Round 8, Germany, Estering, Buxtehude, Germany, August 13^th – August 15^th 2010

The 2010 FIA European Rallycross Championship is reaching its final stages.  Buxtehude in Germany was the host for round 8 of the 10 round European series.  The circuit situated near Hamburg in the North of Germany has just installed a joker lap and there was great interest in how it would perform.  The atmosphere at the circuit was vibrant as the circuit witnessed a very high volume of spectators.

The battle at the top of the Division 2 standings is between 4 drivers, Irishman Derek Tohill (Ford Fiesta MK.7 RWD) and the 3 Norwegians Knut Ove Børseth (Ford Fiesta MK.7 RWD), Ole Kristian Nøttveit (Citroen Xsara RWD) and Lars Øivind Enerberg (Ford Fiesta ST).  In timed practice only two tenths of a second separated Borseth, Tohill and Belgian Guino Kenis (BMW 1 Series).  The close times were an indication that action would be very tight between the championship front runners.

The first set of Heats on Saturday afternoon saw Derek Tohill in his Teng Tools backed Fiesta MK.7 take a race victory and at the same time he set fastest time of the day ahead of Norwegian Borseth and Czech driver Roman Castoral (Opel Astra RWD).  This was the best possible start the Irishman could have hoped for on day 1.  But, after some routine maintenance on Saturday night the Rallycross Rebels team discovered the rear axle was bent on the Fiesta.  The team set about straightening the axle as much as possible but this was limited without having a jig to hand.  But, the team also worked on set-up and hoped the competition wouldn’t improve too much on Sunday.

Sunday morning saw Tohill take a lights to flag victory in the second heat but the Rallycross Rebels team’s fears about the competition going faster were justified when Tohill’s time was only 5^th quickest.  Defending European Champion and current point’s leader Knut Ove Borseth went quickest.  This would mean the Irish man would need a fast time in the third heat.

Heat 3 saw another race victory for the Irishman which helped him claim 3^rd fastest time overall.  This was enough to ensure the Irishman qualified directly for the A final with the added bonus of being on the front row alongside pole man Borseth.

Just as the grid girls left the start line of the all important A final, the heavens at the Estering circuit opened.  Normally when this occurs a “Wet Race” is called and drivers have the option of using wet weather tyres.  But, as this happened seconds before the lights went green it was too late to make any changes.  The lights went green and Tohill made a blistering start on the wet track, easily beating Borseth and the rest of the field away from the line.

The first couple of laps were tentative for Tohill and Borseth as they tried to find some traction.  Borseth took his joker lap first which allowed Tohill to attack for the last 3 laps without fear of any lunges from the Norwegian.  Tohill then took his mandatory joker lap on the last lap and to the delight of the Irishman and his team; Borseth was not in site.  A second consecutive victory for the Irishman leaves him with 3 victories in Europe this season, the most by any driver in the Div. 2 championship.

Tohill commented afterwards “This was typically Irish weather as we are used to in Mondello Park, it was absolutely fantastic to win again and in such difficult conditions but, I still don’t want to think about the championship.  We are a young team and this year is still a learning season for us, so we just want to win races.”

The European Championship now moves to Slomczyn in Poland and Sosnova in Czech Republic next month.  Curiously enough this is where Derek Tohill won his first ever ERC back in 2008 in his Grp.N Honda Civic Type R.

Results from ERC Germany and Championship Standings