Heats began on Saturday morning with some extremely high temperatures. 35 degrees Celsius was the norm for whole weekend in Finland. This would be a severe test for drivers, teams and equipment. The weekend had a difficult start in store for Derek Tohill (Dublin) and the Rallycross Rebels team as they missed some valuable practice laps. This was due to problems with new engine electrics. But, this did not seem to bother the Irishman too much when it came to setting times, after the first qualification heat the Irishman lay second fastest behind current European Champion Knut Ove Borseth (Norway). This was the Irishman’s strongest start to an ERC event and the team looked forward to Sunday.

Heat 2 on Sunday morning soon took the momentum out of the Irish driver and his team as fuel injection problems inflicted the Ford Fiesta MK. 7 as it was on its way to the grid. It was probably a blessing is disguise that Tohill missed the heat as a large fire would possibly have been inevitable due to the fuel problems and high temperatures being experienced. The team set to work on repairing the fuel injection system. The team is getting through many gremlins this season and is hoping for a change of fortune due to extensive re-engineering throughout the car. The high engines revs of 9700rpm seem to be causing many small problems that should not be experienced again.

The pressure was on for Tohill and the Rallycross Rebels in Heat 3. The Irish Rallycross driver had to set a time otherwise it was time to pack up and go home with zero points. The Irishman did not disappoint his team and he set fastest time overall which guaranteed Tohill a front row start in the all important A Final! The Irishman would join Knut Ove Borseth on the front row followed by row two starters Ole Kristian Nottveit (Norway) and local favourite Tero Parkkinen (Finland).

Tohill immediately catapulted himself into the lead of the A Final followed by reigning champion Borseth. The Irishman took his Joker lap on the second last lap and came out still in the lead. The Rallycross Rebels team thought they were set for victory number 2 of the season. That was until the last lap when Tohill and Borseth simultaneously spun off the circuit gifting the win to Ole Kristian Nottveit. Tohill was collected by Parkkinen as he rejoined the circuit but the Irishman re-passed the Finish driver to finish in third place. This was another strong result for the Irishman but so nearly a maximum score.

Tohill commented afterwards “This was probably the toughest result for me personally to accept in all my time competing in Rallycross at all levels. I just pushed too hard in the last lap when I should have controlled the pace but hindsight is wonderful. It just wasn’t meant to be in Finland, we had many problems throughout the weekend that was tough on all of the team. To feel this low after a podium shows how high our expectations have climbed. This is a good sign and bodes well for the remainder of the season, to really enjoy the highs sometimes you need to experience severe lows. We are now ready to enjoy the highs!” The European Rallycross Championship resumes in Belgium from August 6th – 8th.