Champion Palmer back to circuit racing
Five-time British Rallycross RX150 champion Chrissy Palmer has switched back to circuit racing in a Mazda MX-5 after a lack of budget prevented him moving up the rallycross ranks.
The 2009 Formula Ford Festival winner and Mclaren Autosport BRDC Award finalist had been targeting a move into Supercars, but the cost of the top-level category curtailed his plans and left him searching for new options.
Instead of moving up the rallycross ladder, Palmer has rejoined Paul Sheard Motorsport – a team with which he took three wins in the Mazda MX5-CUP in 2011 – to compete in Britcar’s new-for-2020 Trophy category.
“I couldn’t afford to make the next step up in rallycross, which would have been Supercars or Super1600, but I’m not really a fan of the latter, and then the opportunity came up to move back over to track racing,” Palmer said.
“The Britcar programme came about from Paul who suggested it would be a good series to race in. It gives me so much track time as well. Just the 30-minute qualifying session – never mind the races – gives me more time behind the wheel than an entire rallycross weekend, which is normally about 21 minutes!
“I raced Mazdas back in the day and the opportunity to jump into a Mk4 is great. It’s a lot different to the last generation of the car – the sequential gearbox is fantastic – but I need to remember it won’t slide quite as well as the RX150!”
Palmer made his circuit racing return at Croft last weekend– a track he hadn’t raced in full “for at least six years” – and took a class victory and 11th overall in the opening encounter. He then finished 15th overall in the second race.