Rooke again in British RX, Csucsu steams home in Lithuania

The fifth round of the MSA British Rallycross Championship took place at Maasmechelen in Belgium, where points leader Dan Rooke (Citroen DS3) dominated. The reigning MSA Supernational champion was fastest in each of the three qualifying sessions, the semi-finals and final to take a maximum points haul and extend his series lead by a further 11 points. Julian Godfrey (Ford Fiesta) had a slow start to the event after suffering problems in Q1 and Q2 but fought back to win the first semi-final and finish second in the final. Ollie O’Donovan (Ford Focus) rounded out the podium following a battle with Pat Doran (Citroen C4), who finished fourth. Belgian pairing Jos Jansen (Ford Fiesta) and Johnny Verkuringen finished fifth and sixth. British RX title contender Kevin Procter (Ford Fiesta) retired from the lead of his Q2 race by crashing into the wall at the circuit’s last corner, the resulting damage too extensive for the former Euro RX event winner to continue.

In the MSA Supernational Rallycross Championship, Tony Lynch (Ford KA) dominated in a similar way to Rooke, winning every time he went on track. Guy Corner (Peugeot 206) was second with Paige Bellerby (Lotus Exige) third. Lynch extended his championship lead. Kris Hudson (BMW Mini) won the BMW Mini final, while Aidan Hills (Suzuki Swift) won the Swift Sport final. Chrissy Palmer beat the returning Marc Scott in the RX150 final, while Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky fought back from troubles in the qualifying races to finish the final fourth on her debut, driving the ODYSSEY Batteries-backed buggy. Rob Gibson (MG Metro 6R4) won the Retro Rallycross final and Graham Rumsey (Citroen Saxo) won the Hot Hatch final. In the joint Belgian-British Super1600 category, Peter Vingerhoets (Peugeot 206) won while Paul Coney (Vauxhall Corsa) was top Brit in fourth. The Belgian Supernational categories raced separately throughout the event, Peter van de Wege taking glory in the up to two-litre category with his Toyota Yaris while Kristof Bex got one over Steve Volders and won the over two-litre section, Bert Bosmans bagging second in his Volvo 240.

French Rallycross Championship leader Firmin Cadeddu (Citroen C4) qualified top at the Intermediate Classification and won the first semi-final at the fifth round of the series at Pont De Ruan, but had his victory hopes dashed by a puncture in the final. Fabien Chanoine (Renault Clio) claimed victory ahead of Alexander Theuil (DS3) and Florent Beduneau (Peugeot 208). Caddeddu finished fourth with Albatec Racing’s Philippe Maloigne (Peugeot 208) fifth. Andrea Dubourg (Citroen DS3) suffered technical problems in the final and retired after three laps.  Twingo Cup champion Tom Daunat (Renault Twingo) won the Super1600 final ahead of points leader Samuel Peu (Citroen Saxo) and Jimmy Terpereau (Citroen C2). Christophe Saunois (Toyota Corolla) won the Division Three final, while Sebastien Le Ferrand (Peugeot 206) won the Division Four final. Twingo R1 Cup leader Marceau Launay claimed victory in the single-make final.

Just 22 rallycross cars took part in the fifth round of the fourth round of the Dutch Rallycross Championship two weeks ago, which continues to struggle for entries. As the sole Supercar entrant, Wil Teurlings (Volvo S40) was victorious in the ‘headline’ category. Danny De Beuckelaer (Volvo C30) won the Supernational -2000 final, ahead of Mandy Kasse (Ford Fiesta) and Pieter Jan Willekens (Volkswagen Golf). In Supernational +2000 Bert Bosmans (Volvo 242) won the final with Stefan Vaesen (BMW Compact) second and Peter Thijs (BMW M3 third). Peter Vingerhoets (Peugeot 206) won the five-car Super1600 final. Davy Van Den Branden (Citroen DS3) was second and Willem Veltman (Citroen C2) completed the podium.

Sebastien Loeb’s exploits in the Silk Way rally have the current World RX racer placed eighth after leg 13 of the epic event, this despite being penalised four hours for missing check points …

The Rallycross Challenge held its third round at Vilkyciai in Lithuania where Hungarian “Csucsu” had the measure of Mandie August and took the win. Ernestas Staponkus claimed Super1600 honours on his home track, young Finn Sami-Matti Trogen placing second (in what looks like being his last event for the time being) ahead of Kasparas Navickas. Steve Volders and Roman Castoral were top of the Supertouringcar classes.

British World RX driver Liam Doran has been dropped by the JRM World Rallycross Team with immediate effect, the British squad announced in a statement on Monday. The team gave no further explanation for the decision. “The agreement with the team has been terminated,” said JRM Racing Team Principal, James Rumsey. “This is an internal matter and no further comment will be made at this stage.”  The squad will continue to field a Mini RX in the remaining rounds of this season, but will miss the next round in Canada.

The sixth round of the French Rallycross Championship, which takes place next week and will feature two entries from the Albatec Racing team as owner and driver Andy Scott will join Philippe Maloigne in a pair of Peugeot 208s. Scott made his first driving appearance of the year at the Euro RX round in Norway in June and rolled out of the Swedish round of the series earlier this month after contact with team mate, Tommy Rustad. “I’m very excited and happy about racing in French RX at Kerlabo, in what promises to be a cracking weekend. I’ve not raced in the French series before and therefore never raced at Kerlabo, but I’ve heard only good things about it,” said Scott.

Latvia’s spectacular new World RX track was officially opened on July 21. Built within the historic Bikernieki race track in Latvian capital, Riga, the new circuit will be put through its paces in an NEZ event this weekend.

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