Tohill Wins Championship
All the attention regarding the championship was on Division 2 at Sosnová as it was still undecided before the final round of the 2010 European series. Would Derek Tohill become the first Irishman to win a European Rallycross title or would Knut Ove Børseth celebrate his second title win in a row? For the last named the mission was very clear. Finishing on the podium and keeping Tohill behind him was the mission for Børseth before the event went underway, taking into account the different dropping scores for both drivers. Tohill lead the championship with two points over the Norwegian.
The event started very well for defending champion Børseth on Saturday setting fastest time in the official timed practice session. However in the first qualifying heat on Saturday afternoon a driver mistake (Børseth spun the car in the first corner immediately after the start) lead to a poor twelfth time for the Norwegian. Nevertheless there were still two more qualifying heats to come and only the best two are taken into account. Derek Tohill made a perfect start to the event winning the first qualification heat on Saturday and setting the fastest time outright. This was the best start the team could only have dreamt of making. An early night for all the team on Saturday night would ensure everyone would be focused for the final showdown on Sunday afternoon.
The pressure was now on Børseth for the second qualifying heat on Sunday morning. But this time, technical issues prevented the Norwegian from setting a fast time. Diagnostics after the second heat by his mechanics was 'gearbox change'. However Børseth didn't take any risk and set a time by finishing his qualifying session, however only 18th time overall was recorded. On the other hand the pressure was also on Derek Tohill, after he set fastest time in the first heat on Saturday. He could secure himself the 'A' final pole by setting fastest time in the second heat and that’s exactly what the Irishman did but, the Rathgar Motor Factors, Southside Motor Factors, partforcars.ie & Teng Tools backed driver forgot to take the mandatory joker lap and therefore got a time penalty and was classified only 16th. It was clear the severe pressure was beginning to show with both drivers.
It now all had to be done in the third and final qualifying heat. Børseth won his heat and set second fastest time while Tohill also won his heat with a steady drive to fourth fastest overall. The outcome of the qualifying heats was the direct qualification of Tohill for the 'A' final placed 3rd on the grid while Børseth only made it to the last row in the 'B' final. Given his mission - finishing on the podium and ahead of Tohill at all times, it was a difficult job that was ahead of the Norwegian before the finals.
In the 'B' final Børseth had the better start from the last row and by the end of the long straight after the first corner he was leading the field. He kept the lead for the remaining five laps and therefore he was allowed to join fellow countryman Børseth. At this point it was clear some tactics were being employed by the Norwegian drives in a bid to help their fellow countryman. Ole Kristian Nøttveit (Citroën Xsara) qualified in 5th place on the last row of the 'A' final. But he swapped with Børseth which curiously left Børseth on the inside line in fifth place directly behind Tohill. Ole Håbjørg (BMW E81) was on pole for the A final after a fastest and second fastest time during qualifying. Last weekend's winner Lars Øivind Enerberg also from Norway (Ford Fiesta ST RWD) shared the front row with Håbjørg with a fastest time in the second qualifying heat. Derek Tohill and Roman ?astoral (Opel Astra OPC RWD) were on the second row. So it was four Norwegians an Irishman and Czech home favourite Castoral.
When the final went underway Enerberg was leading in what seemed like a jump start. Tohill had made the decision before the final that it was going to be an all or nothing encounter. The Irishman felt that the best form of defense was to attack. This is exactly what happened during the first half a lap. The Irishman battled hard to regain control of his Fiesta after numerous attacks from his Norwegian rivals. After the second corner Tohill was second and ?astoral third. Børseth was fourth and therefore Tohill was virtually already the champion. But he would now have to maintain his pace and drive the longest 6 laps of his life making no mistakes and at a fast enough speed to withstand any challenges from behind. Børseth went down to fifth place but then climbed afterwards back to four and eventually finished third. Therefore he finished on the podium, but Tohill was ahead of him and the title went accordingly to Ireland. Tohill even won the race as Enerberg who was leading until the final lap got a puncture on the front right and the Irishman charged home to his fourth win of the year. Ole Kristian Nøttveit came in second. In the final standings Tohill wins with 139 points while Børseth (135 points) is the 2010 runner-up and takes the European silver. Nøttveit, with 129 points, is third in the 2010 championship.
The Irishman commented afterwards “To make history today by becoming the first Irishman in the history of the sport to win the European Rallycross title is a dream come through. The team deserves this prestigious title; we all fought tooth and nail to the very end in what was a really exciting battle for everyone. I am proud to have been part of the championship showdown. The whole team was under extreme pressure all weekend. We even had some technical difficulties just before the final qualifying heat but the lads got stuck in and fixed the car perfectly with seconds to spare. Nobody see’s these high pressure moments but everyone stayed calm and we went out and won that crucial last heat. The guys back at Gunnarson's workshop in Sweden did a perfect job all year; it was an honor to work with such professional people. Our engine builder Julian Godfrey also gave us fantastic support at all the races, he was always available when we were in doubt of anything what so ever. But, our own Rallycross Rebels team was by far the best crew in the ERC paddock. They were the gel that brought everything together and they are now part of history. I am really happy for them and still cannot believe myself what we have achieved in our first season driving a rear wheel drive car. Our sponsors and technical partners have also been fantastic to work with. We will now all take some time out with our families and enjoy the victory. As soon as our plans for next season are decided we will let everybody know but hopefully there should be some more exciting years to come for ourselves in the FIA European Rallycross Championship”
Published - Monday, 27 September, 2010
