Tohill takes lead in British C’ship

DEREK Tohill and the PFCRX team moved top of the British Rallycross Championship 5 Nations Trophy leader board following an impressive showing throughout a double-header weekend at Lydden Hill in Kent.

Racing at the most historic and arguably fastest rallycross venue in the world, the Terenure man recorded a pair of podium finishes after coming home third in Round Six on Saturday and second in Round Seven on Sunday.

What’s more he claimed a near maximum points haul of the 5 Nations BRX registered competitors to climb back into the points lead with the Olsbergs MSE-built, C-Sport run Ford Fiesta Supercar.

PFCRX entered the Lydden double-header second in the standings, with a deficit of 10 points.

But double former European Rallycross Champion and four-time Irish Rallycross Champion, Tohill scored well throughout qualifying, semi-finals and final in both rounds – including racing under floodlights on Saturday evening as part of the bonfire night celebrations – to return to Ireland with a three-point advantage in the standings.

The venue for the season-finale next month is currently unknown, with the Spa round in Belgium set to be cancelled, but PFCRX and Tohill are on a sound footing for this title shot.

“We had an outrageous weekend at Lydden” said a delighted Tohill.

“It was a strong entry and nothing in the British Championship is easily won. The racing is some of the hardest in any domestic rallycross championship in Europe and it’s about survival as well as making the right calls.

“The car has been both fast and faultless. The team did a great job all weekend.

“It’s intense with a full round on each day which puts the boys under a lot of pressure, but the car was great and we scored 58 points out of a possible 60 as far as we know.

“We’re where we want to be in the championship now. It’s been a hard year, but there’s no rest yet and the target for us is simple – to try and secure both the British and Irish Championships in the final rounds” he said.