Points’ leader Patrick O’Donovan extended his advantage at the head of the 2025 Motorsport UK British Rallycross Championship 5 Nations Trophy by taking top honours at Loheac in France [August 31].

As 5 Nations BRX joined French Rallycross Championship regulars and a number of international stars to make up a 35-strong Supercar field at the biggest rallycross event of the year, the weekend got underway with a packed parade through the village on Friday afternoon.

Arriving in Loheac with eyes on challenging for outright victory, O’Donovan’s challenge suffered a seismic blow in Q1 when his Peugeot 208 WRX suffered a broken cambelt and then engine failure. Fast work from the Team RX Racing squad changed the unit in time for Q2, where the reigning title-winner’s fight back began.

Meanwhile, 2021 champion Derek Tohill (Peugeot 208) was best of the 5 Nations BRX runners in Q1 and in treacherously changeable conditions, remained top of the order until Q4, thanks to a pair of second-best times to O’Donovan in Q2 and Q3.

With the weather changing throughout, it was Murry Motorsport driver Michael Leonard (Ford Fiesta) who went quickest in Q4, but O’Donovan had done enough to qualify top of the 5 Nations BRX registered drivers, ahead of Tohill, with both also making it through to the overall semi-finals.

However, while neither 208 WRX contender had the semi-final run they hoped for against strong opposition, it was O’Donovan who finished the event highest to claim his fifth 5 Nations BRX win of the campaign from seven rounds.

Tohill scored strong points in second, while JGE Team Goody Rallycross team driver Tristan Ovenden (Citroen DS3), who had his best run of the season throughout qualifying, just missed out on the overall semi-finals but was third of the 5 Nations BRX registered drivers.

Together with team mate Julian Godfrey (Citroen DS3), who finished fourth in Loheac, the JGE Team Goody squad won the Teams’ Championship element of the French event, Ovenden also now just one point behind Godfrey in the battle for third in the Drivers’ standings.

Leonard finished fifth, the Murray Motorsport squad repairing his Ford Fiesta in time for Q4 after an incident in Q3 that damaged the turbo, while Michael Sellar (Volkswagen Polo) delivered arguably his best-ever Supercar performance against European Championship opposition on track and finished sixth of the 5 Nations BRX campaigners.

MMS RX Team IRL runners John McCluskey (Ford Fiesta) and Gary Donoghue (Ford Fiesta) both showed strong pace on their first-ever visit to Loheac and wound up seventh and eighth, while Colin Anson (Mitsubishi Mirage) was blighted by electronic issues throughout the weekend and didn’t get a single clean run, despite showing well against the French drivers.

The worst fortune was reserved for Ollie O’Donovan, who made a good start in his Q1 race but was forced into the gravel trap on the outside of the first corner, the gravel causing a broken oil pump belt, which in turn caused a failed engine in his Proton Iriz, putting him out. Team RX Racing does however continue to lead the Teams’ Championship standings.

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