at Mondello will help to close the gap for the British title.
“We need a good result to keep our British Championship hopes alive. Hopefully the car will come out of Germany nice, square and tidy. If we don’t have a couple of good results in Ireland then we are out of it, but I like Mondello and think we can be strong. You never know, if we can get a bit of Irish luck we could get two wins. Hopefully we can take some Irish luck with us to Germany this weekend too.”