Mondello hosts two rounds of Irish Rallycross C’ship

THE opening two rounds of the PartsforCars.ie Irish Rallycross Championship took place at Mondello Park last weekend.

The event also served as a counting round for the Motorsport UK British Rallycross Championship which saw a welcome return of the top UK drivers who love coming across and battling it out with their Irish counterparts.

The premier class in rallycross are the Supercars where Terenure’s Derek Tohill currently reigns supreme.

His chief competition across the weekend would be Ollie’Donovan. Tohill was looking to progress in the British Championship as well as defend his Irish title.

Tallaght’s Peter McGarry would be taking part as would the Coyne brothers, Michael and Willie both also from Tallaght.

The weather certainly played an impact on the first day of the tournament with the effects of Storm Amy lingering. In the supercars the heats saw wins for William Carey, Derek Tohill and Ollie O’Donovan overall on times.

As the day wore on the weather improved and the track dried but the odd shower of rain kept making setup and tyre choice difficult. Both Tohill and O’Donovan would find themselves in Saturday’s final with O’Donovan actually getting the first place finish, though O’Donovan was not competing for the Irish title so Tohill achieved maximum points for that category despite finishing in second.

Yeah, a solid result for round one, didnt, get the win today but Ollie drove well.

‘You have to get through a lot of races to get to a final in Irish Rallycross but I’m delighted to start off the new campaign with a win.” – Derek Tohill after the conclusion of Round 1 on Saturday.

Tallaght’s Willie Coyne would finish in second place in the modified class on Saturday.

Sunday saw improved conditions, it was imperative for Tohill to win the final today if he was to keep his hopes of a British Championship alive.

He raced expertly and it would come down to himself and O’Donovan on the final stretch just as it had the day before.

Tohill learned from his mistakes the previous day and maintained his lead throughout the race not allowing O’Donovan to overtake him, securing first place and winning maximum points.

Speaking after the race Tohill was very pleased with his performance.

“I knew I had to win that race so I threw the kitchen sink and everything else at it. It was really important for the championship and also for the Irish too, making it a double is a great way to start the season”.

In the modified class it would be Tallaght’s Peter McGarry who took first place in Round Two on Sunday.

He was delighted with the result after failing to make the final of the previous round on Saturday following damage to his vehicle in the semi final. Willie Coyne also from Tallaght would finish third.