Double FIA European Rallycross Champion Derek Tohill secured eighth place in his LD Motorsports Citroen DS3 as he made it through to the semi-final stages in the opening round of the 2014 FIA World Rallycross Championship hosted in Portugal.
With a 20-car strong entry-list Tohill went in to the weekend with a clear goal, to make it through to the semi-finals, he achieved it with ease and secured a race victory in heat 2.
Tohill would push hard in the semi-final race as he took on Reinis Nitiss, Andreas Bakkerud, Anton Marklund, Timur Timerzyanov, and Alexander Hvaal. Nitiss would go on to win the race ahead of Bakkerud and Marklund who all progressed to the finals. Timerzyanov missed out on a final place with Tohill and Hvaal who retired early from the race, Tohill had done enough to secure eighth points which would leave him eleventh place in the championship standings after one round.
“For me this was a real test,” said Tohill. “My main target was to make the semi finals, and to be in the mix with pre-season championship favourites such as Bakkerud, Nitiss and Hvaal was fantastic.
“I can really build on this performance, and as a platform for the rest of the season we have plenty of laps, hard racing with top drivers and race data to pull on. Going to Lydden next, which is a circuit I love and have had plenty of success at is a boost. It’s a very long season and it’s all still to play for.”