Irish rallycross team PFCRX and driver Derek Tohill finished 12th overall from 22 finishers in the opening round of the FIA European Rallycross Championship at Mettet in Belgium.

The double FIA European Championship winning outfit made its first international start with its 600bhp Ford Fiesta Supercar and set eighth and ninth fastest qualifying times on the first day of competition.  A pair of strong times in Q3 and Q4 on day two secured a place in the semi-finals, where Tohill was fighting for a starting position in the final until a broken suspension component during the race ended his final hopes. However he still finished 12th overall.

PFCRX will compete in a range of events this season with the OlsbergsMSE built car, the next of which will be the fourth round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship in two weeks time, at Lydden Hill in the UK (May 27 – 29).

Speaking of the Belgium debut Derek said, “It’s great to be back in the European Championship. The team did a superb job and we have already achieved a number of our objectives. We’ve work to do, but we have a great starting point here. Having our own setup and our own little team racing against works-funded programmes like the Peugeots is deadly. We need to stick at it, as we get to know the car better, life will be easier for us. Hopefully we’ve done enough here to secure a start at the next Euro RX round in Norway. We’re going to Lydden for seat time primarily but we know the track so that’s a good starting point.”