Canterbury based Rallycross driver Tristan Ovenden and his team travelled to Pembrey Circuit in South Wales over the August bank holiday looking to build on his 5th place standing in the 5 Nations British Rallycross Championship.

Visiting the Welsh circuit for the first time in 2 years and for the first time in a Supercar it was all about getting used to the car and the circuit in challenging hot and dusty conditions.

The Goody backed driver started off 3 rd fastest in free practice only slipping to fourth fastest in Qualifying 1. At the midpoint Ovenden was we’ll placed in 5th place.

He would round out the first day in 6th overall place. Hoping to build on his growing confidence in the car Ovenden set out for Q4 hoping to build on the previous days standing. Unfortunately contact with another car damaged the rear suspension which resulted in a DNF.

This bizarrely worked in his favour by placing him in the arguably slower second semi-final. He brought his Citroen DS3 Supercar home in a solid 3rd place earning him the 6th grid spot for the coveted final.

With 5 other cars starting ahead of him the aim was to stay out of trouble at the first corner, however after contact from the rear he was forced into a car in front which resulted in massive damage to the side of the car. Surprisingly the damage was only superficial, and the contact seemed to spur the Kent racer on as he got the bit between his teeth and claimed a well earned fifth at the checkered flag.

The championship now travels north of the boarder to Scotland’s Knockhill Circuit over the weekend of 25th and 26th September where Ovenden will continue his championship push.

Speaking after the weekend, Ovenden said: “We had a pretty solid weekend, the times weren’t where we wanted to be, but the confidence was improving through day 1 and looking forward to day 2. Unfortunately, we had some damage which put us out early in Q4, which kind of messed up our rhythm. But the team were really on it all weekend and we got out for every race in great shape.

“The start of the Final was looking good, but I got unsettled by contact on the side of the car on the run down to the first turn and I couldn’t slow enough to avoid contact with the car in front, which took the corner of the bumper off. Fortunately, neither car had any mechanical damage, and we actually had a really good race after that. Thanks very much to everyone that supports us, we will keep at it.”

Images courtesy of Matt Bristow Photography