Julian Godfrey clinches sixth British Rallycross Championship title at Croft

Julian Godfrey added another chapter to his illustrious racing history this past weekend (October 26/27) as he clinched a sixth Toyo Tires Motorsport UK British Rallycross Championship title at Croft Circuit.

Edging out season-long protagonist Derek Tohill at the North Yorkshire venue amidst challenging weather conditions, the Ford Fiesta driver reigned supreme to win his first title since 2015 by just two points.

Locked in a head-to-head fight for the coveted prize since the opening round of the season back in March, the pendulum between Godfrey and Tohill has swung both ways over the course of the year – however it all came to a head at Croft.

Saturday would see Godfrey power his way to a fourth victory of 2019 in sensational fashion; triumphing despite suffering from a transmission and engine issue which resulted in the team working through the night to ensure he could race on Sunday.

Dominating qualifying and starting from pole position in the final race of the season, Godfrey could do nothing to stop Ford Fiesta compatriot Tohill from bagging his fourth win of the season.

Second place on the road however as more than enough for the Heathfield-based racer to claim a record sixth crown and cement his status as one of the great British Rallycross Championship competitors.

“It’s brilliant to win the Championship for the sixth time. I didn’t make the best of starts in the last race so I tucked in behind Derek (Tohill), saw Tony (Bardy) hadn’t made a good start next to me so I had some space and was able to follow Derek round and play it safe,” said Godfrey. 

“I knew I just had to finish second, I pulled a bit of a gap from Steve (Hill) behind and just concentrated on getting to the end with no mistakes to take the Championship. It’s been a good close season, I’m really pleased.”

Elsewhere, Tristan Ovenden completed a third successive title-winning campaign with two more victories to ensure he maintained his unbeaten clean sweep in the two-drive category.

Luke Constantine secured the Motorsport UK Junior Rallycross Championship title by a single point over Patrick O’Donovan in the final weekend of the season.

One year on from winning that very crown, Tom Constantine savoured title success once again as he overcame the odds and three other drivers to lift the Swift Sport Rallycross Championship.

Drew Bellerby triumphed on home soil as she clinched the BMW Mini Rallycross Championship whilst Chrissy Palmer recorded an unprecedented fifth consecutive RX150 Rallycross title.

Rounding out the list of victors was Gary Simpson who won the final round of the Retro Rallycross Championship on Saturday to maintain his unbeaten run and claim the crown. 

To view the full classification of results from the weekend’s Toyo Tires Motorsport UK British Rallycross Championship action at Croft, click here.