Citroen DS3 rallycross Supercar racer Derek Tohill put a series of difficult weekends behind him at the eighth round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship in Loheac, France. In front over almost 70,000 spectators, Derek took two heat race victories and set an impressive pace all weekend.

He eventually finished 20th overall in the hugely competitive, 37 strong Supercar field. Hopes of a higher finish were dented in heat one by a jump start resulting in double joker lap penalty. Derek recovered well to win two further heats, but mechanical niggles meant he narrowly missed out on a semi-final place.

Derek commented after the event, “We’ve had a couple of heat wins this weekend against some very strong opposition. We worked hard and can take a lot of positives from Loheac. Ultimately, with that many good cars, you can’t afford any mishaps if you are to make the cut. I made a mistake with a jump start in the first heat which didn’t help me at all. I’m pretty sure that was the first jump start of my career.”

Derek was full of praise for the hugely supported French event. He said, “The temple, as we call it, has been  absolutely incredible. The place had an incredible crowd and awesome atmosphere. I’m disappointed for the whole team that none of the three LD Motorsports prepared cars were in the finals. Our cars really suit this circuit. It’s smooth with fast corners, and the whole team had worked hard to make changes to my car after Canada to improve it.”

The next event for the Millers Oils and Teng Tools supported driver is the ninth round of the World RX series at Buxtehude, Germany in two weeks time. “Buxtehude is a big lottery, if you can get through the first corner you can win, if you don’t then you’re in big trouble. We need to do our best to stay out of trouble in the first corner and then anything can happen. Of course out aim is to make the semi finals. I would love a good result to repay all my fantastic sponsors for their continued support.”