Ollie O’Donovan enjoyed a turn around in form at rounds four and five of the 2015 British Rallycross Championship where he guided his new RX Racing Ford Fiesta to its first victory of the year, whilst team-mate Derek Tohill added to the celebrations by giving the team a one two finish.
Having debuted his Fiesta Supercar in the FIA European Rallycross Championship in Germany, the car made its debut in the British Rallycross Championship last weekend and the team have made more progress as Ollie took his first victory of the year. In round four though, things were difficult as he struggled to qualify for the A Final, where he would go on to finish in fifth place whilst stable mate Geoffrey Dolan took his first podium of the season. Steve Hill in his Mitsubishi Evo finished in eighth place, however Derek Tohill lost out in the B Final.
But it was in round five where fortune smiled on the RX Racing squad. O’Donovan drove his Fiesta to its first victory of the season whilst Tohill backed it up with second place in the teams Ford Focus. Dolan finished missed out on the round five final and Steve Hill added to the celebrations by finishing in fifth place.
Ollie O’Donovan was full of praise for the squad and Tony Bardy Motorsport for their work.
“To be first and second on the grid with my cars was pretty special, and to win at Mondello in the Fiesta was fantastic. I have to say it’s down to a lot of people, but Tony Bardy Motorsport have worked very hard for this, they are top class and that was proved by the pace Derek and I had in the final.
“I got a good clean start and got ahead of Derek but he was close to me all the time. It’s great that we both finished on the podium and to win the Superfinal for me was the icing on the cake,” said O’Donovan. “I’m pleased for Derek and his boys too, I’ve known him a long while now and never seen him smile so much.”
However, despite his learning of the day on day one, he was more than happy with day two’s work:
“I overdrove the car, the lap times were there but it was a bit of a struggle in the final. It would have been nice to get two wins – or two podiums – but the win makes up for any disappointment we had before that. The championship hasn’t gone away from us so we will be pushing really hard in the last three rounds of the season now. I’m hungry for more wins,” continued O’Donovan.
Derek Tohill spoke of his joy with his podium in his first Rallycross outing since the 2014 FIA World Rallycross Championship finale in Argentina.
“I enjoyed driving the car so much, I’m delighted for Ollie to get the win he was after. We had a few little problems but we just got through them in the heats with the help of the boys and Tony Bardy, who was brilliant. For Ollie to win and for me to be runner-up and it to be so close in the final. I’m really, really delighted,” said Tohill.
