O’donovan has to withdraw from Silverstone WRX after preparation delays
Irishman Ollie O’donovan was forced to withdraw from the British round of the World Rallycross Championship at Silverstone last weekend before the event got underway.
The former British Rallycross champion and winner for the series’ third round at Croft recently had planned to revert to his Ford Fiesta Supercar for his first international start of the season, but delays in completing a major overhaul of the Fiesta meant the car could not be readied in time.
Tony Bardy Motorsport then worked to prepare O’donovan’s British RX Ford Focus for the event, but engine detonation problems left the team no choice but to withdraw.
“I’m really disappointed not to have raced at Silverstone this weekend, but as always Tony [Bardy] and his guys worked so hard and it just wasn’t meant to be,” said O’donovan.
“Our focus will now switch to the next round of British Rallycross at Pembrey in a few weeks’ time, where we will be looking for another consistent finish to help our title bid.
“I went to Silverstone to watch and thought it was a very good event. We’re focusing on racing in British RX this year really, but we are planning to race at Loheac [France] and in South Africa in World RX, and when the Fiesta is ready later in the year maybe we will do some more events too.”
O’donovan is third in the British RX standings, six points behind leader Mark Higgins.