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The 2008 Kumho Tyres MSA British Rallycross Championship gets under way
at Lydden's traditional Easter showcase event where champion Ollie O'Donovan
will begin the defence of his title amid a strong entry of 16 Supercars that
includes two European competitors.
Looking forward to the forthcoming year, O'Donovan is also working on
plans for the longer term future. "I'm going out there to defend the title, the
competition will tougher than ever but I enjoy that. I'm going to start the year
with the Peugeot 306 I used last year," said O'Donovan who allowed that he is in
negotiation to replace his title winning car. "I'm talking to a new sponsor,
which is involved in Moto GP at the moment, and if the deal comes it will be a
new name in Rallycross and will mean a new car, something different from
everyone else, for me."
O'Donovan's strongest challengers in the Kumho Tyres MSA British
Rallycross Championship are likely to be former champions Pat Doran (Devon) and
Dermot Carnegie (Dublin), while Steve Hill (Aylesbury) who won his BRC event in
Ireland last October will be a strong challenger with his Mitsubishi Lancer
Evo.
Extra interest is added to the event by the presence of Belgian racer
Koen Pauwels who will compete at Lydden to test his Ford Focus ST in preparation
for the European Rallycross Championship season. Pauwels will be joined by
Dutchman Ron Snoeck who will bring his VW Golf Supercar for its first event in
Britain.
Rallycross does Ashes to Ashes
A
feature of the Kumho Tyres MSA British Rallycross Championship that will whet
the appetite of motor sport fans is the head-to-head battle between two of the
most spectacular generations of car. Rallying reached an outrageous peak in the
mid-1980s with the extraordinary Group B cars that were eventually banned
international rallies after several serious incidents. Two decades later
rallying is preparing to curtail another breed of extreme cars as plans are laid
to replace the current World Rally Cars (WRC). Both types of car are eligible
within the Kumho Tyres MSA British Rallycross Championship, and the good news
for fans is not only that, in Rallycross trim both are lighter, more powerful
and faster than they ever were as rally cars, but that this is the unique
environment in which you can see them racing side-by-side. Bringing the
generations together is the ultimate Supercar mashup, or you may prefer to think
of it as a motor sport Ashes to Ashes.
Southern racers bid to make their mark
A
number of drivers will start their British championship season on 'home' turf at
Lydden. In the Supercar class Chris Langley (Hastings) will drive his Ford
Escort WRC while in the SuperModified category Terry Moore (Ashford) is the
local hero. After a strong 2007 season, Ryan Lawford (Canterbury) will return in
the Stock Hatch class with his Peugeot 205 GTi.
There is a full supporting programme alongside the British championship
with the Bill Gwynne Rally School Junior Rallycross Championship and the BTRDA
Clubmans Rallycross Championship also on the schedule, the former showcasing the
stars of the future as the best 14-16-year-old racers lay the foundations for
racing and rallying careers.
Lydden's biggest event of the year, the Easter Rallycross has been
expanded to run over two days this year with racing starting on Sunday afternoon
and the main part of the Kumho Tyres MSA British Rallycross Championship event
taking place between 9am and 4pm on Easter Monday (March 24).
Motors TV will feature the Kumho Tyres MSA British Rallycross
Championship in a regular Friday night broadcast slot in 2008. The standalone
shows will air at 10pm on second Friday after each round and will be repeated in
the Motors TV schedule after the first airing.
2008 Kumho Tyres MSA British Rallycross Championship
Sun-Mon Mar 23-24 Lydden
Sat May 3
Pembrey
Sun May 4
Pembrey
Sun Jul 6 Croft
Mon Aug 25 Lydden
Sun Sep 28
Pembrey
Sun Oct 14 Mondello Park (IRL)
2008 Kumho Tyres MSA British Rallycross Championship on Motors
TV
Round one 10pm
Friday April 4
Rounds two/three 10pm Friday May 16
Round four 10pm Friday July 18
Round five 10pm Friday September 5
Round six 10pm
Friday October 10
Round seven 10pm Friday October 24
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