2011 FIA European Rallycross Championship

Unlucky 13 - Tohill Takes 2nd in Norway & 11th in Sweden

Posted: July 11, 2011 11:04 AM

Round 4, Norway, Hell Raceway, Lankebanen, June 24th - 26th 2011

Derek Tohill (Dublin, Ireland) entered the fourth & fifth round of the European Rallycross Championship in Scandinavia.

Hell Raceway at Lanke, Norway was the first stop on the Scandinavian tour and this was epected to be the toughest round of the season as most of the quick drivers in the Championship hail from Norway. The event started well for Tohill and the Irish Rallycross Rebels team, with 2nd fastest time in qulifying but a spin in the first heat while leading meant Tohill had a lot of work to do on Sunday. The short wheel base of the Fiesta makes for a very twitchy car especially while on the limit in the rear drive Fiesta!

A win in both heats two and three left Tohill on pole position in the B Final. Tohill got a great start and led a convincing win in the B Final ahead fo Belgian Koen Pauwels. This put the Irishman on the back row of the main A Final.

As the lights turned green for the A Final, Tohill made yet another blistering start and passed nearly the whole field down to the first corner. The Irishman took the joker lap first ensuring he stayed out of trouble and got in some quick opening laps. Tohill was a close second to Norways local favourite Lars Enerberg when he took his joker lap. Tohill followed Enerberg closely keeping a full grid of Norwegains behind him including Norwegian Championship leader Ole Habjorg in his BMW 1 series.

Round 5, Sweden, Höljesbanan, Höljes, Sweden July 1st - 3rd 2011

One week later part two of the Scandinavian tour was in the holy grail of Rallycross at Holjes, Sweden. 24 Touring cars would line up in Tohill's class in front of nearly 30,000 spectators. The weekend looked set to suit the Irishman perfectly as the heavens opened on Friday while scrutiny and administration took place. The Rallycross Rebels team were looking forward to a wet race as Derek has had many wins in wet conditions over the past few seasons.

But as a very wet Heat 1 began, it may as well have ended at the same moment. The wipers on the Irishmans Ford Fiesta failed after turn one, this was a symptom caused by queuing in the rain for scrutiny for 3 hours the previous day. Tohill just managed to get the car home in one piece but was only 19th out of the 24 cars.

This put the Irishman in the very first heat on Sunday morning, this was far from ideal as the Tohill would have to clean the wet and regraded gravel sections. But, suprisingly he still managed to post a 4th quickest time which was a step in the right direction. The third heat Tohill got held up in traffic while trying to make progress on a damp track, this meant the Irishman only managed to post 8th fastest time which led to a qualification again on pole position for the B Final.

The Irishman was confident of winning the B Final and qualifying onto the back of the A Final. The Fiesta had been producing too much wheel spin all weekend on a damp track but the dry B Final led to the Fiesta bogging down at the start and Tohill lost some positions off the line. While the Irishman was trying to make up some lost ground he sustained 2 punctures which eventually ended the Tohill's weekend with a retrement and 11th overall.

A disappointed Tohill commented afterwards
"We had a roller coaster up here in Scandinavia, a lot of traveling and a lot of hard work gave us some very mixed results. A bit of bad luck in Sweden didn't help. We must continue to improve both myself, the team and the car. The hard work will eventaully bear fruit. But, for the moment we must be patient and not loose faith. I am happy to look towards part two of the championship and hope that we can improve in the areas where we are weak. I look forward to Belgium & Holland which are closer to home and two circuits I have driven on before."

Tohill Takes P6, a Spin and Engine Troubles in France

Posted: May 31, 2011 11:23 AM

Derek Tohill (Dublin, Ireland) entered the third round of the FIA European Rallycross Championship (ERC) at Essay, France just over 100 miles west of Paris. There was a very large entry at this event as it was also a counting round of the FFSA French Rallycross Championship. The circuit was mainly drenched in sunshine throughout the weekend; the dry and hot weather ensuring dust would be an added dimension to the event. The fans were in a typically French mood and were very vocal in their support for the home drivers; over 25,000 Rallycross fans attended the event.

The weekend began with the Irishman being plagued by electrical problems which forced him to miss the first practice session. The Rallycross Rebels managed to find a temporary fix to this problem which got Tohill’s Fiesta out for the second session but, this left the team on the back foot and struggling to find the optimum gearing in time for qualification. Tohill had to be content with 4th place overall after day one. The team had a meeting on Saturday evening and went about improving the performance of the Fiesta.

Sunday morning was a much happier place for Tohill and his team. The reigning European Rallycross Champion managed to win his heat on Sunday morning and finish second overall in the final heat. This put the Irishman on the front row of the grid for the main A Final and the team felt confident they could finally get their championship off the ground with a victory.

As the lights turned green for the beginning of the A Final, Tohill got a blistering start and lead the field throughout lap 1. But at the end of the fast gravel back straight Lars Enerberg (Norway) tried to pass the Irishman resulting in both drivers out braking themselves and spinning out. As the Irishman rejoined it was soon clear that he had the exact same problem as round 1 in Lydden Hill, England. To the team’s disappointment the engine was misfiring and all the man from Dublin could do was limp home in 6th place overall.

A bitterly disappointed Tohill commented afterwards “Another event led but ultimately another 6th place, the team is having to dig deep at the moment but we win together and we loose together. At the moment things can only get better and these results just make me more determined that everybody sharpens their pencil and we move forward and learn. Congratulations to Lars Enerberg, Koen Pauwels & Per Magnes Royras on their podium positions, we look forward to working hard over the next 3 weeks and being well prepared for the Scandinavia events”.

Now the team prepares for round 4 at Hell Raceway in Norway on June 24th -26th. The Rallycross Rebels team and Tohill will be preparing to ensure the Norwegians don’t have it all their own way in their own back yard known as Hell!

Derek is supported in the 2011 FIA European Rallycross Championship by Tractive Transmissions, Rathgar Motor Factors, Southside Motor Factors, Millers Oils, Teng Tools, L.Brador, Dublin Hampers, partsforcars.eu and Ring Automotive.

All rounds of the European Rallycross Championship are being covered by Motors TV and will air in the week after each race.

Tohill takes 2nd Overall in the High Altitude of Portugal

Posted: May 31, 2011 11:22 AM

Derek Tohill (Dublin, Ireland) entered the second round of the European Rallycross Championship (ERC) at Montalegre in the North of Portugal. The circuit is over 1000 metres above sea level and this brought challenges to both Derek his team and the Duratec engine in his Fiesta. The circuit experienced large crowds with all grandstands filled to their capacity and the passionate Portuguese fans ensured the atmosphere was fantastic throughout the event. The weekend began with the Irishman struggling to find a good set up. A second and fourth place in the first 2 qualification heats ensured Tohill would qualify for the A Final but this wasn’t good enough for the team and they set about making major revisions to the Ford Fiesta MK.7 on Saturday night. A late night was a certainty for the Rallycross Rebels team but Tohill was rewarded with a much better car on Sunday morning. The Irishman delivered and produced a second fastest time which was much closer to the leading pace and ensured a front row start for the A Final. As the lights went green for the A Final the Irishman got away second best behind the Norwegian Lars Enerberg. Most of the following field took the joker lap on the first lap which allowed Enerberg and Tohill to break away. Tohill had to settle for second place for the entire final but the Irishman was happy to pick up 17 points when things weren’t going exactly to plan. Tohill commented “Everybody has worked very hard this weekend to ensure our pace improved and we secured second place. The team never gave up and I am very grateful for their determination, we look forward to France and hope to continue moving towards the front of the field”.

Derek is supported in the 2011 FIA European Championship by Tractive Transmissions, Rathgar Motor Factors, Southside Motor Factors, Millers Oils, Teng Tools, L.Brador, Dublin Hampers, partsforcars.eu and Ring Automotive.

The team now prepares themselves for Round 3 in Essay, France near Paris. Derek and his team look forward to the French race this weekend which traditionally attracts crowds well in excess of 20,000 spectators.

All rounds of the European Rallycross Championship are being covered by Motors TV and will air in the week after each race.

Derek Tohill places 6th in a Tough Weekend at Round 1 of the FIA European Rallycross Championship

Posted: May 31, 2011 11:21 AM

Derek Tohill (Dublin, Ireland) entered the opening round of the European Rallycross Championship (ERC) in the South of England near Dover with high hopes of starting his title defence with a strong result. The Irishman had completed a perfect test a few weeks earlier by winning a round of the British Championship at the same venue. But, the Irishmans weekend ended in the A Final with engine failure in the Ford Fiesta MK.7 and Tohill had to limp home as the last finisher in the A Final and eleven Championship points.

The weekend began well with some beautiful weather and 13,500 spectators. Derek and his Rallycross Rebels team also started well by posting fastest overall time in practice 1, practice 2 and timed qualifying. But as the heats began it became apparent to the team that they were nursing an engine problem.

This did not deter the team too much as the Tohill still managed to qualify the Fiesta for the A final and also on the front row of the grid alongside Lars Enerberg (Norway). Row two was made up of 2006 European Champion Roman Castoral (Czech) and Per Magne Royras (Norway). Row three was made up of Koen Pauwels (Belgium) and David Nordgard (Norway).

Both Tohill and Enerberg made a strong start as the lights went green, Tohill slightly getting the drop on the young Norwegian, Tohill couldn’t quite break free from Enerberg and there was contact at the first corner which ultimately left the Irishman off the racing line forcing him to drop to 3rd place. He then took the joker lap and rejoined the circuit as the remaining field came around, this resulted in the Irishman getting caught up in a further incident and again falling off the main racing line.

These incidents were to have little relevance as on the following lap the engine finally cried enough and fell onto three cylinders and all the Irishman could do was slowly carry the car home last of the A final finishers and sixth overall. The Irishman commented “This was not an ideal start to our championship campaign but it was the same last season and we don’t mind chasing the pack. Sincere thanks must go to Tractive Transmissions, Millers Oils, Teng Tools, Dublin Hampers, partsforcas.eu and the rest of our partners and team for all of their hard work over the past 6 months. We will re-pay their support over the next 9 rounds of the championship”.

The team now prepares themselves for Round 2 in Portugal near Porto, Derek and his team can only look forward to starting their championship campaign in earnest.

Derek Tohill's 2011 FIA European Rallycross Championship Campaign

Posted: May 31, 2011 11:17 AM

Derek Tohill (Dublin, Ireland) the 2010 European Rallycross Champion in TouringCars has released images of his newly designed Ford Fiesta MK.7 TouringCar. The car has been re-designed to mark the new challenge that the 2011 season presents to Tohill and his Rallycross Rebels team. The 2011 season will offer a different set of challenges as the team will be out to defend their title and they will be the ones watching out for new and existing drivers who may mount a title bid. Derek will proudly adorn the coveted number 1 on his TouringCar for the complete season.

The car has been designed by Polish photographer and designer Jakub QBA Nitka. We wanted the car to reflect a new dawn in our ERC adventure, we have some great sponsors and we would like their companies to be associated with a car that not only goes quite quickly but also with a car that’s modern in design and presents a sharp, professional image. QBA has done a superb job re-designing the livery, he is a true Rallycross fan and that is reflected in the effort he has made with this design.

Derek will be supported in the 2011 European Rallycross season by Millers Oils, Tractive Motorsport Transmissions, partsforcars.eu, Dublin Hampers, Teng Tools, L.Brador, Rathgar Motor Factors, Southside Motor Factors and Platinum Batteries. The season gets underway at Lydden Hill, England over the Easter bank holiday weekend.

More Details:

Derek Tohill

Championship Rounds

Posted: May 31, 2011 11:14 AM

1. April 24-25 Lydden Hill Race Circuit Wootton England
2. May 14-15 Pista Automóvel de Montalegre Montalegre Portugal
3. May 21-22 Circuit des Ducs Essay France
4. June 25-26 Lånkebanen Hell Norway
5. July 2-3 Höljesbanan Höljes Sweden
6. August 6-7 Duivelsbergcircuit Maasmechelen Belgium
7. August 13-14 Eurocircuit Valkenswaard Netherlands
8. September 3-4 PS Racing Center Greinbach Austria
9. September 10-11 Tor S?omczyn S?omczyn Poland
10. October 1-2 Autodrom ?eská Lípa Sosnová Czech Republic