O’Donovan reigns in Scotland

Ollie O’Donovan (London) took his first Rallycross event win the fifth round of the Kumho Tyres MSA British Rallycross Championship at Knockhill on Sunday (August 5).

Run on a day when persistent rain blew across the hilltop Scottish racetrack, the event contained many twists and turns.Championship leader Andrew Jordan (Lichfield) dominated the qualifying heats but lost his shot at victory when his Ford Focus was slowed by a gearbox problem in the Supercar A final.

O’Donovan, who has been Jordan’s closest challenger for most of the year but suffered bad luck as minor problems have slowed his car a couple of times, meanwhile had luck on his side in Scotland. Involved in a race stopping incident at the start of the A final, O’Donovan was able to make it back to the restart, which he won.

The first attempt to run the Superfinal was also stopped, this time after Bob Gooding (Ashford) crashed his Escort Supercar in the third lap. As Gooding was unable to get his car ready for the restart, the next available reserve driver joined the grid, Jordan gladly accepting the lifeline that would allow him to add to his championship score.

Dermot Carnegie (Dublin) had led the Superfinal, but in the restart O’Donovan was first away and had soon established himself as the clear leader.

The only significant changes in the race order came as Dave Bellerby (Northallerton) fought his way back from a first corner spin to reach fourth place, third being claimed by Ben Power (Welshpool).Jordan retired after one lap, but his start was sufficient for him to retain the championship lead by two points over Bellerby and O’Donovan.

Class champion Dave Bellerby (Northallerton) set fastest time sin all three qualifying heats and started the A final from pole position. Ben Power (Welshpool) had chased Bellerby hard in the second qualifier and did so again in the final. There was nothing between the pair and, when Bellerby slid a little wide in the third lap, Power immediately took the chance to grab the lead. Once ahead Power was able to ease out a small lead and won the final by just over a second.

Bellerby held on to second place, the lead pair comfortably ahead of Don Shannon (Ballymoney) who returned to the championship after resolving engine problems that struck his Volvo S40 in round two.James Bird (Midhurst) took fourth place in the final, ahead of dave Brown (Wickford) while Ian O’Connell (Dublin) and Simon White (Yateley) both retired in the second lap, White’s exit ending a strong performance in which he had qualified third for the A final.

Tony Lynch (Wigan) won the Yokohama Stock Hatch A final which he had started from pole position. The day had not been all plain sailing, however, a steering rack failure causing Lynch to crash out of the third heat and leaving his team with a lot of work to do in order to get the car ready for the final.

Ash Simpson (York) and Ryan Lawford (Canterbury) shared the front row of the A final with Lynch and led the chase of the leader, Simpson hounding Lynch over every inch of the five-lap race.Polish racer Wojciech Bialowas (Warsaw) took fourth place ahead of Craig Brown (Northampton) and Phil Chicken (Barnsley). Hal Ridge (Craven Arms) was a non-finisher after spinning out in the first lap.

- After two race stoppages caused by crashes, the result in the Bill Gwynne Rallyschool Junior Rallycross Championship final was declared on positions at two laps of the second race.

Ben Rennison (Richmond) started the A final from pole position and was the led both of the stopped races. Samantha Thom (Cookstown) was second qualifier and was running second, ahead of Matt Thompson (Darlington) when the result was declared. Matt Nesbitt (Armagh) was the only other driver still running and took fourth place, George Tracey Jnr. (Mullingar) and Russell Simpson (York) having both retired. Jesse Gwynne (Banbury) rolled and caused the first race to be halted while the second was stopped after B final winner Daniel O’Brien (Luton) crashed.

The finals for the BTRDA Clubmans Rallycross Championship take place after the BRC Superfinal, but with low cloud causing visibility problems, the Clerk of the Course took the decision that it was not safe to continue racing after the Superfinal. Results for the BTRDA championship were based on qualifying position for the final, which

gave the SuperModified victory to class champion Asa Fatchett (Lincoln). Brothers Ash and Russ Simpson (York) were awarded the Stock Hatch and Junior victories respectively.

Mon. Apr 9 Lydden
Mon. May 7 Pembrey
Mon. May 28 Lydden
Sun. Jul 1 Pembrey
Sun. Aug 5 Knockhill
Mon. Aug 27 Lydden
Sun. Oct 14 Mondello Park (IRL)
Sun. Oct 21 Croft 

Kumho Tyres MSA British Rallycross Championship www.RallycrossUK.com

- Tim Whittington- also photos