Tohill and team reach semi finals in Euro season finale
By Stephen Leonard
IRISH rallycross team PFCRX and double FIA European Rallycross TouringCar champion Derek Tohill recently qualified for the semi-finals of the Euro RX Supercar division for the fifth consecutive time in 2017, as the championship reached its season finale in Latvia.
It meant that the reigning Irish Rallycross Champion from Terenure finished up seventh overall in the ser-ies, the best result recorded by the team in this class.
Having made the final (top six drivers) in two of the previous four rounds, in Spain and France, the team produced its strongest display of the year in Riga.
Despite constantly changing wet and dry conditions, Tohill ended the first day seventh overall, and finished a best-ever fourth in Q3 on Sunday morning, in challenging conditions for the 28-car field.
Securing his place in Semi-Final Two, the Dubliner ran second in the opening stages and looked set for a second-row start in the final, until a suspension component broke upon landing over the circuit’s biggest jump.
Losing control of the OlsbergsMSE-built 600 horsepower Ford Fiesta Supercar, he hit an Armco barrier, causing significant damage to the car and forcing his retirement.
PFCRX now plans to continue development into the winter period, includ-ing competing in the final two rounds of the Irish Rallycross Championship, in a bid to continue its progression up the order with the Fiesta Supercar in the European Champion-ship in 2018.
“This season has been mission complete really” said Tohill. We wanted to be in the semi-finals last year and the finals this season, and made the semi-finals every time and the final in two rounds.
“We had the pace to be in the final in the other three rounds too, but like in Latvia, we just didn’t have that bit of luck in the semi-finals.
“We’ve been comfortably inside the top ten, and consistently in the top six, so the focus is for sure on getting podiums next year.
“The target in Latvia was to qualify on the front row of the semis, that would have been the ultimate weekend.
“The retirement from the semi-final was a shame- a bad landing over the jump broke the hub. There’s quite a lot of damage to the car, so we’ll assess it and see whether we’re going to race the Supercar or TouringCar at the next event at Mondello.”
