PR: O’Donovan claims French 5 Nations BRX win as Thorne maintains series lead

Reigning Motorsport UK British Rallycross Championship 5 Nations Trophy Champion Patrick O’Donovan returned to the series for the ninth round at Dreux and claimed victory, as 5 Nations BRX joined the French Rallycross Championship for the second year in a row as part of a bumper field (October 14-15).

27 Supercars took part in thrilling encounter, in which regular British contenders took on the best of the French rallycross series. Racing his Team RX Racing-run, Hansen Motorsport-built Peugeot 208, O’Donovan posed the biggest challenge to the experienced French campaigners through the weekend. He qualified for the overall final and ultimately finished on the overall podium, while also claiming the 5 Nations BRX spoils – his fifth series win of the season.

Championship leader Jack Thorne (Peugeot 208) also qualified for the highly-competitive semi-finals with his self-run car and was second of the 5 Nations BRX contenders to maintain his position at the head of the championship table with two rounds to go, while Ollie O’Donovan, the 2007 Champion, returned to racing his Proton Iriz RX for the first time since the Lydden Hill Easter weekend event and finished third to boost his 2023 overall podium hopes. Citroen DS3 racers Tristan Ovenden and Michael Sellar finished fourth and fifth of the 5 Nations BRX runners.

The final two rounds of the series will take place as a double-header within the annual Fireworks weekend at Lydden Hill on November 4-5, including a Saturday evening ‘night race’ final for round 10, with Thorne leading the standings ahead of Patrick O’Donovan, Tristan Ovenden, Ollie O’Donovan and Julian Godfrey.

Tekst: PR
Foto’s: Dave Smeets / RX-inside.be