Tohill runs in Latvia to put miles on his car

Irishman Derek Tohill competed in the first rallycross event at the newest World RX venue near Riga in Latvia last weekend, and had his best event to date in his European championship Ford Fiesta Supercar.

Racing in a round of the FIA North European Zone Championship, Tohill used the event at the Bikernieki circuit for testing purposes in his Fiesta, and set the fastest lap times of the Supercar field in the opening two heats, where he also set the fastest heat times in the Bikernieki Cup category.

However, a broken driveshaft in heat three – a reoccurring problem from the most recent round in Sweden – forced him out.

The problem was repaired in time for Tohill to take part in the first of two official test days at the circuit on Monday, when he was joined by a number of Euro RX and World RX teams.

“We were flying until we broke a driveshaft, so I had to sit out the final,” said Tohill. “We weren’t sure if to come here directly from Sweden but I’m delighted we did.”

The event in Latvia was won by Finnish Euro RX campaigner, Joni-Pekka Rajala.