Eight-time Irish Rallycross Champion Derek Tohill and the PFCRX team head to the legendary Estering Circuit in Germany this weekend [August 10-11] to contest the final rounds of the Nordic-based RallyX series and potentially begin a new chapter.
Tohill claimed a record eighth-straight Irish RX title earlier this summer, adding the accolade to a pair of FIA European Rallycross Championship crowns and a British Rallycross Championship title.
However, while Tohill’s British and Irish titles were claimed at the wheel of a headline four-wheel-drive Ford Fiesta Supercar, it was with a rear-wheel-drive Fiesta that he claimed his Euro RX crowns in 2010 and 2013, and it is that very car he will race this weekend in the hugely-competitive Open 2WD division.
Tohill campaigned the same car in the RallyX season in 2023, but using a turbo-charged engine, the concept was left lacking in terms of drivability. Having been back to the drawing board, with several iterations of the powertrain assessed, the PFCRX squad has now fitted a naturally-aspirated 3.2-litre Volvo engine to the revised car, and heads to Germany to take on some of the very best two-wheel-drive rallycross drivers and machines in the world.
The RallyX series is becoming one of the go-to rallycross championships to compete in, with a mixture of traditional circuits and class structure, something the PFCRX squad has an eye on for 2025 with the rear-wheel-drive Fiesta, also largely pending the outcome of the event this weekend.
Both rounds of the double-header weekend can be watched live and for free on the championship’s YouTube platform, head to RallyX TV to find the broadcasts.
Derek Tohill | Open 2WD | Ford Fiesta | #111
“It was great to wrap up our eighth Irish title at Mondello Park earlier in the summer after a hard fight over the short season, and since then our eyes have very much been on heading North again to the RallyX Championship
It’s not about how many times you get knocked down, it’s how many times you get back-up, and what we are doing is very much in line with that. We are on the fifth version of the Fiestaengine concept, my car that I won the Euro RX titles with, and I think this is the one. Well, we will find out this weekend.
The turbo engine we used last year, basically a Supercar engine with two-wheel-drive, was almost undrivable on slippery surfaces, but would have made a great circuit-racing car. This Volvo concept, which we know works in other small cars, is something I am very excited about trying.
We have worked very closely with Motordesign in Sweden to get this engine, they have done a great job. Everything has been a bit last-minute, we were fitting the engine this week and it was on the rolling road in Ireland on Wednesday before the boys left for Germany, but Stone Motorsport have really pulled everything out of the bag to get us there this weekend.
This is just a big test really. I’m very excited to drive again at Estering, hopefully it will be like the good old days with the TouringCar and if we are competitive, then I could well be tempted back North again for more next season!”
