The second round of the MSA British Rallycross championship took place at Lydden Hill Circuit in Kent on Monday, with difficult conditions making for an exciting day of racing.
In the Supernational Super1600 class, it was local driver Tristan Ovenden who claimed victory in what he described as a ‘dramatic’ and ‘tricky’ race. He made a ‘big mistake‘ at the top of Hairy Hill but was still able to maintain a safe gap ahead of second-placed Paige Bellerby. The final step of the podium went to Craig Lomax, who was also the winner of the Super 1600 class within the race.
In the Junior Rallycross race, the young future stars of rallycross struggled in the difficult conditions, with several spins throughout. However, Tom Constantine managed to keep his Suzuki Swift on track and took the victory, only narrowly ahead of newcomer Marius Solberg-Hansen. James Constantine came in third despite spinning halfway through the race.
It was business as usual in the RX150 category, with Chrissy Palmer taking yet another victory in the class. Once more, as the rain increasingly got heavier, nearly every driver struggled to keep their buggy on track. Leo Forster came in second almost six seconds behind Palmer, and he was followed by ‘rookie’ Ulrik Linnemann, who had spun twice during the race but managed to claw his way back into third place.
The Suzuki Swift class was similarly filled with drama as conditions on track significantly deteriorated. There was contact between Tom Llewellin and Ryan Hadfield, yet the latter still went on to take the final spot on the podium. The top two steps were filled by Morgan Bailey and Simon Ovenden, who both managed to get through the race unscathed.
Bradley Durdin took the win in the BMW Mini class after an intense battle with second-placed Leigh-Anne Sedgwick. Martin Hawks came in third ahead of the remainder of the field, as everyone in the class finished the race. Mark Finch won in his Ford Fiesta ahead of Ian Biagi and Stewart Bowes in the Retro Rallycross class.
The next round of the championship will be will be held at Croft in May.
