With the 2024 Motorsport UK British Rallycross Championship season coming to an end at the weekend. Lydden Hill’s firework event saw some of the biggest crowds of the year, even though Twenty-year-old Patrick O’Donovan had already secured the 2024 championship during the Pembrey rounds. Spectators were still entertained with some of the best motorsport action from the season so far. For the first time, the finals on both Saturday and Sunday were run under the cover of darkness.
With Patrick O’Donovan being in Turkey ahead of the final rounds of the World Rallycross the supercar grid looked as open as ever. Every driver entered was capable of finishing on the podium. Oliver Bennett (BMW Mini), Tristan Ovenden (Citroen DS3), Julian Godfrey (Citroen DS3), Steve Hill (Mitsubishi Evo) and John McCluskey (Ford Fiesta) are all former event winners and were in with a chance of taking the top step.
Saturday
After having a very successful outing at Pembrey, Ian Barrett in his Volkswagen Polo claimed his first-ever rallycross podium in style on Saturday evening under the floodlights at Lydden. Before the semi-finals, Oliver Bennett and John McCuskey had looked like the strongest contenders across the field.
The first semi-final went the way of Oliver Bennett with a 4-second advantage over second-place Julian Godfrey. The second semi was claimed by Ian Barrett ahead of John McCluskey. The final started with Colin Anson (Mitsubishi Mirage) and Steve Hill (Mitsubishi Evo) retiring before the first bend after a start line shunt. Bennett managed to escape the start line incident but it ended up putting him into third place behind John McCluskey. As the pair approached Paddock bend on the first lap Bennett attempted to overtake McCluskey and made contact with him as they entered the bend, resulting in both drivers being off the track and wedged against the back of the joker entrance. Both drivers managed to get back into the race with Bennett managing to finish in fifth with McCluskey eventually joining the other retirements. Barrett delivered a strong pace to drive to victory, while Julian Godfrey (Citroen DS3) and Tristan Ovenden (Citroen DS3) completed the podium, ahead of Gary Donoghue (Ford Fiesta) in fourth.
Classification Round 9 Supercars
Ian BARRETT IRL Volkswagon Polo
Julian GODFREY ENG Citroen DS3
Tristan OVENDEN ENG Citroen DS3
Gary DONOGHUE IRL Ford Fiesta
Oliver BENNETT GBR BMW Mini SX1
DNF John MC CLUSKEY IRL Ford Fiestas
DNF Steve HILL ENG Mitsubishi Evo10
DNF Colin ANSON ENG Mitsubishi Mirage
DNF Michael SELLAR ENG Volkswagon Polo
DNF Steve HARRIS ENG Mini Clubman
Sunday
On his return to the championship, Oliver Bennett claimed his third British Rallycross win on Sunday. Three drivers seemed to be dominating the field during the early morning sessions, Oliver Bennett in his BMW Mini, Julian Godfrey in his Citroen DS3 and Ian Barrett all looked strongest across the field, with Barrett securing 145 points after Q3, Godfrey with 132 points and Bennett on 126 points, although Bennett was DNF during Q3. The start of the final saw Barrett make an impressive launch with Bennett close behind. Bennet eventually managed to pass Barrett on lap two and take the lead. Shortly after this Barrett retired from the race due to mechanical problems. With Barrett out of the race, Bennett had a trouble-free drive to eventually take the much-deserved win. Second and third place was a hard-fought battle between McCluskey and Godfrey.
Classification Round 10 Supercars
Oliver BENNETT GBR BMW Mini SX1
John MC CLUSKEY IRL Ford Fiestas
Julian GODFREY ENG Citroen DS3
Steve HILL ENG Mitsubishi Evo10
Tristan OVENDEN ENG Citroen DS3
Steve HARRIS ENG Mini Clubman
Gary DONOGHUE IRL Ford Fiesta
DNF Ian BARRETT IRL Volkswagon Polo
DNF Michael SELLAR ENG Volkswagon Polo
The final standings for the 2024 Championship
2024 Motorsport UK British Rallycross Championship (Supercars) Final Table
| Round | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Total |
| Patrick O’Donovan | 17 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | – | – | 157 |
| John McCluskey | 11 | 17 | 17 | 8 | 17 | 10 | 15 | 17 | 11 | 17 | 140 |
| Steve Hill | 13 | 15 | 11 | 12 | 7 | 13 | 17 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 122 |
| Tristan Ovenden | 12 | 10 | 8 | 13 | 11 | 15 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 12 | 121 |
| Julian Godfrey | 15 | 12 | 12 | 7 | 13 | 12 | – | 15 | 17 | 15 | 118 |
| Colin Anson | 9 | 13 | 7 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 10 | 9 | – | 94 |
| Ollie O’Donovan | 20 | 8 | 15 | 17 | 15 | 9 | – | – | – | – | 75 |
| Ian Barrett | – | – | 13 | – | 6 | – | 11 | 12 | 20 | 9 | 71 |
| Michael Leonard | – | 9 | 10 | 15 | 9 | 17 | – | – | – | – | 60 |
| Michael Sellar | – | 7 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 8 | – | – | 8 | 8 | 60 |
| Gary Donoghue | 8 | – | – | – | 8 | – | – | – | 13 | 10 | 39 |
| Steve Harris | 10 | 11 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 7 | 11 | 39 |
| Oliver Bennett | 7 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 12 | 20 | 39 |
| Andrew Nesbit | – | – | 6 | 11 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 17 |
| Dom Flitney | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 0 |
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