A member of the rallycross paddock since before
he could walk – as he supported his
father, Ollie O’Donovan, from the sidelines – the 20-year-old was already a podium-finisher
in the single-spec FIA RX2e Championship when he burst spectacularly onto the
Euro RX1 scene at Nyirád in 2022, snaring fourth spot in the intermediate
ranking on his debut and only being denied a place in the final by a puncture.
His reputation
bolstered by a brace of victories in RX2e later that same season, O’Donovan
embarked upon his maiden full campaign in Euro RX1 last year, triumphing at Höljes’ ‘Magic
Weekend’ and reaching the rostrum on two further occasions, enabling him to
snatch third in the overall standings at the last-gasp.
After confidently taking the fight to more
experienced rivals throughout, the double British Rallycross Champion is now
eager to add the European Championship crown to his burgeoning career CV, as he
returns to the track behind the wheel
of his Hansen Motorsport-built Peugeot 208 WRX, fully rebuilt over the
off-season by Sam Clennell Motorsport.
“I spent a lot of
time over the winter break thinking about what the right decision would be in
terms of race plans for 2024,” revealed O’Donovan, who achieved a podium finish
on his FIA World Rallycross Championship bow in Hong Kong last November.
“It hasn’t been
easy, and there has been a lot of temptation to race in the World Championship
now that internal combustion cars are allowed in the ‘Battle of Technologies’,
especially after such a good weekend for us in Hong Kong. But after a lot of
thought, I kept coming back to the same conclusion – it’s my childhood dream to
win the European Rallycross Championship.
“After a taste of
success at Höljes last year and a run of strong, positive results, we have shown
what we can do but we certainly have unfinished business. As a team, it was
also our first season at this level compared to the teams we were competing
against who have been doing this for many years. Together, we learned a lot,
and I feel like we will only move forward this season. I can’t wait to get back
in the Peugeot for the first round of Euro RX in France.”
“Like Patrick says,
it was very attractive to race in World RX this season, but he has a dream and
we will do everything we can to help him to realise that this year,” added Team
RX Racing Team Principal, Ollie O’Donovan – like his son, a former British
Rallycross Champion and podium-finisher in Euro RX.
“I was impressed
with his performances last season. Of course some things didn’t go 100 per cent
right as they never do in motorsport, but hopefully with the experience gained,
we can take a step forward. I am so proud of how our small, passionate team
continues to perform against some much bigger outfits and I know everyone will
try their absolute best to deliver this season.”
The forthcoming Euro RX1 campaign will get underway at Essay in France
on 8-9 June, followed by World Championship-supporting rounds
at Höljes in Sweden (6-7 July), Nyirád in Hungary (27-28 July), Mettet in Belgium (17-18 August) and Montalegre in Portugal (7-8 September).
Finland
Italy
Hungary