Canterbury based Rallycross driver Tristan Ovenden was looking to return to the top step on Easter Monday at his home circuit of Lydden Hill. The Kent circuit is well suited to The Goody Demolition backed driver and is in fact his personal favourite.

The day was to prove troublesome for everyone as the weather was somewhat changeable starting off grey with drizzle, brightening up but returning to torrential rain for the finals.

Ovenden recorded a near perfect set of qualifying heats only finishing second in Qualifying 1 despite a back row grid start the second and third saw him have front row grid starts from where he wasn’t troubled for the wins. He gained pole position for his semi-final and went on to record the fastest time and secure pole for the all-important final.

After what is becoming his trade mark rocket style launch Ovenden found himself in familiar territory at the head of the rest of the field and started to make use of his Clios superior power and put distance between himself and the chasing pack. He timed his joker to perfection and comfortably re-joined at the head of the race. He crossed the line a full three seconds ahead of his nearest rival.

Speaking after the weekend, Ovenden said: “A hard weekend for the team again and they did a fantastic job of keeping the car in great shape giving us good pace with the dramatically changing conditions. I’m really pleased to reward them with the home track win.”

The championship now heads north to Croft for round 3 on May 6th. Track action gets underway at 09:30

Images courtesy of Matt Bristow