Tristan Ovenden took on one of the biggest challenges of his 2026 season when the Motorsport UK British Rallycross Championship travelled to France for the spectacular 50th anniversary Rallycross de Lohéac last weekend, impressing in doing so.

Calling Lohéac simply another round of the championship hardly does the event justice. The small Breton village is regarded as one of rallycross’s spiritual homes, having staged its first rallycross event in 1976. For its golden anniversary, organisers combined the French Rallycross Championship with the returning FIA European Rallycross Championship and visiting British Championship Supercars, creating an extraordinary celebration of the sport. More than 50,000 spectators were expected across the weekend. Transforming Lohéac into the centre of the rallycross world. 

The scale of the competition matched the size of the crowd. The European RX1 entry alone numbered 30 cars the entry list read like a who’s who of World Rallycross. It had even been described beforehand as potentially the “biggest rallycross event the world has ever seen.”

Against that backdrop, Ovenden brought his number Volkswagen Polo WRX to the French Supercar competition, continuing his first season with the car after switching from the Citroën DS3 he had campaigned since 2020.

Conditions immediately added another dimension to the challenge. Rain during Saturday’s opening qualifying session made Lohéac’s already demanding mixture of asphalt and loose surface treacherous. Ovenden negotiated the conditions to finish 13th in Q1, his four-lap time of 3:04.655 putting him ahead of reigning French champion Davy Jeanney and fellow British contender Julian Godfrey.

As conditions improved, the pace increased dramatically. Ovenden continued to battle among a deeply competitive field of experienced French Supercar drivers and visiting British Championship rivals. In Q3 he produced a 2:43.979 run to place 14th, just over five-and-a-half seconds from the fastest time in a session where remarkably small margins separated much of the field.

Importantly, Ovenden did enough across qualifying to progress into Sunday’s semi-finals – a significant achievement considering the quality and sheer size of the entry.

Starting Semi-Final B alongside names including Jean-Baptiste Dubourg, Jonathan Pailler, Davy Jeanney and Derek Tohill, Ovenden completed all six laps in 4:01.127. He finished seventh, just 8.401 seconds behind winner Dubourg, bringing his run toward the French Supercar final to an end. 

The result nevertheless represented a strong showing for Ovenden on a weekend that was about considerably more than championship points. Racing a Supercar in front of tens of thousands of spectators at Lohéac’s 50th anniversary, surrounded by some of the biggest names in international rallycross, provided one of the standout occasions of the British Rallycross season.

For Ovenden and the Volkswagen Polo, it was a weekend spent competing on one of the biggest stages the sport can offer – and another valuable step in the development of their 2026 campaign.

Speaking after the weekend, Ovenden said: “We were unsure how this weekend was going to work out with the team going to two different locations in Europe.  But it has worked out and we are very pleased with the results.

“Loheac could well be the biggest Rallycross event in history, and the level there is so high. Our aim was to qualify for the finals, and we did that. An incredible event to be a part of. 

Then to get the news that Will and James are 1 and 2 at Eurocircuit in Holland was just brilliant. 

 The team did so well.

“Thanks very much to all our sponsors and supporters that help us and contribute in so many ways, it is very much appreciated.”