after Procter takes first win
The sixth and penultimate round of the Kumho Tyres MSA British Rallycross Championship, at Pembrey on Sunday (September 28) produced the fourth different event winner of the year and left the championship finely poised ahead of the final round in Ireland in two weeks.
Returning from a season in the European championship and having his first outing in a recently acquired Ford Focus ST ERC, Kevin Procter (Northallerton) claimed his first outright win in a Rallycross event.
The Superfinal needed two two starts, the first attempt halted after championship front runner Steve Hill (Aylesbury) crashed out in the second lap while challenging Procter for the race lead. Reigning champion of current championship points leader Ollie O'Donovan (London) joined Hill on the sideline of the restarted race, his Peugeot 306 having sustained two punctures in the opening lap of the original race.
Procter had led the first start, and led from lights to flag in the restart. Lawrence Gibson (Banbridge) survived the first start and chased Procter all the way in the second, winning points that enabled him to close to within three points of O'Donovan at the top of the championship. Andy Grant (Barnstaple) had his best result of the year at Pembrey and finished third in his Ford Escort WRC.
Best of the two-wheel drive cars in the Superfinal was James Bird (Midhurst) who earlier in the event had clinched the SuperModified class title with a round in hand after taking his third A final win of the year. Bird then went on to finish fourth in the Superfinal, chased all the way by leading Irish SuperModified racer Michael Coyne (Naas).
Results
Superfinal (5 laps) 1 Kevin Procter (Ford Focus ST) 4m53.891s;2 Lawrence Gibson (MG Metro 6R4) 4m59.888s; 3 Andy Grant (Ford Escort) 5m07.647s; 4 James Bird (Renault ClioSport V6) 5m16.363s; 5 Michael Coyne (Vauxhall Nova) 5m20.988s; 6 Dessie Tierney (Vauxhall Tigra) 5m21.631s; 7 Julian Godfrey (Peugeot 205 GTi) 5m26.985s; 8 Tony Lynch (Peugeot 205 GTi) 5m39.952s. Championship: 1 Ollie O'Donovan (Peugeot 306) 144; 2 Gibson 141; 3 Steve Hill (Mitsubishi Lancer E9)125. Next event: Mondello Park (IRL) October 12
A full event report detailing all classes will be posted on RallycrossUK.com later
Notes
This event will be broadcast by Motors TV at 10pm on Friday October 10 and will be repeated several times in following weeks. The British Rallycross Drivers Association has organised the British Rallycross Championship on behalf of the governing body of British motor sport (the MSA) since 2003. The Kumho Tyres MSA British Rallycross Championship has seven rounds which will be run over six weekends at venues in England, Wales and Ireland. Its events are listed on the International calendar and are open to foreign drivers. 2008 Kumho Tyres MSA British Rallycross Championship
Sun-Mon Mar 23-24 Lydden
Sat May 3 Pembrey
Sun May 4 Pembrey
Sun Jul 6 Croft
Mon Aug 25 Lydden
Sun Sep 28 Pembrey
Sun Oct 12 Mondello Park (IRL)
