Former Dutch Autocross Champion Tom van den Heuvel will make his Motorsport UK British Rallycross Championship 5 Nations Trophy debut next weekend at the Lydden Hill fireworks season-finale [November 8-9] driving a Marklund Motorsport-built Volkswagen Polo Supercar.

With a decade-long career under his belt in autocross, in which he won at regional and national level including climbing from two-wheel-drive to four-wheel-drive machinery, Van den Heuvel switched to rallycross in the latter stages of 2024 at the highest domestic level, with the Supercar raced by Norwegian Sivert Svardal in the FIA European Rallycross Championship.

This year the Dutchman has competed in Dutch and Belgian events along with a campaign in the RallyX series, making appearances in Portugal, Holland and Germany, including claiming 4WD Pro Am category victory at his home circuit, Valkenswaard.

“For the last two years we have visited Lydden Hill for the final weekend of 5 Nations BRX; it's a fantastic race with a lot of different cars, and it is a good competition for us to see where we stand after gaining some experience in Supercar. The atmosphere is so great that we really want to be part of the race and experience the whole event as a team,” explained Van den Heuvel. “When I stopped racing in our own 4WD car in our national autocross championship, I was a bit in doubt as to whether a rallycross Supercar would be a game changer, but from the first ride it was an unbelievable experience and I have been enjoying every minute.”

Speaking of his hopes ahead of the annual fireworks finale at Lydden Hill, Van den Heuvel added: “We really hope to be competitive and give Patrick O'Donovan a hard time… but seriously, realistically it would be great to be able to battle for the podium. Overall competing in 5 Nations BRX is a dream and already the fact that I am driving the whole weekend is amazing!”

Tickets for the fireworks finale, which features the Saturday Supercar final under the floodlight cover of darkness before the firework display, can be found here.

Photos thanks to Johan Dingenen.

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