The sixth
round of the 2008 FIA European Rallycross event was an eventful one for  Derek Tohill
(Dublin) as the Irishman had to dig deep to produce a result after loosing
second gear in qualifying. Another zero
point’s score would have left Tohill’s championship beyond repair.
Tohill won with ease his first qualifying heat on
Saturday afternoon beating strong opposition in his first trip to Höljes in Sweden. This circuit is widely accepted as being the
toughest Rallycross circuit in Europe. This left him 3rd fastest behind
two past European champions from the Czech
Republic, Tomas Kotek
& Roman Castoral.
Sunday was to prove more difficult as Derek retired
from the second heat with the  beginning of his gearbox problems. This left him needing a strong finish in the
third heat to ensure a place in the finals.
He started the third heat without 2nd gear but drove superbly
around this problem to qualify fifth fastest.
This left him in pole position for the B final.
Derek led the B final for the first three laps but he
then lost 3rd gear and then 4th This left him with only 1st &
5th gear and a damaged exhaust due to excessive contact from chasing
drivers behind. Derek eventually dropped
to fourth place in the B final and tenth overall when the clutch expired in his
Honda due to him having to slip the clutch excessively to keep up any sort of
momentum. Tomas Kotek took victory after
Roman Castoral was black flagged. It was
a bitterly disappointing end to Tohill’s weekend after such a promising
start. gear.
As soon as
the car arrived back to Ireland
the Rallycrossrebels team removed and striped the gearbox to find extensive
damage. Tohill commented “We
immediately contacted the gearbox manufacturer Drenth in Holland but they are short one part which is
probably the most important part of the gearbox. They won’t have another input shaft available
until September which puts the rest of the championship into jeopardy. We will try everything we can to source
either a new gearbox or replacement parts.
At the moment we need a miracle!”
 George
Tracey from Mullingar (Peugeot 307cc) was the only other Irish driver
represented in Sweden.
His run of good form came to an end as he failed to qualify for the finals
after suffering engine problems throughout the weekend. Ex World Rally Champion (WRC), Marcus
Gronholm competed in his first European Rallycross event in Sweden and took a sensational
victory in front of a delighted crowd of nearly 30,000 spectators.
Relentless
work will take place over the next few weeks to ensure Tohill’s
championship continues, the battle continues.
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