Double FIA European Rallycross Champion Derek Tohill continued preparations for the international rallycross season by winning the second round of the Irish Rallycross Championship at Mondello Park on Sunday (March 5), his second win of the year.

Having claimed victory at the opening round of the season last month, on the revised anti-clockwise Mondello Park layout that was used again on Sunday, Tohill and the PFCRX team continued to work tirelessly to ensure the ex-OlsbergsMSE Ford Fiesta Supercar was not only ready for the second race meeting of the season, but to continue the development of setups before the opening round of the European Championship in Barcelona, Spain, later this month (March 31 – April 2).

As he had at round one, Tohill won every time he went out on the Mondello Park circuit in the qualifying races, Supercar final and Superfinal. Crucially however, the event took place in mixed weather conditions, giving the team a range of circumstances in which to try different settings on the 600 horsepower Fiesta at its home event, the car running in an interim livery before the official reveal of PFCRX’s 2017 partners and livery in the coming weeks.

Tohill’s second win of the year extended his IRX points lead. The team’s focus will now switch to the five-round European Rallycross Championship. On Monday (March 6), Tohill was confirmed as one of 29 permanent entries in the ultra-competitive Euro RX series this year.

“I really enjoyed driving the alternative rallycross layout at Mondello Park for the second time, the track was wet for the day this time but that made it even more fun to drive. I would almost go as far as to say that I prefer the reverse layout to the original one,” said Tohill.

“Mondello Park has worked hard since the last event to further improve the rallycross circuit and the venue looks great. This has meant the positive momentum has continued in IRX and it enjoyed the strongest entry in years.

“We tried some new suspension settings with the Fiesta and went both the right and wrong way at times, but that’s what testing is all about.

“The car felt very planted and stable in the wet and it didn’t miss a beat all weekend. The whole team and myself had great support from OMSE, Mountune (engine supplier) and Ohlins (suspension supplier) to ensure the car performed perfectly and reliably all day. A sincere thanks to the PFCRX crew for doing such a professional job all weekend too,” he concluded.