18-year-old Patrick O’Donovan claimed his very first 5 Nations BRX win at Pembrey on Saturday 14th May 2022, scoring maximum points at just his second ever Supercar event in his Ford Fiesta. Derek Tohill pushed his own Ford Fiesta hard and finished second, moving into the championship standings lead. Patrick has closed the gap and is now on equal points for second with Xite Energy Racing driver Oliver Bennett. Tristan Ovenden didn’t quite manage to catch Tohill but still took the third spot on the podium. Julian Godfrey crossed the line in fourth despite suffering from mechanical issues earlier in the day.
In the Motorsport UK Supernational Rallycross Championship, Jason Bleasdale seemed unchallengeable, but Paige Bellerby took the lead at the start of the final. Jason then jokered, leaving Darren Bleasdale to chase Bellerby down, overtaking on lap three for the lead pre-joker which translated into second behind his brother Jason at the flag with Bellerby third.
Owen Robbins was the star of the Motorsport UK Junior Rallycross Championship, wrestling the lead from Max Langmaid. Langmaid finished ahead of Will Ovenden who was unable to gain enough advantage from his early joker to take one of the two top spots on the podium.
The BMW MINI Rallycross Championship drivers had the closest battle of the day with the top four finalists crossing the line under 1.5 seconds apart. The victor, Andy Hawkes led at the start, then endured pressure from Craig Lomax, but Hawkes held his nerve and took his first 5 Nations BRX win. Lomax claimed second with Bradley Turner in third. David Bell and Martin Hawkes duelled for All4 Mini honours with David Bell taking the checkered flag.
Over in the Super Retro and Retro Rallycross Championships, John Cross led the race, continuing his strong form from qualifying and claiming the win. Ray Morgan made a strong challenge on the penultimate lap driving around the outside of Cross’ Lancia in an attempt to take the lead. Morgan failed, losing out and nearly dropping to third but prevailing over Vince Bristow. A very small Retro grid saw just three survivors, Tony Lynch took the early lead with Rob Buckmaster moving into second and Paul Smith in third.
Max Weatherley continued to exert his authority in the Swift Sport Rallycross Championship with a win, finishing ahead of Luke Constantine and James Constantine. Luke had taken two of the three heat wins signalling that the Swifts will see one of the closest championship fights and Weatherley may not have it all his own way.
Over in the RX150 Championship, Nick Priddy led from the lights with a great battle ensuing but ultimately claiming points for the win. World RX racer Krisztian Szabo got into his RX stride and move through the order to take second with British Rally Championship’s Ruairi Bell taking third, both stars being non-points scoring guests. Regular Billy Alexander finished fourth on the road but second in the championship points.
