2015 MSA British SuperNational Rallycross Champion Dan Rooke made an immediate impact on his debut in the 2016 RX Lites Cup, which held its third round of the series at Lydden Hill in Kent.
Rooke, who currently leads the MSA Supercar class of the 2016 British Rallycross Championship, moved to the RX Lites machine after an invite from OlsbergsMSE boss Andreas Eriksson and showed that he was on the pace of the regular drivers in the series. Despite a one off test in the car last year during the MSA Talen Search Competiton, moving from his 600bhp Citroen in British RX to the single make series was an experience for the 18 year old British driver, who made it through Qualifying and into the Semi-Finals where he missed out on a spot in the Final itself by 0.3 seconds.
Rooke was very happy overall with his weekends work, “Overall it’s been an amazing experience, it’s nice to be able to mix it with the top boys and with such great team. I’ve really enjoyed it, I was hoping to be able to get up to speed a bit quicker but it’s been a great learning experience and certainly something I can take with me to help in the British Championship,” Rooke explained.
“It was really close in the semi-final, I had a big push and we almost made it to the final. The World Championship paddock is where I want to be, so to get a taste of it now is making me want to push harder than ever to be here.”
Rooke also admitted to learing more about his own driving style from the RX Lites machine, “I didn’t think I was too ragged in a Supercar, but I think this weekend has proved that I can be even smoother with my style. These guys are so good in this class, and it’s made me learn to be a lot smoother as a driver,” continued Rooke.
“To be able to set the fastest lap in my semi-final was great, it showed how much I improved over the weekend. The home support at this amazing event was great, and OMSE are a very professional team, it’s been nice to work alongside them and I really have to thank them and all my great sponsors for making this possible.”
