O’Donovan begins another British Rallycross campaign with Lydden double delight

Reigning British and European Rallycross champion Patrick O’Donovan got the defence of his domestic title under way with a pair of wins at Lydden Hill on Easter weekend.

BRX’s headline Supercar category featured arguably its strongest field for some time, with a roster that included returning champions and race winners, equipped with redeveloped or new machinery, but it was O’Donovan who again set the pace throughout the weekend in his Proton Iriz.

However, having headed the weekend’s opening qualifying session on Saturday, a stalled engine at the start of Q2 gave O’Donovan work to do, while returning 2021 conqueror Derek Tohill set the best time. Having entered the event in the Ford Fiesta Supercar he has campaigned for the past decade, Tohill’s PFCRX squad revealed the acquisition of an ex-Sebastien Loeb Racing Peugeot 208 WRX on the eve of the season-opener, and it was Tohill who ran O’Donovan closest throughout the weekend in his new stead.

Indeed, when O’Donovan was handed a penalty for his part in an incident in the semi-finals on Saturday, it was Tohill who started on the front row of the grid, flanked by fellow former champions Ollie O’Donovan and Julian Godfrey. But, while Tohill made the best start and led on the first tour, O’Donovan Jr had climbed to second in the opening corners, then overtook Tohill at the hairpin on the same lap, taking a lead he wouldn’t relinquish.

That left Tohill to fend off the attentions of Oliver Bennett, the BMW Mini racer throwing the entire kitchen at trying to find a way through, to no avail.

It was a similar story in Monday’s final, with O’Donovan Jr coming out on top of a first-corner battle with Tohill. Behind, a lap-one joker strategy left Bennett battling in traffic and, by the time he ran in free air, Tohill had extended his margin enough to secure the runner-up position with Bennett again third.

The other 2024 event winner, Ian Barrett, endured a tough weekend that ended in the barriers in Monday’s semi-finals following contact, while John McCluskey finished fourth for the MMS RX Team IRL squad on Monday afternoon in a weekend where strong pace went unrewarded for the Irish outfit.