O’Donovan to return to Euro RX action with updated Proton

Former British Rallycross Champion and  FIA European Rallycross Championship podium-finisher Ollie O’Donovan will rejoin the fray in Euro RX1 this season, confident that Team RX Racing has resolved the problems that plagued the new Proton Iriz RX last year.

O’Donovan debuted the Iriz RX – the first of its kind in the world – in 2022, contesting the opening two rounds of the Euro RX1 campaign in Hungary and Sweden and scoring points on both occasions, before persistent technical issues obliged the Irishman to prematurely withdraw from European competition.

Now, following several months of work back in the workshop and a maiden victory for the Proton in the hands of FIA RX2e Championship race-winner Patrick O’Donovan in the Irish Rallycross Championship at Mondello Park, O’Donovan Snr will return to the wheel of the Malaysian machine for the forthcoming season.

To keep his eye in over the winter, the 2007 British title-winner has been competing in circuit-based rallies in the UK, driving a Hyundai i20 R5 for Albatec Racing and reaching the rostrum on a number of occasions.

The 2023 Euro RX1 campaign will get underway at Nyirád on 29-30 April. The full entry list for the event will be published on 6 April.

“Last year didn’t go as planned with the Proton, far from it, but the team has worked hard to resolve the problems that we encountered, and Patrick had a strong showing in the Irish Championship with the car recently so I’m very much looking forward to getting back in it,” O’Donovan enthused. “I haven’t driven the Iriz properly since Höljes last July, but I’m keen to get going.

“I’ve really enjoyed the rallies I’ve done over the winter, and hopefully they have helped me to stay sharp ahead of the rallycross season. Euro RX will be very competitive this year, with a number of talented, young and fast drivers in proven machinery, but I want to get the best results I can, both for myself and to repay the effort that has gone into getting this car to a place where we believe it should be.”