Irish rallycross star Derek Tohill has contested the final round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship at the brand new San Luis circuit in Argentina.
He just missed out on a place in the semi-finals, winding up in 13th position at the Intermediate Classification. Driving the LD Motorsports prepared Citroen DS3 Supercar which he has raced right across the globe during the year, Derek struggled with reduced power throughout the weekend and did extremely well to be on the pace in the heats. He commented, “We were carrying an engine problem all weekend which put us on the back foot. We only had one heat with no issues.”
While disappointed not to make the semi-finals at the final event of the season, the Millers Oils supported driver Tohill collected a useful points haul in Argentina to climb above Ken Block and Johan Kristoffersson in the championship standings. After the twelve rounds of the inaugural World RX campaign, Tohill finished in an impressive 14th overall from the 58 drivers who scored points in the series.
Derek was hugely impressed by the enthusiasm of the South American spectators. He commented, “The town at San Luis has some of the most enthusiastic people we have ever seen in our lives. It’s important to be here in South America to show them rallycross. The sport is fantastic. It’s been a very hard weekend for everyone in the team and it’s not the way we would have liked to have ended the year, but we’ve completed the marathon. It’s like victory for us to have completed and survived all twelve rounds.” He added, “Thanks to my sponsors, supporters and family who have stuck with me through thick and thin. It would have been easy to quit when times have been hard this year, but we stuck at it. The lads that look after my car have worked so hard. I can’t thank everybody enough for their support, including all of the promoters and the media for everything this year. It’s time to regroup and come up with some fresh plans for the future.”