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2014 WORLD RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP
Posted: December 2, 2014 12:56 PM - 3347 Hits
Derek Tohill
Tohill completes first ever World Rallycross Championship
Posted: December 2, 2014 12:34 PM
Irish rallycross star Derek Tohill contested the final round of the FIA World Rallycross
Championship at the brand new San Luis circuit in Argentina last weekend [Nov 29th],
and only just missed out on a place in the semi-finals, winding up in 13th position at
the Intermediate Classification.
Driving the LD Motorsports prepared Citroen DS3 Supercar which he has raced around
the world in 2014, Tohill’s event in South America was dealt a cruel blow before the
open practice session on day one had even finished. With a down-on-power engine,
the Irishman was unable to get to turn one at the front of the pack in his heat races and
spent the weekend racing in traffic.
“We were carrying an engine problem all weekend which put us on the back foot. We
only had one heat with no issues, but even in the good heat we did have, my team mate
Henning [Solberg] was in front of me and through a load of dirt onto my windscreen. I
went for the washer switch but turned the car of,” said the Teng Tools supported
driver.
“I probably lost five seconds restarting the car. It was totally my fault, and sadly
that was probably what made the diference between making the semi-finals and not,
but that’s life. Everyone makes mistakes.”
While disappointed not to make the semi-finals at the final event of the season, Millers
Oils driver Tohill collected a useful points haul in Argentina to climb above Ken Block
and Johan Kristofersson in the championship standings. After the twelve rounds of the
inaugural World RX campaign, Tohill finished in an impressive 14th overall from the 58
drivers who scored points in the series.
“The town here at San Luis has some of the most enthusiastic people we have ever seen
in our lives. It’s important to be here in South America to show them rallycross. The
sport is fantastic. It’s been a very hard weekend for everyone in the team and it’s not
the way we would have liked to have ended the year, but we’ve completed the
marathon. It’s like victory for us to have completed and survived all twelve rounds.”
“Thanks to my sponsors, supporters and family who have stuck with me through thick
and thin. It would have been easy to quit when times have been hard this year, but we
stuck at it. The lads that look after my car have worked so hard, they have been
soldiers! I can’t thank everybody enough for their support, including all of the
promotors and the media for everything this year. It’s time to regroup and come up
with some fresh plans for the future.”
Tohill makes progress in Hell
Posted: June 16, 2014 2:04 PM
Irish rallycross star Derek Tohill (Dublin) made significant steps forward in the development of his career as a Supercar driver in the third round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship at Hell, Norway this weekend.
The double European Rallycross TouringCar champion started the weekend by trying a new approach to driving his LD Motorsports Citroen DS3 Supercar in Free Practice and Heat One on Saturday, which proved less than successful. The Millers Oils supported driver reverted back to continuing the style he has been working on so far this season, and by Heat Three set some of the fastest lap times of the field.
“Free practice and the first heat didn’t go so well for me, I tried to change my approach of how I drive the car but it didn’t feel right so we have decided to go back to how I have been diving it so far this season, which is still a new concept for me. Once we did that, we were one second a lap quicker in heat two.”
Sitting in 20th overall at end of day one in an incredibly close field, the Teng Tools supported driver hoped to improve on his position and make it into the semi finals on day two, but it wasn’t to be, a poor start in heat three was followed by a mistake in heat four. Tohill did however set a laptime of 38.8 seconds in the third heat race, one of the fastest of the weekend “In the third heat the car bogged off the line twice and I lost half a lap on the other guys in the race, so I just concentrated on my driving and set some great lap times. That’s the first time i’ve had that feeling with the car this year which is very encouraging. In heat four I made a mistake in the joker lap and lost time running wide.”
Despite being disappointed not to finish higher up the order, Tohill knows he has the pace to run at the front in World RX; “This event has been a hugely significant progression of my development from Saturday afternoon onwards. I know what I need to do now, it’s just getting used to doing it. Heat three was the first time I’ve had a real feeling for a Supercar.
We’ve made a plan now to drive the car in the way I am doing now and will stick to that even if it takes half the year to perfect. The team has worked really hard and the reliability of the car has been great, there is great attention to detail. It’s brilliant for the whole team that our team principle Liam Doran had a strong result in Norway, it was just a shame he got a puncture in the semi final, without that I think he would have won.” Tohill finished the Norwegian round of the series 26th of the 35 drivers.
The next round of the World Rallycross Championship takes place in Kouvola, Finland on June 28th - 29th.
Tohill Hits Highs and Lows in England
Posted: May 30, 2014 9:26 AM
FIA World Rallycross Championship May 24th – 25th, 2014. Round 2 - Lydden Hill, Wooton, England.
Derek Tohill (Dublin) entered the second round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship at Lydden Hill near Dover in England. The Irishman was participating in front of a sell-out crowd in his LD Motorsports 600 BHP powered Citroen DS3 SuperCar. The 2013 European Rallycross Champion was part of the 38 strong SuperCar field. This was undoubtedly one of the largest & strongest Rallycross SuperCar fields for many years.
The Irishman considers the event at Lydden Hill his home away from home and both Derek and the team were hoping for a trouble free weekend.
Saturdays opening heat was to start with some wet weather which suited the Irishman just fine. Unfortunately a turbo problem slowed the LD Motorsports Citroen DS3 but Tohill still managed to hold on to a second place finish and also held off PSRX driver Alexander Hvaal (Norway) who had got the better of the Dubliner in Portugal.
The LD motorsports team fixed the turbo problem in time for Heat 2 and this saw the Irishman get a fantastic start and he took his joker lap immediately. Tohill immediately began to hunt down Hvaal & Jos Jansen (Belgium) in the Millers Oils backed SuperCar. Tohill took a convincing win in the end which ensured he posted 12th fastest time overall. This type of result was exactly what the Irishman needed to secure a semi-final place.
The Teng Tools supported World RX driver went into Sunday confident of some further improved results but a puncture in the first corner of the opening heat on Sunday put a thorn in the Irishman’s progress. The following heat the Irishman lined up with an all or nothing approach but unfortunately further turbo problems slowed the Irishman’s progress which meant a semi-final place was not on offer to the Irishman.
Derek commented “with such a massively competitive field we could not afford any problems, we had problems in 3 of our 4 qualifying heats which meant a semi-final position was not possible. My performance improved relative to our opponents in Portugal, we had stronger pace and I ultimately learnt more about the car and how I must adapt my driving style. Myself and the team need to work hard at preventing further problems and improving our pace again. Hell in Norway is where we go next, it’s a tough venue and I have finished 2nd at this venue for 3 years running, I hope myself and the team can fight hard for a semi-final place in Hell.”
Following the UK round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship the next venue in the 12 round calendar is due to take place at Hell in Norway on June 14th & 15th. Derek is currently placed 16th in the World Championship, a position he will hope to improve upon in Hell. Subsequent rounds will be held in Finland, Sweden, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Turkey, with the championship finale rostered for November 28th & 29th in Argentina.
LD MOTORSPORTS SIGNS TOHILL AND SKORUPSKI FOR 2014
Posted: March 28, 2014 8:39 AM
The LD Motorsports World RX Team has confirmed that double European Rallycross champion Derek Tohill and Polish national Super1600 Champion Krzysztof Skorupski will be joining its team for the 2014 season. Both Tohill and Skorupski will be driving LD Motorsports prepared Citroen DS3s, in the Supercar category, and racing for the LD Motorsports World RX Team.
LD Motorsports is based in the south-west of England and builds and prepares competition cars in-house to compete in the FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy (World RX), FIA European Rallycross Championship (Euro RX) and X Games series. LD Motorsports staffs and runs two separate teams; the ‘LD Motorsports World RX Team’ and the ‘Monster Energy World RX Team’.
LD Motorsports Team Principal Liam Doran was full of enthusiasm following the announcement:
“It’s shaping up to be an absolutely huge year, and signing Derek and Krzysztof is exactly what we need for the LD Motorsports World RX Team; the right mix of experience, speed and talent,” said Doran.
Having started his rallycross career in 2004, Tohill brings a wealth of experience to the team. In addition to his two European Touring Car titles, the 37-year old from Dublin has finished inside the top three in the European championship for the last four seasons, as well as sitting on the Irish national rallycross committee board.
Strapping into a 600bhp Supercar for the first time is a daunting prospect for any driver but 24-year old Skorupski from Poland, is incredibly focused on making the most of his graduation from Super1600, in which he finished second in the 2012 European championship.
“It’s such a big opportunity, my main goal is to get used to the Supercars as quickly as possible, and adjust to the team,” said Skorupski.
Martin Anayi, Managing Director of FIA World Rallycross Championship for IMG Motorsport, welcomed the Championship’s latest arrivals: “Both Derek and Krzysztof have demonstrated huge potential in rallycross – they are both very competent drivers and their recent test in France demonstrated just how quick they are behind the wheel. It’s also fantastic to see young drivers such as Krzysztof being given this opportunity and of course it’s brilliant to add a Pole and an Irish driver to our multi-national line-up this year.”
The opening round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy gets underway in Montalegre, Portugal (3-4 May).
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