European, British, and Irish Rallycross Champion Derek Tohill will return to Pembrey Circuit in South Wales next week to contest the fifth and sixth rounds of the Motorsport UK British Rallycross Championship 5 Nations Trophy, tied for the championship lead (July 26-27).
Having switched to Peugeot 208 WRX for the 2025 season in an 11th-hour deal with leading French Rallycross outfit DA Racing, double European Rallycross Champion Tohill shares the lead of the 5 Nations BRX Supercar series – tied with reigning British and European Champion Patrick O’Donovan – thanks to a pair of second-place finishes in the season-opening weekend at Lydden Hill and a brace of maximum points hauls in his home round of the championship at Mondello Park in late May.
Alongside the British, Irish, and selected RallyX events the PFCRX driver has contested so far this year, Tohill has also sampled racing in the hugely competitive French Rallycross Championship, with appearances at Faleyras and Chateauroux running within the DA Racing stable as part of a strong partnership with the French outfit, that continues into the British series this weekend.
Tohill has a mixed relationship with the Welsh venue, but despite a run of poor fortune and mixed results, the double-European Rallycross Champion, nine-time Irish Rallycross Champion and 2021 British Rallycross title-winner claimed outright victory at the circuit twice in 2019, and in 2023 while racing within the Irish series as part of a joint British and Irish weekend.
The circuit will be run in an opposite direction on both days of the event, while all the action will be broadcast via livestream on the 5 Nations BRX Facebook and YouTube channels.
Derek Tohill:
“They say a change is as good as a rest, and we have done that by not competing in 5 Nations BRX last season, so I’m hoping that our return to Pembrey will be an enjoyable visit to Wales. We have been lucky enough to experience a few wins in Pembrey over the years, which is odd considering I have not had the best of luck at this venue, and that’s putting it mildly! I’m hoping that the longer run to the first corner as part of the track changes will help us have a more enjoyable event, too. We didn’t plan on competing in the full British Championship this year, but the fact that we are joint leaders with current champion Patrick O’Donovan means we have decided to compete at Pembrey to see if we can enjoy the event and see what happens.
I’m hoping we can just hang in there with Patrick and all the other 5 Nations BRX competitors. It will be quite a big change from the past two hot events we have contested in the French Rallycross Championship, but myself and the team will give it a very good go, as we always do. I expect absolutely nothing from these two rounds, so anything beyond that is an absolute bonus, let’s see…”
Championship Standings After Round 4
1 – Derek Tohill 74
= – Patrick O’Donovan 74
3 – John McCluskey 50
4 – Julian Godfrey 47
5 – Tristan Ovenden 45
6 – Gary Donoghue 39
7 – Colin Anson 35
8 – Oliver Bennett 30
9 – Ollie O’Donovan 24
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Kerry Motorsport News 