Tohill Wins British Rallycross Championship Round At Mondello Park

25-May-2025: Derek Tohill, Peugeot 208, on his way to winning the Supercar final at Mondello Park. Picture: Barry Cregg.

Terenure's Derek Tohill did the double at Mondello Park at the weekend with victory in the Supercar final on Sunday. It was the biggest event on the Irish rallycross calendar with the British championship coming to town and with it bringing a healthy lineup of Supercars to entertain the large crowd. In Saturday's final he finished runner up to Kildare's Michael Leonard but took maximum points in the British championship. Having switched to a Peugeot 208 for this season after many years in his beloved Ford Fiesta, "Molly", it would be his first time round the county Kildare track in the new car.

25-May-2025: Derek Tohill, Peugeot 208, leads the field on the opening lap on his way to winning the Supercar final at Mondello Park. Picture: Jack Cregg.

25-May-2025: Derek Tohill, Peugeot 208, leads Michael Leonard, Ford Fiesta, on his way to winning the Supercar final at Mondello Park. Picture: Jack Cregg.

25-May-2025: Derek Tohill, Peugeot 208, leads the field on the opening lap on his way to winning the Supercar final at Mondello Park. Picture: Barry Cregg.

 As always in rallycross the heat results determine the starting position for the all the important final. The weather too was throwing in added pressure going from dry to wet to dry again each time drivers took to the track. With a third and a second place in the first two races a win in the third should have put him on pole for the final but after colliding with John McCluskey in the third heat it looked like his weekend was over. The car taking a couple of heavy impacts while spinning into the barrier on the exit of turn one. The PartsforCars team worked wonders during the lunch break and got the car ready for the final.

Lining up on the outside of the front row in third alongside Michael Leonard and Patrick O'Donovan he got the holeshot and swept round the outside of his two rivals to take the lead into turn one. Holding the inside line to turn two he held the lead and gave himself the best chance to settle into the lead. With races only being six laps its crucial to stay ahead on the opening lap to give yourself the best chance of a win. A clean exit of the final turn along with a mistake from Leonard kicking up the rear wheel and costing him drive down the straight, Tohill pulled a couple of car lengths on his two rivals behind.

25-May-2025: Gary Donoghue, Ford Fiesta, during the Supercar final at Mondello Park.
Picture: Barry Cregg.

A better second lap from Leonard saw him close in again but Tohill was still slightly quicker over the lap to maintain his small lead. Both we loosing and gaining to each other with O'Donovan in third waiting to pounce if anything happened to the two men ahead of him. Leonard took the joker lap on lap 5 in an effort to try and get ahead on the final lap. Tohill and O'Donovan carried on one more time but exiting the Joker lap Tohil had enough in hand to hold the lead. However behind him O'Donovan and Leonard went into the rallycross 3 section side by side. O'Donovan on the inside ran Leonard right out to the edge of the track and took the second place spot. Leonard lost out and dropped back. Tohill had no such worries and took the win. A great drive and gave his team the best repayment for all their hard work.

25-May-2025: Michael Leonard, Ford Fiesta, during the Supercar final at Mondello Park. Picture:
 Jack Cregg.

25-May-2025: John McCluskey, Ford Fiesta, during lap on his way to winning the Supercar final at Mondello Park. Picture: Barry Cregg.

O'Donovan came home in second with Leonard in third and McCluskey in fourth making it three Irish drivers in the top four. It was a classy and clever drive by Tohill who kept his cool after taking the lead and put in clean laps to put those behind under pressure and make small mistakes in trying to catch him. Its the first win in the new car too so the switch of manufacturer seems to have worked. 

25-May-2025: Derek Tohill, Peugeot 208, during Supercar heat 1 at Mondello Park.
Picture: Barry Cregg.

25-May-2025: Patrick O'Donovan, Proton Iriz, during the Supercar final at Mondello Park.
Picture: Jack Cregg.

Speaking after the race the Dubliner was delighted with his win " That win was for the team, they are some crew. Its a mix of Irish and French engineers and they pulled it off today. The car was wrecked after the crash in the third heat. There was chassis damage both front and rear, we had to replace suspension on the front, a bith welding too but they did it. We had a good setup too and it felt good in the final. The win puts me joint leader of British Rallycross Championship now with Patrick so its all to play for. We are doing a round of the French championship next weekend so hopefully the car will be fully sorted for that."