Patrick O’Donovan will make his rallycross debut in the next round of the of the MSA British Rallycross Championship at Croft Circuit next week (May 6), competing in the Junior RX category.
Son of 2007 British RX Champion and current Supercar contender Ollie O’Donovan, 14-year old O’Donovan will join the Team RX Racing line-up driving a 1300cc Suzuki Swift in the single-make Junior category.
O’Donovan Jnr has held a regular presence in rallycross paddocks around Europe in recent years, supporting his father’s Supercar campaigns, while he has also competed in selected autograss events in the sport’s Junior division.
The MSA Junior Rallycross Championship, for drivers between 14 and 17 years of age, has produced some of the brightest talents in motorsport, including Swede Kevin Hansen, who races for the works-run Peugeot team in the FIA World Rallycross Championship, double X Games Gold Medallist Liam Doran and 2013 MSA British Touring Car Champion Andrew Jordan.
Debutant O’Donovan was forced to miss the opening two rounds of the 2018 series until he had celebrated his 14thbirthday (on April 13) but will now be able to compete in a car overseen by Autopoint Specialist Engineering, the team that led Kevin Hansen to the Junior RX title in 2013.
“I’m really, really looking forward to it. I’ve done quite lot of driving in different cars at home on the farm, but I’m not too sure what to expect when I start in rallycross,” said Patrick O’Donovan. “I’ve heard quite a lot from Tom Constantine (Junior RX title-contender) that it’s quite similar to autograss racing when the tracks are wet, but I’m not too sure how I’m going to do on the dry gravel and tarmac to start with because I’ve not raced on that before. I actually just can’t wait to get started, I’ve been waiting for this for the last 14 years of my life.”
The competitive Junior RX series is part of the nine-round British RX calendar. Having missed the opening two rounds of the year, O’Donovan is effectively out of title-contention, leaving him to focus on learning and making progress through the year while aiming to score strong event-by-event results.
“Patrick has been coming racing with us for a few years, he knows the paddock well and I think he feels that he’s more than ready to start racing himself,” said Team RX Racing owner Ollie O’Donovan. “We’re very fortunate to have Graham Rodemark (Autopoint SE owner and engineer) involved in the project, who I know can produce great young drivers and front-running cars. I’m delighted with that. Patrick’s done quite a bit of driving at home, in buggies, front-wheel drive and rear-wheel drive cars, but racing in rallycross is new for him so there is absolutely no pressure or expectation from us, I want him to go out there and enjoy it. If he does, I think he can do well. I’m really looking forward to Croft, it will be a fun weekend.”
Team RX Racing 2018 Junior RX event schedule
06 May (Sun) – Croft – British RX R3
23 June (Sat) – Pembrey – British RX R4
24 June (Sun) – Pembrey – British RX R5
29 July (Sun) – Croft – British RX R6
28 August (Mon) – Lydden Hill – British RX R7
23 September (Sun) – Pembrey – British RX R8
03 November (Sat) – Silverstone – British RX R9
