HOLSWORTHY’S international rallycross driver Dan Rooke experienced a challenging weekend in the sixth round of the RX2 International Series at the historic Loheac venue in France from Saturday, September 2 to Sunday,?September 3.

However, despite failing to reach the final, Rooke remains second in the overall championship standings.

Competing at the specialist circuit for the first time, Rooke, 20, was hampered by contact from other cars and getting stuck in traffic in the qualifying races, which didn’t help the reigning British Rallycross Champion’s cause in learning a circuit more suited to drivers with circuit racing experience.

However, despite the challenges, the four-time 2017 RX2 podium finisher set the second fastest time in the second round of qualifying and qualified seventh in the Intermediate Classification to secure a place in the second semi-final.

In torrentially wet conditions that made overtaking even more of a challenge, Rooke finished fourth in the semi-finals and just missed out on qualifying for the final, for the first time ever in his international rallycross career.

Rooke said: “It’s been a really tough weekend, luck’s not gone my way for sure. I’m pretty disappointed.

“The track was really greasy in the wet and I’ve got no experience on a track like this. When you race in the wet in the UK, it’s not quite as slippery — you do have reasonable grip levels there, but with this it’s like a slimy clay. So you don’t get hardly any grip and I struggled a lot. I pushed really hard in the semi-final and ended up going off a few times, but I gave it my all.”

The West Country driver’s points score from the event means he remains second in the series standings, with one round remaining in South Africa, while season-long title rival Cyril Raymond claimed the crown in France.

Rooke added: “I never expected to be in this position in RX2 at the start of the year, so I’m quite pleased with that overall, but it was a shame we couldn’t continue to fight Cyril in the final in Loheac. Congratulations to him, he’s done a fantastic job all year.

“To be fighting for an international championship has been phenomenal and I can’t thank my sponsors enough for giving me that opportunity. We had new support from Xite Energy and Performance Clothing in Loheac, which I’m really grateful for, and we’re working hard to get the budget to go to the round in South Africa to fight for second in the points.

“RX2 has proven to be the place to be to move up in the World Rallycross Championship and we’re really looking at options for next year too.”