O’DONOVANS TO RUN FATHER-AND-SON RALLYCROSS ASSAULT IN 2022
Dad and lad to feature in the Supercar category in 5 Nations Trophy battle with twin campaign on the top flight
British Rallycross champion Ollie O’Donovan and reigning RX150 Rallycross title holder Patrick O’Donovan will form a two-car, fatherson team in the British Rallycross Championship 5 Nations Trophy’s headline Supercar category this year.
Seventeen-year-old Patrick O’Donovan will race the Ford Fiesta that his father Ollie has campaigned in recent years, while 2007 British Championship title-winner Ollie will race a brand-new Proton Iriz RX, the first of its kind.
Both cars will be run by Tony
Bardy Motorsport (TBM) under the Team RX Racing banner, although the Iriz RX has been developed as a collaborative effort between TBM and Mellors Elliot Motorsport, the Proton Motorsport rally specialists responsible for the Satria Super2000 and more recently the Iriz R5 (now Rally2).
The Iriz RX shares its platform with its R5 counterpart, but has been built from a fresh bodyshell and created for rallycross use.
Ollie O’Donovan, who tested the car at Pembrey last week, said: “Seeing the Iriz RX drive out of the trailer for the first time recently was a big moment for myself and the team. Then getting in and it fitting me like a glove, was a special feeling.
“There has been a huge amount of hard work go into this project, and it was brilliant to conduct the initial testing. The Iriz RX already feels like a significant step up from where we were, and in the first shakedown test we were far from its full potential. We have work to do before the opening rounds of 5 Nations BRX at Lydden, with another couple of tests planned, and I’m very excited to get the season underway.”
O’Donovan Sr will also campaign in car in the European
Rallycross Championship.