MSA British Rallycross Championship round win for Dan Rooke as Kent racers star
Published: 11:00, 29 March 2016
Teenager Dan Rooke scored his first-ever Supercar victory as Kent's rallycrossers starred at Lydden Hill's MSA British Rallycross Championship round.
Rooke, 18, took advantage of mechanical troubles for Kevin Procter (Ford Fiesta) and Ollie O'Donovan (Ford Focus) to win the final on Bank Holiday Monday by more than 20 seconds.
He piloted his Citroen DS3 to victory ahead of Mark Flaherty and James Grint, while Sittingbourne's Liam Doran suffered two driveshaft failures on his Citroen C4 in the heats.
Rooke - who saw Procter retire with a broken intercooler and O'Donovan suffer turbo issues - said afterwards: "I do wish I could have had a bit more of a fight with Ollie and Kevin, it’s bad they broke down, but it was really good.
"I can’t wait to be out again – there’s a lot more to come from myself as it’s really early days with the car and I am still not quite at one with it.
"I was driving my own race - I had Liam (Doran) on the intercom saying keep it clean, just drive like it’s only you on the track."
Faversham's Stuart Emery grabbed a surprise victory in the MSA SuperNational class, recovering from earlier mechanical issues in the meeting to win the final from the back of the grid.
The Peugeot 206 driver was also named driver of the day.
He said post-race: "After the weekend I have had with all the issues, I can say it’s up there with one of my best wins after all the work we have been doing and all the help we have been given.
"It’s up there purely on the fact that we came here with a lot of unknown components, had a really trying weekend, and it all came together when it mattered.
"The first few laps I was properly on it and then I tried to build as much of a gap as I could."
In the Swift Sport Rallycross Championship, Pluckley's Nathan Heathcote scored his first-ever victory.
He led home an all-Kent one-two-three, with Canterbury's Simon Ovenden - on only his second ever meeting - and Deal's Rob Maynard finishing second and third respectively.
Deal's Don Macleod took ninth spot overall, just missing out on the final.
Heathcote said: "Not at one point today did I think I would win it.
"We had a snapped camshaft today, but luckily we managed to get it together and we had a good start to the final.
"To have my first win at home is great."
Meanwhile, Canterbury's Tristan Ovenden endured a mixed weekend in the Super 1600 class, suffering two driveshaft failures.
Dartford's Paul Coney enjoyed better fortune before retiring his all-new Vauxhall Corsa in the Super 1600 final, while Sittingbourne's Paul Maybourne finished seventh in SuperNational.
Bexley's Sam Jones took two victories in the MSA Junior class, piloting his 1.3-litre Suzuki Swift.
For more reaction and photos, see this week's Kentish Gazette, East Kent Mercury and Kentish Express newspapers.
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Dan Wright