Rallycross (British & Irish) - Mondello - 22-23 Jul 17

Victories and Podiums for Tohill in Irish Rallycross Festival

Posted: August 14, 2017 4:09 AM

Ireland’s only FIA European Rallycross Champion, Derek Tohill, competed in the biggest rallycross event held in Ireland for more than a decade last weekend, as competitors from the Irish Rallycross Championship and MSA British Rallycross Championships came together for a bumper weekend of action at Mondello Park (July 22 – 23).

Racing the PFCRX team’s OlsbergsMSE-built Ford Fiesta Supercar, reigning Irish Rallycross Champion Tohill took on the 18-car field on his home circuit and not only challenged regular British RX competitors in the Supercar final to twice finish third, but claimed a pair of Superfinal victories to further extend his lead in the 2017 IRX standings.

To combat the popularity of the event, the 600 horsepower Supercars were run in 10-car grids, meaning the action was fast, and in some cases unforgiving, but the PFCRX squad worked hard to keep ‘Molly’ the Fiesta running over the course of the two days, where Tohill ran at the front of the field throughout.

The Irishman qualified third in the Intermediate Classification on Saturday and led the first running of the semi-final before the race was red flagged. In the re-start, he finished second to secure a front row start for the final, a race in which on-track battles lost him time and he had to settle for third. To end the opening day of action, Tohill stormed to victory in the Superfinal.

On Sunday, in front of many hundreds of supporters, the team continued to test development parts ahead of the next round of the FIA European Rallycross Championship at Loheac in France in September and Tohill was twice second fastest in the qualifying stages. But, due to another red flag in the semi-finals while leading, Tohill’s Fiesta was left on the start line after confusion over the race re-start. He climbed back up the order to make it into the final, where he again finished on the podium following a fantastic start around the outside of the pack at the first corner. The weekend was concluded with a second Superfinal triumph.

The Irish team will now re-prepare the Supercar for the next round of Euro RX in France, where Tohill aims to continue his 100% record of qualifying for the semi-finals in 2017, in the ultra-competitive 35-car international field.

Derek Tohill | Driver | Ford Fiesta #111

“It was an epic weekend of Irish and British Rallycross and we came away with some really good results. We started from the back row of the grid for the final on Sunday and in the end we were just 1.3 seconds shy of taking overall victory from Julian (Godfrey), who drove superbly all weekend. I cannot thank my crew enough for keeping the car going through thick and thin. Molly is well and truly battle scared; she had more hits than Abba, but that’s rallycross sometimes.

I’ve dreamt of competing in my own Supercar at home against such high-level competition for many, many years, and although the weekend was both busy and draining, it was special to be part of.

I fought back as hard as I could after the confusion at the re-start in the semi-final on Sunday, but there was nothing left in the car after so much damage. Taking two wins in the Irish Championship leaves us on maximum IRX points, which says a lot for the reliability of the car – we as a team can take great pride in that, but sadly we will miss the next Irish event as it clashes with France.

It's now time now to give Molly lots of love prepare for continuing our good form in Europe. Loheac is a fantastic venue that attracts crowds of almost 100,000 people.

I must say a huge thanks to everyone who made this event happen, there was some hard and spectacular racing throughout the weekend and we hope everyone who came along enjoyed the spectacle. Thanks to our partners for their continued support and congratulations to the organisers for getting through so many races. It was a great weekend for rallycross in Ireland.”

Results

Posted: August 14, 2017 4:05 AM

DAY 1

SUPER FINAL:
1 Derek Tohill (Ford Fiesta Mk 7) 4m 06.89s,
2 Noel Greene (Mitsubishi Mirage) 4m 25.92s,
3 Willie Coyne (Opel Corsa) 4m 27.07s,
4 Martin McAteer (Buggy) 4m 27.32s,
5 Peter McGarry (Vauxhall VX220) 4m 36.78s,
6 Lloyd Spendlove (Lotus Exige) 4m 37.15s.

SUPERCAR FINAL:
1 Julian Godfrey (Ford Fiesta) 3m 52.13s,
2 Ollie O'Donovan (Ford Fiesta) 3m 53.77s,
3 Derek Tohill (Ford Fiesta Mk 7) 3m 54.49s,
4 Oliver Bennett (Ford Fiesta) 3m 56.11s,
5 Kevin Procter (Ford Fiesta) 3m 57.95s,
6 Steve Hill (Mitsubishi Lancer) 3m 59.27s.

MODIFIED FINAL:
1 Willie Coyne (Opel Corsa) 4m 24.83s,
2 Peter McGarry (Vauxhall VX220) 4m 31.08s,
3 Lloyd Spendlove (Lotus Exige) 4m 31.47s,
4 Patrick Ryan (Vauxhall Nova).

PRODUCTION FINAL:
1 Ciaran Murphy (Peugeot 106) 4m 43.11s,
2 Adrian Farrell (Peugeot 106) 4m 44.11s,
3 Derek Lenehan (Citroen Saxo) 4m 45.50s,
4 Keith Kerrshaawe (Peugeot 106),
5 John Dowling (Citroen Saxo),
6 Vincent O'Rourke (Peugeot 205).

RALLY CARS FINAL:
1 Danny Calnan (Opel Corsa) 4m 39.20s,
2 Kevin Feeney (Ford Escort) 4m 40.11s,
3 Jason Keogh (Peugeot 205) 4m 43.44s,
4 Patricia Denning (Peugeot 106),
5 P J Doyle (Peugeot 205),
6 Peter O'Brien (Peugeot 205).

FORD FIESTA ZETEC FINAL:
1 Eoin Murray 4m 48.92s,
2 Niall Murray 4m 50.06s,
3 Garry Bradley 5m 04.54s,
4 Sean Hession,
5 Denis McCrudden,
6 Brian Matthews.

JUNIOR FINAL:
1 Jack Byrne (Ford Fiesta) 5m 03.71s,
2 Jyles Harding (Nissan Micra) 5m 10.48s,
3 Ben Mullins (Nissan Micra) 5m 11.87s,
4 Aaron Whelan (Nissan Micra),
5 Shane Loftus (Nissan Micra),
6 Shane Brauders (Peugeot 106).

BUGGY FINAL:
1 Martin McAteer 4m 08.50s,
2 Michael McLoughlin 4m 12.28s.

Day 2

SUPER FINAL:
1 Derek Tohill (Ford Fiesta Mk 7) 3m 46.79s,
2 Noel Greene (Mitsubishi Mirage) 3m 53.14s,
3 Lloyd Spendlove (Lotus Exige) 4m 02.33s,
4 Willie Coyne (Opel Corsa) 4m 03.80s,
5 Leigh Anne Sedgwick (Citroen Saxo) 5 laps,
6 Keith Kerrshaawe (Peugeot 106) 5 laps.

SUPERCAR FINAL:
1 Julian Godfrey (Ford Fiesta) 3m 38.47s,
2 Oliver Bennett (Ford Fiesta) 3m 49.08s,
3 Derek Tohill (Ford Fiesta Mk 7) 3m 49.82s,
4 Nathan Heathcote (Citroen DS3) 3m 50.75s,
5 Kevin Procter (Ford Fiesta) 3m 54.41s,
6 Steve Hill (Mitsubishi Lancer) 3m 55.83s.

MODIFIED FINAL:

1 Pearse Browne (BMW Compact) 4m 15.52s,
2 Lloyd Spendlove (Lotus Exige) 4m 16.49s,
3 Willie Coyne (Opel Corsa) 4m 16.57s,
4 Michael Coyne (Vauxhall Nova).

PRODUCTION FINAL:
1 Keith Kerrshaawe (Peugeot 106) 4m 29.94s,
2 Adrian Farrell (Peugeot 106) 4m 33.36s,
3 Derek Lenehan (Citroen Saxo) 4m 34.04s,
4 Leigh Anne Sedgwick (Citroen Saxo),
5 Ciaran Murphy (Peugeot 106),
6 Dermot Gargan (Peugeot 205).

RALLY CARS FINAL:
1 Patrick Donoghue (Peugeot 205) 4m 25.29s,
2 Jack Deegan (Peugeot 205) 4m 34.51s,
3 Thomas O'Rafferty (Vauxhall Nova) 4m 35.41s,
4 P J Doyle (Peugeot 205),
5 Patricia Denning (Peugeot 106),
6 Peter O'Brien (Peugeot 205).

FORD FIESTA ZETEC FINAL:
1 Niall Murray 4m 37.96s,
2 Eoin Murray 4m 45.05s,
3 David Maher 4m 53.02s,
4 Brian Matthews,
5 Denis McCrudden,
6 Garry Bradley.

JUNIOR FINAL:
1 Jyles Harding (Nissan Micra) 5m 14.81s,
2 Aaron Whelan (Nissan Micra) 5m 15.48s,
3 Christopher Grimes (Toyota Starlet) 5m 15.92s,
4 Ben Mullins (Nissan Micra),
5 Eoin Kinsella (Peugeot 106),
6 Shane Loftus (Nissan Micra).

BUGGY FINAL:
1 Martin McAteer 4m 11.97s,
2 Michael McLoughlin 4m 25.87s,
3 Kevin Ward 4m 28.08s.

Tohill set for biggest ever home race this weekend

Posted: July 20, 2017 9:06 AM

Ireland’s only FIA European Rallycross Champion, Derek Tohill, will fight for supremacy at his home circuit, Mondello Park, this weekend in a super-strong 18-Supercar line-up (July 22 – 23).

Competitors from the MSA British Rallycross Championship will join Irish regulars in what is set to be the most competitive rallycross event in Ireland for over a decade.

Reigning Irish Rallycross Champion Tohill is unbeaten at Mondello Park in 2017, having used IRX events to prepare for his campaign in the European Rallycross Championship, but will have to fight hard together with the PFCRX team this weekend to maintain that run of success.

The 2010 and 2013 Euro RX Champion raced a Ford Focus Supercar at Mondello Park in 2015 the last time British RX visited Irish shores and finished second. This time, he wants home victory.

Racing the team’s OlsbergsMSE-built 600bhp, four-wheel drive Ford Fiesta Supercar, Tohill has made the semi-finals at every round of the European Championship so far this season, a series that includes some of the leading British RX competitors.

This weekend, the PFCRX team will not only compete to win, but will also run development suspension components on the Fiesta in a bid to increase the car’s pace long-term.

For the first time ever, the Mondello Park circuit will be run in different directions over the two days of the event, Tohill having sampled the anti-clockwise layout in IRX rounds over the winter.

Come and watch the action and support the team this weekend. Full weekend or single day tickets are available, find out more on the Mondello Park website.

Derek Tohill | Driver | Ford Fiesta #111

“Many years ago it was events like this that motivated me to get involved in rallycross. It’s fantastic that there is such a big entry for the event – there are lots of good quality cars and drivers.

It’s a very, very long time since we had 18 Supercars in Ireland, but racing in Europe I’m used to almost 35 top line Supercar competitors at each event, so the more the merrier. There is no real added pressure for me to succeed at Mondello as there is always pressure to win no matter where you’re competing internationally.

I finished as runner-up to Ollie O’Donovan a few years ago at Mondello, so I think it’s my turn this time to take the lead. In rallycross, anything is possible, I’ll just go out and enjoy myself. I love driving this car and I love fast circuits, so I’m hopeful that we can be in the mix come the finals.

This will be my first time competing in my own Supercar with my own team at a big home event, so I can’t wait for the weekend. I guess it’s only something I would only have ever dreamt of happening while I was racing in the clubman classes for so long, but it’s good to dream.

Ultimately you have to work damn hard to make it happen. Our team has grown a lot this season as up until recently it was pretty much lots of friends helping out after work. We have moved things up a gear this season and have (preparation experts) C-Sport involved full-time. It definitely feels like the right decision and I am beginning to enjoy driving and the actual events a lot more this season. The old and new crew are all working very, very well together and it will be fantastic for them all to compete in a big home event this weekend.

The importance of this event for Irish Rallycross and motorsport in Ireland cannot be underestimated. Rallycross has seen huge growth at international level in terms of quality, numbers, budgets, professionalism and media coverage. Other domestic Championships have also gone from strength-to-strength but it’s taking a little longer in Ireland due to a degree of uncertainty in Irish Rallycross over the last number of years.

We’re not out of the woods yet at domestic level but IRX is definitely getting stronger and the huge work behind the scenes is slowly but surely beginning to pay off. We need this event to motivate the next generation, as drivers like Dermot Carnegie, Laurence Gibson, Helmut Holfeld, John Maloney and many more did for my generation.

We have large competitor support for this event, we just need support in through the gates now to enhance what should be an awesome atmosphere.”

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Posted: June 7, 2017 9:26 AM

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