The British Rallycross Championship season kicked off last weekend at Croft in North Yorkshire and there was plenty of talent from Kent on show.

Owner of Lydden Hill Pat Doran was on track in the MSA Superclass in his Citroen DS3 finishing fourth in an entertaining final, which saw him chasing down a place in the top three. It was Andy Scott who took the victory in the entertaining race quite convincingly.

Unfortunately the season didn’t get off to the best of starts in the MSA SuperNationals for reigning British Champion Stuart Emery.

Emery was back on circuit in his trusty Peugeot 206 but unfortunately the first heat of the season saw him retire with engine issues. It was a disaterous start to any weekend let alone the opening round of the 2015 season, but Stuart is made of strong stuff and he will be back on track stronger than ever.
The Swift Sports, were as entertaining as ever and with three heat wins put defending champion Tristan Ovenden was on pole for the final, with Sittingbourne’s Darren Scott alongside. Scott has committed to a full season this year, which was good to see for the championship. Rob Maynard completed the front row, making it an all Kent lockout as he aims to gain more experience and push for more podiums.

Ovenden got the better start to lead Scott, but it was Nathan Heathcote another Kent resident that surprised everyone by putting his Swift into third by race end, especially impressive given that he had needed to win the B Final to take his place on the grid. Maynard finished fourth with Jack Brown in fifth. Jake Taylor was sixth, enjoying a steady and productive start to his first year in the Swift Sport class.

In the MSA Junior Swifts, Drew Bellerby took the win from Bradley Durdin, the pair battling all the way to the flag in the final with Jennie Hawkes third. The heats during the day had also seen some good duels between Bellerby and Durdin, which bodes well for the rest of the year.

Hot Hatch victory went to Tomasz Weilgosz (Peugeot 106), but he was pushed all the way by Paul Maybourne in his Citroën Saxo. Paul Maybourne from Sittingbourne advanced up the grid to keep Wielgosz honest to the end. Stephen Gaunt finished third.

Croft played host to an entertaining opening round of the season which has set the stool and the standard for the coming season.

Images courtesy of www.psp-images.co.uk