HOLSWORTHY’s British RX star, Dan Rooke, scored an emphatic victory at the fifth-round of the MSA British Rallycross Championship at Maasmechelen in Belgium on Sunday, July 17 to extend his lead at the top of the championship standings.

In his maiden season of top-flight rallycross competition racing a 600bhp four-wheel drive Citroen DS3 Supercar, the 19-year-old secured his second victory of the season by winning every race on track at the Belgian circuit, despite having never previously visited the venue.

Having set the fastest time in each of the three qualifying sessions, Rooke started on pole position for the semi-finals and won to secure pole position for the final. From there, he led home Julian Godfrey, Ollie O’Donovan and Pat Doran throughout the race, the trio behind having racked up nine MSA British Rallycross Championship titles between them through their careers.

Dan who is backed by Outlaw Tools and won the 2015 MSA Supernational Rallycross Championship last season, said: “I really, really enjoyed the track in Belgium, I think the tight and twisty nature of it suited me well.

“Back when I was racing in autocross, I used to enjoy the tight tracks. It mixes it up a bit; the tracks in the UK are really fast so it’s nice to be on a more technical circuit. We didn’t know what to expect arriving here and I was really nervous going into practice because I was a bit anxious about some of the fast tight corners. I didn’t get a very clean practice so I didn’t know where the pace was. Luckily I got a good start in in the first qualifier and from there I led. I didn’t realise how much pace we had until we looked at the times and I was four seconds faster than anyone else.”

With confidence boosted following a staggering time in the first qualifying run, Rooke stayed focused on the job in hand and also set the fastest lap of the qualifying stages to secure the additional bonus point on offer.

Dan said: “I just kept my head down and kept going the whole weekend. We got the bonus points here too and it’s been a really strong haul of points. We couldn’t have asked for much more at all. I’m feeling a lot more comfortable with the car all the time and I’m really looking forward to going back to Lydden Hill for the next round.

“I’m feeling much happier to throw the car around now whereas before I was a bit nervous of it, so hopefully we can continue this pace.”

With a 21-point advantage at the head of the championship standings, the MSA Academy Member is targeting a consistent run through the remaining three events of the season in a bid to win the prestigious MSA British Rallycross Championship at his first attempt.

Dan added: “The aim is to try and protect our championship lead, but I also want to win as much as I can too,” he said. “The target has to be to finish on the podium at each round, and then see what we can do.”

Rooke’s British RX campaign is loyally supported by Allan Tapscott at AT Motors, Pat Doran, LD Motorsports, Mike Dawe, Nigel Heale, Brad Down, Brad Cobbledick, Ian Drowne, and Paul Quick, along with his dedicated family.

MSA British RX Round Five, Belgium — Result

1st: D Rooke (Citroen DS3); 2nd: J Godfrey (Ford Fiesta); 3rd: O O’Donovan (Ford Focus); 4th: Pat Doran (Citroen C4); 5th: J Jansen (Ford Fiesta); 6th: J Verkuringen (Subaru Impreza)

MSA British Rallycross Championship Standings (5/8)

1st: D Rooke 135; 2nd: J Godfrey 114; 3rd: O O’Donovan 100; 4th: D Bellerby 100; 5th: S Harris 87; 6th: K Procter 85