By Paul Evans

West Wales motorsport squad Spencer Sport has regained the lead in the Toyo Tires MSA British Rallycross Championship after scoring victory at Croft Circuit.

The last time the Penrhiwllan-based team raced at the North Yorkshire track was in May – when an accident saw its Mitsubishi Mirage RX Supercar roll heavily, costing them the lead of the series and initiating a major mid-season rebuild.

It was therefore a case of unfinished business at Croft this time around, with driver Julian Godfrey on great form and scoring two seconds and a first in the three heats before winning the final.

With three races remaining, Godfrey is now one point ahead of Ireland’s Ollie O’Donovan (Ford Fiesta RX) and Carno-based Mark Higgins (Peugeot 208 RX), who are tied for second.

“The Mirage RX performed extremely well at Croft,” said Godfrey. “I made one small mistake all day, and that was pressing the radio button instead of the start button at the start of the third Heat; the car crept forward and we were moved to the back of the grid for a jump start. But even then we had a good race and finished second!

“Having began dry, it started to rain in the final and the conditions got worse and worse with every lap, but despite this we were able to pull away and win it quite comfortably – so it was a very good day for us in terms of performance, results and points. It’s very close in this year’s British Rallycross Championship, and with three rounds to go I think the title is going to be decided at the final round, which will be very exciting for everyone.”

“It was a faultless performance by all of the Spencer Sport team and the Mirage RX ran perfectly,” said Spencer Sport Team Manager Charlie Jukes. “We lost the lead in the British Rallycross Championship when we crashed out of the final at Croft in May, so the aim was to try and regain the it when we returned there this weekend. We’re absolutely delighted we’ve achieved exactly that. It’s also good to have enjoyed three clean heats and a well fought out final and go home with a car without any damage. The Championship is finely balanced, but we’re in a good position heading into the next round in a few weeks time.”

Support for Spencer Sport’s rallycross campaign comes from Spencer ECA, Oil 4 Wales, Speedline Corse, Hopkins Specialist Race Trailers, Julian Godfrey Engineering, Motul, Sea & Slate Holiday Cottages, Atech Racing and Rallycover Insurance.